Michael Mina facts for kids
Mina in 2011
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| Born | 1969 (age 55–56) Cairo, Egypt |
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| Cooking style | Modern American, Seafood, Mediterranean |
| Education | The Culinary Institute of America, Hyde Park, New York |
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Rating(s)
Michael Mina (San Francisco)
- Michelin stars   |
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| Official website | |
| http://www.michaelmina.net | |
Michael Mina (born 1969) is a famous American chef, restaurateur, and cookbook author. He started the Mina Group, a company that runs over 40 restaurants around the world. He is the main chef at his two special restaurants in San Francisco and Las Vegas. Both of these restaurants have earned a star from the Michelin Guide, which is a big honor in the food world. Michael Mina also wrote his first cookbook in 2006 and has appeared on many TV shows.
Contents
Early Life and Learning to Cook
Michael Mina was born in 1969 in Cairo, Egypt. He moved to the United States when he was young. He grew up in Ellensburg, Washington.
Michael started working in a French kitchen when he was only 16 years old. After high school, he went to the University of Washington. He also worked at a restaurant in the Space Needle in Seattle. This was his first time working in a very busy restaurant. After one year, he left to study at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York. This is a famous school for chefs.
Michael Mina's Career
After finishing culinary school, Michael Mina worked at well-known restaurants in New York City. He then moved to Los Angeles to work at the Bel Air Hotel. In 1990, he moved to San Francisco to help open a restaurant called Aqua. Later, Michael Mina became the main chef at Aqua. He won many awards for his cooking there.
Michael Mina has a special way of cooking. He focuses on balancing four main tastes: spice, sweetness, sourness (acidity), and richness. He believes these four elements make food taste amazing.
He has even cooked for three different United States Presidents!
In 2002, Michael Mina met famous tennis player Andre Agassi. They decided to work together and started The Mina Group. They opened new restaurants in Las Vegas, like Nobhill Tavern and Seablue.
In 2009, Michael Mina opened a restaurant called RN74 in San Francisco. Its name came from a highway in France known for its wine region.
In September 2012, Michael Mina started a digital cooking company called Cook Taste Eat. This company sent out daily emails with videos. In these videos, Michael Mina and his co-host, Michelle Branch, taught people how to cook fancy restaurant meals at home. They shared cooking tips and tricks.
In 2018, he opened Mina Brasserie in Dubai, a big city in the United Arab Emirates.
Michael Mina is married to Diane Mina. She has her own brand of Bloody Mary Mixes.
In 2021, Michael Mina received the Great Immigrants Award from the Carnegie Corporation of New York. This award honors people who have moved to the U.S. and made important contributions.
In 2024, one of Michael Mina's recipes was featured in the Mercury News. It was highlighted as a great recipe for the Super Bowl.
Michael Mina's San Francisco Restaurant
In October 2006, Michael Mina's restaurant in San Francisco, also named Michael Mina, received two Michelin stars. This was a very high honor, and only a few restaurants in the San Francisco Bay Area had two stars.
Later, for the 2010 Michelin Guide, the restaurant received one Michelin star. It was not on the starred list in 2011, but it got one star back in 2012.
In October 2011, Esquire Magazine named it the Restaurant of the Year. In 2018, the main Michael Mina restaurant started to include more Middle Eastern food on its menu.
Recipes from International Smoke, another restaurant Michael Mina opened in San Francisco with Ayesha Curry, have been shown in newspapers like the Mercury News.
Cookbooks by Michael Mina
In November 2006, Michael Mina released his first cookbook. It was called Michael Mina: The Cookbook. This book shared many of his recipes, including his special "Trio concept" dishes.
His second cookbook is called My Egypt - Cooking from My Roots. It was published in October 2024.
