Donald Lau has been writing the messages on America’s fortune cookies for the past 30 years, but a severe case of writer’s block has caused him to pass his pen. The chief fortune writer at Brooklyn-based Wonton Food Inc., the largest manufacturer of noodles, wrappers, and fortune cookies in the United States, has been training his successor for the past six months, according to Time magazine. The history of fortune cookies in America is quite murky, as both Chinese and Japanese immigrant populations have claimed ownership, writes Smithsonian Magazine’s Jesse Rhodes. Over the years, Lau said he wanted his fortune messages to make diners happy, a sentiment he’s passed onto his successor, James Wong. Diners can always take matters into their own hands ― Wonton Food Inc. offers custom fortune cookies that allow customers to write their own fortunes.

Source: Huffington Post February 15, 2017 09:45 UTC