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Ming Tsai, Celebrity Chef
Ming Tsai is co-owner of Blue Ginger restaurant in
Wellesley, Mass., which has received countless awards since opening
in 1998. The same year, he won an Emmy Award as host of "East Meets
West with Ming Tsai" on the Food Network. Tsai is currently the
host and executive producer of the award-winning cooking show, "Simply
Ming," premiering its fifth season this October. Classic episodes
of "East Meets West with Ming Tsai" and "Ming's Quest"
can be seen on the Fine Living Network. He is author of three cookbooks:
Blue Ginger: East Meets West Cooking with Ming Tsai, Simply Ming, and
Ming's Master Recipes.
The Ming Tsai Story
Ming was raised in Dayton, Ohio, where he spent hours
cooking alongside his mother and father at their family-owned restaurant,
Mandarin Kitchen. His love of cooking (and eating!) great food was forged
in these early years, while also gaining valuable experience in front
and back of the house.
Ming headed east to attend school at Phillips Academy
Andover. From there, Ming continued to Yale University, earning his
degree in Mechanical Engineering. During this time, Ming spent his sophomore
summer at Le Cordon Bleu cooking school in Paris. After graduating from
Yale, Ming worked in kitchens around the globe. He trained under renowned
Pastry Chef Pierre Herme in Paris and in Osaka with Sushi Master Kobayashi.
Upon his return to the United States, Ming enrolled in graduate school
at Cornell University, earning a Masters degree in Hotel Administration
and Hospitality Marketing. Ming continued to learn varied styles of
cuisine, holding positions in both front and back of the house at establishments
in Chicago, Atlanta, San Francisco and Santa Fe.
In 1998, Ming and Polly Tsai opened Blue Ginger in
Wellesley, MA and immediately impressed diners from Boston and beyond
with the restaurant's innovative East-West cuisine. In its first year,
Blue Ginger received 3 stars from the Boston Globe, was named "Best
New Restaurant" by Boston Magazine, was nominated by the James
Beard Foundation as "Best New Restaurant 1998," and Esquire
Magazine honored Ming as "Chef of the Year 1998." The James
Beard Foundation crowned Ming "2002 Best Chef Northeast" and,
since 2002, the Zagat Restaurant Guide has rated Blue Ginger the "2nd
Most Popular Boston Restaurant." In 2005, Ming was honored as Restaurateur
of the Year by the Massachusetts Restaurant Association, and in 2007,
Blue Ginger received the prestigious Ivy Award from Restaurants &
Institutions, for its consistent achievement in meeting the highest
standards for food, hospitality and service.
Ming is national spokesperson for the Food Allergy
and Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN), working to further education and research
on food allergies. Ming is also a founding member of Chefs For Humanity
(chefsforhumanity.org), a coalition of chefs and culinary professionals
who organize relief and fundraising for people in need throughout the
world.
In the winter of 2000, Ming launched his Blue Ginger
line with Target, the on-trend, quality-focused retailer. Ming's Blue
Ginger line of tasty, easy-to-use Asian-inspired ingredients and snack
foods is available exclusively at Target stores nationwide. In 2005,
Target planned a major line expansion. Ming's frozen dim sum, noodle
bowls, stir-fry kits and flavored chips and sauces arrived in stores
September 2006.
Ming is currently the host and executive producer
of the Public Television cooking show, SIMPLY MING, which just finished
shooting its fifth season, premiering in October. This season Ming makes
things even simpler in the kitchen by focusing on two main ingredients:
one East, one West. From cilantro and bacon to Chinese black beans and
butter, Ming creates a repertoire of flavor-packed dishes that combine
the best of both worlds. And, just when you thought it couldn't get
any simpler, Ming's new one-pot segments offer solutions for making
an entire dish all in one vessel. Whether it's a frying pan, or Ming's
favorite wok, these segments are sure to make life easier. Also this
season, Ming travels the country taking viewers inside the kitchens
of some of the world's most celebrated chefs -- from Michael Chiarello's
Napa oasis to Ted Allen's urban garden, all of Simply Ming's guest chefs
put their unique spin on Ming's East-West pairings.
His Simply Ming video podcasts, the first of their
kind, feature tutorials on everything from filleting fish to decanting
wine. (Available free at the iTunes Music Store.) Ming began cooking
for television audiences on the Food Network, where he was the 1998
Emmy Award-Winning host of East Meets West with Ming Tsai. Ming's Quest,
his popular cooking adventure series, and East Meets West can be seen
on Fine Living Network. In addition to television, Ming is also the
author of three cookbooks: Blue Ginger: East Meets West Cooking with
Ming Tsai, Simply Ming, and Ming's Master Recipes. Visit www.ming.com,
for recipes, culinary gadgets, signature products, his restaurant and
more.
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