Mei Lin (chef) facts for kids
| Born | November 29, 1985 Guangdong, China |
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Mei Lin (born November 29, 1985) is a talented American chef and TV star. She was born in China. Mei Lin is famous for winning two big cooking shows: Top Chef in 2014 and Tournament of Champions in 2023. After her first win, she even cooked for Oprah Winfrey! Mei Lin later opened her own restaurants in Los Angeles.
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Early Life and Learning
Mei Lin was born in Guangdong, China. When she was just three months old, her family moved to Dearborn, Michigan. She went to Fordson High School there. Later, she studied at Schoolcraft College to learn more about cooking.
Chef Career
After finishing her studies at Schoolcraft College, Mei Lin started her cooking career. She first worked as a cook for the Detroit Lions sports team. Then, she helped open a restaurant called Roast for chef Michael Symon in Downtown Detroit.
Mei Lin also worked at Wolfgang Puck's famous restaurant, Spago, in Las Vegas. After that, she moved to Los Angeles. There, she joined the team at ink., a restaurant opened by another Top Chef winner, Michael Voltaggio. She worked as a sous chef there.
Winning Top Chef
In 2014, Mei Lin competed in the twelfth season of Bravo's Top Chef show. This competition was filmed in San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, Mexico. In the final round, she cooked against another chef, Gregory Gourdet.
Mei Lin made a special dessert that everyone loved. It was a strawberry lime curd with toasted yogurt and ice. The judges were very impressed. One judge, Tom Colicchio, said it was "the best dessert I have ever had on Top Chef." Another judge, Hugh Acheson, called it "blow-you-away amazing." Mei Lin won the competition!
After winning Top Chef, Mei Lin became a personal chef for Oprah Winfrey. She also helped write recipes for Oprah's cookbook.
Opening Restaurants
In 2019, Mei Lin opened her first restaurant in Los Angeles. It was called Nightshade. This restaurant became very popular. In 2020, Nightshade was even nominated for a James Beard Foundation Award for Best New Restaurant.
In March 2021, Mei Lin opened her second restaurant, Daybird, also in Los Angeles. She describes Daybird as a fast-casual restaurant. It serves Sichuan hot chicken, which was a new idea in the United States.
Winning Tournament of Champions
In 2023, Mei Lin competed in the fourth season of Food Network's Tournament of Champions. She did incredibly well in this competition. In the final round, she cooked against Maneet Chauhan, who had won the show before. Mei Lin won with a score of 91-89. She earned some of the highest scores in the whole competition.
Awards and Honors
Mei Lin has received many awards for her cooking skills.
- Winner, Top Chef: Boston
- Winner, Tournament of Champions IV
- 2020 James Beard Foundation Award Semifinalist, Best Chef: California
- 2019 Nightshade, Restaurant of the Year, Eater LA
- 2019 Best Culinary Debut, Robb Report
- 2019 Nightshade, Best New Restaurants, Food & Wine
- 2019 Nightshade, Best New Restaurants in America, GQ
- 2019 Nightshade, Best New Restaurants in America, Eater
- 2019 Nightshade, Prawn Toast, Food & Wine Dish of the Year
See also
