Danny Bowien facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Danny Bowien
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| Born |
James Daniel Bowien
1982 (age 42–43) |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Chef |
James Daniel Bowien (born 1982) is an American chef and restaurant owner. He was born in South Korea. Danny Bowien is famous for starting Mission Chinese Food. This restaurant had locations in New York City and San Francisco.
Bowien has won a James Beard Foundation Award. This is a very important award for chefs. He was also the main person featured in season six of the TV show The Mind of a Chef.
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Early Life
Danny Bowien was born in South Korea in 1982. When he was very young, an American family adopted him. He grew up in Oklahoma.
Being one of the few Korean Americans in his school made him think about his identity. He felt a strong desire to do something important. Before becoming a chef, he had many different jobs. One of his first jobs was washing dishes at a Vietnamese restaurant. When he was 19, he moved to San Francisco.
Becoming a Chef
After moving to San Francisco, Danny Bowien went to culinary school. This is a special school where people learn to cook. After school, he worked at several restaurants. These restaurants were in the San Francisco Bay Area. One of them was an Italian restaurant called Farina.
While working at Farina, he got a special chance. He was sent to the 2008 Pesto World Championships. This competition was held in Genoa, Italy. Danny Bowien won first place! This was a big achievement for him.
Mission Chinese Food
Danny Bowien teamed up with another chef, Anthony Myint. They started some food truck businesses together. These included Mission Street Food and Mission Burger.
Later, Bowien worked with the owners of a Chinese restaurant. This restaurant was called Lung Shan on Mission Street. They decided to open Mission Chinese Food inside Lung Shan. This was a new idea: a restaurant operating inside another restaurant.
Mission Chinese Food quickly became very popular. Bon Appetit Magazine called it the second Best New Restaurant in America. GQ Magazine ranked it as the fourth Best New Restaurant. In 2011, the San Francisco Chronicle named Bowien a "Rising Star Chef." He was also a finalist for a James Beard Award in 2012.
Moving to New York
In 2012, Danny Bowien left San Francisco. He opened a new Mission Chinese Food in New York City. This restaurant was in the Lower East Side neighborhood.
In 2013, he opened a Mexican restaurant called Mission Cantina. This restaurant was also in New York. However, Mission Cantina closed three years later.
In May 2013, Bowien received a major award. The James Beard Foundation gave him the "Rising Star Chef" award. He earned this for his work at Mission Chinese Food in both San Francisco and New York City.
In 2014, Bowien moved Mission Chinese Food to New York's Chinatown. His restaurant continued to be very popular.
TV Show and New Locations
In 2017, Danny Bowien was chosen for a special role. He became the main subject of The Mind of a Chef. This is a food and travel show. The sixth season of the show premiered on November 14, 2017. It was shown on Facebook Watch.
In 2018, Bowien opened another Mission Chinese Food location. This one was in Bushwick, Brooklyn. It was located near a music venue called Elsewhere.
In September 2020, Bowien announced some sad news. The Mission Chinese Food in Chinatown had to close permanently. This was because of the difficulties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the Bushwick location stayed open. By 2022, all of his New York City locations had closed permanently.
In April 2024, Danny Bowien opened a temporary Mission Chinese. This "pop-up" restaurant was at 43 Mott Street in New York's Chinatown. It was inside the Cha Kee restaurant. Cha Kee kept its Hong Kong Cafe menu during the day. But after 5 PM, it changed to a Japanese fusion Chinese style, led by Bowien. His temporary stay there ended in August 2024.
Cooking Style
Danny Bowien is known for making fancy food more available to everyone. He is called a "populist" chef. This means he creates food that many different people can enjoy.
GQ magazine has praised his cooking. They say he helped make Chinese food more respected in the restaurant world. He also helped break down old rules in the cooking industry. This industry used to focus mostly on European styles of cooking.
Personal Life
Danny Bowien was married to Korean-American comedian Youngmi Mayer. They first met in a store in San Francisco. At the time, Bowien was cooking at an Italian restaurant. They noticed each other because they had similar "hipster" clothing styles.
Their marriage was kept private for a few years. Later, they had a public ceremony in South Korea. They divorced in 2018.