Michael Mina's Restaurants
Michael Mina has opened many restaurants. Here are some of them:
Active Restaurants
- Taleed. Bab Samhan Hotel, Diriyah, Saudi Arabia
- Michael Mina. Bellagio. Las Vegas, Nevada
- Stripsteak. Mandalay Bay. Las Vegas, Nevada
- Stripsteak Waikiki, Honolulu, Hawaii
- Bungalow Kitchen. Tiburon, California
- Bungalow Kitchen, Long Beach, California
- Bourbon Steak. The Americana at Brand. Glendale, California
- Bourbon Steak. Fairmont Turnberry Isle Resort & Club, Aventura, Florida
- Bourbon Steak. The Fairmont Scottsdale Princess. Scottsdale, Arizona
- Bourbon Steak. Levi's Stadium, Santa Clara, California
- Bourbon Steak. Midtown, New-York.
- Bourbon Steak. JW Marriott, Nashville, Tennessee
- Bourbon Steak. Waldorf Astoria, Dana Point, California
- Clock Bar. San Francisco
- Bourbon Steak. Four Seasons Hotel, Washington, DC
- Mina Brasserie. Four Seasons Hotel DIFC, Dubai
- Wit & Wisdom. Four Seasons Hotel, Baltimore, Maryland
- Wit & Wisdom Sonoma. The Lodge at Sonoma Resort, Autograph Collection, Sonoma, California
- The Handle Bar. Jackson Hole, Wyoming
- Michael Mina Stripsteak. Fontainebleau Hotel, Miami Beach, Florida
- Bardot Brasserie. Aria Resort & Casino. Las Vegas, Nevada
- Mina Test Kitchen, San Francisco, California
- Locale Market, St. Petersburg, Florida
- PABU. San Francisco
- Mina's Fish House. Four Seasons Hotel, Ko’Olina, Oahu
- International Smoke, San Francisco, California
- International Smoke, MGM Grand, Las Vegas, Nevada
- Trailblazer Tavern San Francisco, Salesforce East, San Francisco, California
- Mi Almita, Honolulu, Hawaii
- Prime Grill, Dubai, UAE
- Cal Mare, MGM Springfield, Massachusetts
- Wit & Wisdom, Sonoma, California
- Orla, Regent Santa Monica Beach, Santa Monica, California
Past Restaurants
- Arcadia. San Jose, California (closed in 2019)
- American Fish, Aria Resort & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada (closed in 2015)
- International Smoke, Houston, Texas (closed)
- Nobhill Tavern, MGM Grand, Las Vegas, Nevada (closed in 2013)
- PABU. Four Seasons Hotel, Baltimore, Maryland (closed in 2014)
- PABU. Boston, Massachusetts (closed in 2020)
- Pub 1842. MGM Grand, Las Vegas, Nevada (closed in 2019 and changed its name to International Smoke)
- RN74. San Francisco, California (closed)
- RN74. Seattle, Washington (closed in 2021)
- Seablue, MGM Grand, Las Vegas, Nevada (closed in 2012 and changed its name to Pub 1842)
- Pizza And Burger, Fontainebleau Miami Beach, Florida (closed in 2022 and changed its name to Arcadia Grill)
- Stonehill Tavern. Waldorf Astoria Monarch Beach, Monarch Beach, California (closed in 2017, and changed its name to Bourbon Steak)
- International Smoke Del Mar, One Paseo, Carmel Valley, San Diego (closed in 2022)
- Bourbon Steak. Seattle, Washington (closed in 2023)
Michael Mina on TV
Michael Mina has appeared on several television shows.
- He was introduced by Gordon Ramsay on Hell's Kitchen as a master chef. Michael Mina was a judge in one of the food competitions in episode 208. Later, in episode 809, Chef Ramsay and the winners visited his XIV restaurant. Michael Mina himself did not appear in that episode.
- In 2019, Mina was on the "Meze Fete" episode of "Guy's Ranch Kitchen" (season 2, episode 14) on the Food Network. At Guy Fieri's ranch, Michael Mina cooked salmon with a special sauce called chermoula. He also made labneh and melon with rosewater and pistachios.
- In 2021, Michael Mina was a guest judge on MasterChef (American season 11) in Episode 6.
See also
In Spanish: Michael Mina para niños
