CHEFSMing TsaiBlue Ginger Ming was raised in Dayton, Ohio, where he spent hours cooking alongside his mother and father at their family-owned restaurant, Mandarin Kitchen. His love of cooking (and eating!) great food was forged in these early years, while also gaining valuable experience in front and back of the house. Ming headed east to attend school at Phillips Academy Andover. From there, Ming continued to Yale University, earning his degree in mechanical engineering. During this time, Ming spent his sophomore summer at Le Cordon Bleu cooking school in Paris. After graduating from Yale, Ming worked in kitchens around the globe. He trained under renowned pastry vhef Pierre Herme in Paris and in Osaka with sushi master Kobayashi. Upon his return to the United States, Ming enrolled in graduate school at Cornell University, earning a masters degree in hotel administration and hospitality marketing. Ming continued to learn varied styles of cuisine, holding positions in both the front and back of the house at establishments in Chicago, Atlanta, San Francisco, and Santa Fe. In 1998, Ming and Polly Tsai opened Blue Ginger in Wellesley, Massachusetts, and immediately impressed diners from Boston and beyond with the restaurant's innovative East-West cuisine. In its first year, Blue Ginger received three stars from the Boston Globe, was named "Best New Restaurant" by Boston magazine, was nominated by the James Beard Foundation as "Best New Restaurant 1998," and Esquire magazine honored Ming as "Chef of the Year 1998." The James Beard Foundation crowned Ming "2002 Best Chef Northeast" and, since 2002, the Zagat Restaurant Guide has rated Blue Ginger the "2nd Most Popular Boston Restaurant." In 2005, Ming was honored as "Restaurateur of the Year by the Massachusetts Restaurant Association, and in 2007, Blue Ginger received the prestigious Ivy Award from Restaurants & Institutions, for its consistent achievement in meeting the highest standards for food, hospitality, and service. Ming is national spokesperson for the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN), working to further education and research on food allergies. Ming is also a founding member of Chefs For Humanity (chefsforhumanity.org), a coalition of chefs and culinary professionals who organize relief and fundraising for people in need throughout the world. In the winter of 2000, Ming launched his Blue Ginger line with Target, the on-trend, quality-focused retailer. Ming's Blue Ginger line of tasty, easy-to-use Asian-inspired ingredients and snack foods is available exclusively at Target stores nationwide. In 2005, owing to Ming's popularity and market viability, Target planned a major line expansion. Mings frozen dim sum, noodle bowls, rice bowls, stir-fry kits, and flavored chips and sauces arrived in stores September 2006. These delicious, exotic meals bring Ming's East-West cooking from the microwave or skillet to the table in just minutes. Ming is currently the host and executive producer of the PBS cooking show Simply Ming, now in its fourth season. His Simply Ming video podcasts, the first of their kind, feature tutorials on everything from filleting fish to decanting wine (available free at the iTunes Music Store). Ming began cooking for television audiences on the Food Network, where he was the 1998 Emmy Award-Winning host of East Meets West with Ming Tsai. Ming's Quest, his popular cooking adventure series, and East Meets West can be seen on Fine Living Network. In addition to television, Ming is also the author of three cookbooks: Blue Ginger: East Meets West Cooking with Ming Tsai, Simply Ming, and Ming's Master Recipes. Visit www.ming.com, Mings information-based site focusing on East-West living, for recipes, ingredients, culinary gadgets, signature products, updates on Ming, his restaurant, and more. |