Ming Tsai facts for kids
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| Born | 1964 (age 60–61) Newport Beach, California, U.S. |
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| Cooking style | Fusion |
| Education | Yale University Cornell University Le Cordon Bleu |
| Spouse | Polly Talbott-Tsai |
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Previous restaurant(s)
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Television show(s)
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Ming Hao Tsai (Chinese: 蔡明昊; pinyin: Cài Mínghào; born 1964) is a famous American chef. He is also a restaurateur, which means he owns and manages restaurants. You might know him from his cooking shows on TV! Before becoming a chef, he was a talented squash player.
Ming Tsai is known for his "east–west fusion" cooking style. This means he mixes cooking ideas and ingredients from both Asian and Western cultures. He owned two well-known restaurants: Blue Ginger in Wellesley, Massachusetts, and Blue Dragon in Boston. Both restaurants were recognized for their great food.
Today, Ming Tsai hosts a popular cooking show called Simply Ming. It is shown on American Public Television. He has also hosted other shows like Ming's Quest and East Meets West. He even appeared in a cooking competition called The Next Iron Chef.
Contents
About Ming Tsai's Early Life and Education
Growing Up and Family Background
Ming Tsai was born in 1964 in Newport Beach, California. He grew up in Dayton, Ohio. His mom, Iris, owned a Chinese restaurant called Mandarin Kitchen. His dad, Stephen Tsai, was an engineer. Stephen helped create something called the Tsai-Wu failure criterion, which is used in engineering.
Ming helped out in his family's restaurant when he was young. This is where he first learned about cooking. His grandparents moved to Dayton from Taiwan. They came after a difficult time in China called the Cultural Revolution.
School and College Years
Ming Tsai went to Phillips Academy for high school. After that, he studied engineering at Yale University. He also played varsity squash there. He was a very good squash player! He graduated from Yale in 1986.
Later, he earned a master's degree from Cornell University in 1989. This degree was in hotel management and marketing. During his college years, he also went to a famous cooking school. It was called Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, France. Ming Tsai is very good with languages. He can speak English, Mandarin Chinese, French, and Spanish.
Ming Tsai's grandfather was a Chinese composer named Lee Pao-Chen. It's also said that Ming Tsai is a very distant descendant of an ancient Chinese leader called the Yellow Emperor.
Ming Tsai's Career in Cooking
Television Shows and Appearances
Ming Tsai started his TV career in 1997. He filled in for chef Sara Moulton on her cooking show Cooking Live. From 1998 to 2003, he hosted his own show called East Meets West on the Food Network.
His most famous show is Simply Ming, which is still on TV. In 2005, he was a judge on the show Cooking Under Fire. He even competed against another famous chef, Bobby Flay, on Iron Chef America in 2005. Ming Tsai won that challenge! He also appeared on Top Chef in 2014.
Ming Tsai has also been on children's TV shows. He appeared on Zoom in 2005 and on the cartoon show Arthur in 2006.
His Restaurants
In 1998, Ming Tsai and his wife, Polly Talbott, opened their first restaurant. It was called Blue Ginger and was in Wellesley, Massachusetts. Blue Ginger was an Asian Fusion restaurant. It won many awards and was recognized by famous food guides like Zagat and James Beard. The year it opened, Esquire Magazine named Ming Tsai "Chef of the Year." Blue Ginger closed in June 2017 after 19 years. Ming Tsai wanted to focus on new restaurant ideas.
In 2013, Ming Tsai opened another restaurant called Blue Dragon. This one was in Boston. It was a tapas-style gastropub, also serving east–west fusion food. Tapas are small dishes, perfect for sharing. Blue Dragon was also named a "Best New Restaurant" by Esquire Magazine. Blue Dragon closed in March 2020.
In 2020, Ming Tsai opened a new restaurant called BāBā. It is located in Big Sky, Montana.
Cookbooks by Ming Tsai
Ming Tsai has written five cookbooks. These books share his recipes and cooking tips with people at home. His cookbooks include Blue Ginger, Simply Ming, Ming's Master Recipes, Simply Ming: One-Pot Meals, and Simply Ming in Your Kitchen.
Awards and Special Recognition
Ming Tsai has received many awards for his work. In 1999, he won a Daytime Emmy award for being an outstanding host of a service show. His Blue Ginger Restaurant was added to the Culinary Hall of Fame in 2012. In 2000, People magazine even included Ming Tsai on their list of the "50 Most Beautiful People."
Ming Tsai's Personal Life
Family and Sports
Ming Tsai married Polly Talbott in April 1996. They have two sons named David and Henry. Ming Tsai's brothers-in-law, David Talbott and Mark Talbott, are also famous squash players. Lauren Tsai, an American actress, is his niece.
Ming Tsai was a very good squash player in college. He played professionally in Europe for a while. He has also played in celebrity and charity squash matches.
Helping Others: Philanthropy
One of Ming Tsai's sons has food allergies. Because of this, Ming Tsai has become a strong supporter for people with food allergies. He works to make sure people know about food allergens and how to stay safe.
Since 2005, he has been a national spokesperson for the Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN). This group helps people with food allergies. In 2012, he received an award for his work. He helped with a food safety bill in Massachusetts. Ming Tsai is also the President of the National Advisory Board for Family Reach. This group helps families who are fighting cancer.
