Miyoko Schinner facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Miyoko Schinner
Schinner delivering keynote address at Animal Equality Gala 2017
Born	Miyoko Nishimoto 1957 Japan
Occupation	Vegan chef activist cookbook author cooking show host entrepreneur
Alma mater	St. John's College (BA)
Subject	Veganism cookbooks
Notable works	The New Now and Zen Epicure: Gourmet Cuisine for the Enlightened Palate (2001) Artisan Vegan Cheese (2012) The Homemade Vegan Pantry: The Art of Making Your Own Staples (2015) The Vegan Meat Cookbook: Meatless Favorites. Made with Plants (2021)

Miyoko Schinner (born in 1957) is an amazing American-Japanese chef. She is also a cookbook author, an activist, and a host of cooking shows. Miyoko is known for being a social entrepreneur, which means she starts businesses to help solve social problems. Since 2024, she has been a teacher at the University of California, Berkeley's Haas School of Business.

Early Life and Learning

Miyoko Nishimoto was born in a town near Tokyo, Japan. When she was seven, she moved to the United States. Her family settled in Marin County, in a town called Mill Valley, California.

Miyoko became a vegetarian when she was 12 years old. She says this was during a time when many people were interested in natural foods. She learned about not harming animals during a camping trip. After that, she found it hard to eat meat. Her mother did not support her choice at first. This meant Miyoko had to teach herself how to cook. She says this is how she fell in love with cooking. She thought about going to cooking school. However, she decided not to because she would have to work with animal products. So, she learned everything on her own.

Miyoko first went to college to study graphic design. She later transferred to St. John's College. She earned a degree in philosophy in 1979.

Starting Her Career

After college, Miyoko started several businesses. These businesses focused on helping people and the planet.

Madam Miyoko (1980s)

In the 1980s, Miyoko moved back to Tokyo, Japan. During this time, she became a vegan. This means she stopped eating all animal products, including dairy. She realized she was lactose intolerant. She started making her own vegan dishes. She then decided to sell them. She began a small business called "Madam Miyoko." She sold vegan poundcakes from her backpack.

Miyoko really missed cheese. Back then, there were not many good vegan cheese options. She tried one called "Vegan Rella" but was not impressed. This made her dream of creating better vegan cheeses.

Now and Zen (1980s-2003)

Restaurant

Miyoko returned to the United States and moved to San Francisco. There, she opened a vegan bakery. This bakery grew into a full vegan restaurant called Now and Zen. Around the holidays, she made a special vegan roast called the Unturkey. It was very popular.

Natural Food Company

Later, Miyoko sold the restaurant. She started a vegan food company, also called Now and Zen. This company focused on selling the Unturkey. As her company grew, she faced many challenges. She had a lot of orders and also had family responsibilities. In 2003, Miyoko decided to close the company.

Cookbooks

During this time, Miyoko wrote three vegan cookbooks. One of them, The New Now and Zen Epicure, was named one of the "Top 100 Vegan Cookbooks of All Time" by VegNews in 2024.

2012-2016

Cookbook

In 2012, Miyoko published Artisan Vegan Cheese. This cookbook was all about making vegan cheese. In 2021, Food & Wine magazine called it a "seminal cookbook." This means it was a very important book that helped make vegan cheesemaking popular. VegNews also listed it as one of the "Top 100 Vegan Cookbooks of All Time" in 2024.

Cooking Show

From 2012 to 2016, Miyoko co-hosted a cooking show called Vegan Mashup. It was shown on PBS. She hosted it with Toni Fiore and Terry Hope Romero. Many other vegan chefs appeared on the show too.

Miyoko's Kitchen/Miyoko's Creamery (2014-2023)

After her Artisan Vegan Cheese cookbook, many fans asked Miyoko to make the cheese for them. Even though she was hesitant to start another business, she agreed. In 2014, she started a new vegan cheese company called Miyoko's Kitchen. It began as an online business.

Miyoko wanted to create dairy-free products like butter and many kinds of cheeses. She used traditional cheesemaking methods. Her products were mainly made from cashews, oats, and chickpea flour. When she launched the company, she had four employees. They received 50,000 orders in just a few days! The company grew quickly. In 2017, they received $6 million in funding. Later, the company's name changed to "Miyoko's Creamery."

Famous people like Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi invested in Miyoko's Creamery in 2019. The company also started selling its products in Canada and Australia. In 2020, Miyoko's Food Truck gave away 15,000 free grilled cheese sandwiches across the United States. This helped promote cruelty-free vegan cheese. In 2021, Miyoko's Creamery won a lawsuit. This allowed them to keep using words like "Cheese" and "Butter" for their plant-based products.

In February 2023, Miyoko's Creamery announced that Miyoko Schinner was no longer the CEO. They had decided to go their separate ways. After some legal discussions, Miyoko's Creamery and Miyoko Schinner announced in May 2023 that they had settled all their disagreements. They both wished each other well.

Cookbooks

During this time, Miyoko published two more vegan cookbooks. The Homemade Vegan Pantry was named one of the best vegan cookbooks by Good Housekeeping in 2019. In 2021, The Vegan Meat Cookbook was nominated for an award. In 2022, The San Francisco Chronicle listed it as one of the "best new cookbooks."

In 2024, Food & Wine named The Homemade Vegan Pantry one of the "20 Best Vegan Cookbooks." VegNews also listed both The Vegan Meat Cookbook and The Homemade Vegan Pantry as "Top 100 Vegan Cookbooks of All Time."

Documentary

Miyoko also talked about her work with Miyoko's Kitchen/Creamery in the documentary You Are What You Eat: A Twin Experiment, which came out in 2024.

2023-Present

In 2024, Miyoko Schinner became a lecturer at the University of California, Berkeley's Haas School of Business. She teaches a course on sustainable finance. Miyoko also works with Rancho Compasion, an animal sanctuary she started in 2015.

Cooking Show

In 2023, Miyoko launched a new YouTube cooking show called The Vegan Good Life with Miyoko.

Cookbook

Miyoko's next book, The Vegan Creamery, is expected to be released in September 2025.

Awards and Recognition

Miyoko Schinner is seen as a leader in the vegan world. In 2018, she was called a "vegan rock star." She was also featured in PopSugar's list of "28 Women Changing the World Right This Second." She is known for being a pioneer in making vegan cheese.

In 2023, Tasting Table named Miyoko as one of the “21 Plant-Based Chefs You Need To Know.” VegNews also listed her as one of the "37 Creative Chefs Crafting the Future of Vegan Food."

Personal Life

Miyoko and Michael Schinner have three children: a son and two daughters. They divorced in 2023.

See Also

• List of social entrepreneurs
• List of vegan and plant-based media