Ming Tsai (Chinese written language): Cài Mínghào) (born March 29, 1964) is an Chinese American celebrity chef and restaurateur who currently hosts two cooking shows – Ming’s Quest on the Fine Living Network and Simply Ming on American Public Television – and formerly hosted East Meets West on the Food Network. He has also appeared as a challenger chef on the Food Network's Iron Chef America beating Iron Chef Bobby Flay and was a judge for Cooking Under Fire on the PBS network. In 1998, Tsai, a Dayton, Ohio, native along with his wife Polly, opened his first restaurant, Blue Ginger, in Wellesley, Massachusetts and he is the author of three cookbooks, Blue Ginger, Simply Ming, and Ming's Master Recipes.

Ming Tsai started cooking at his family's Chinese restaurant as a teenager in Dayton, Ohio. He graduated from The Miami Valley School, an independent school in Dayton, Ohio. A mechanical engineering degree from Yale proved to be merely a brief detour in a career that would lead him to Paris, where he studied at Cordon Bleu and worked at Fauchon and Natacha. It was at Natacha that he encountered east-west cuisine for the first time. Back in the U.S., Ming returned to school and earned a Master's Degree in Hotel Administration and Hospitality Marketing from Cornell University before working for several years in the hotel industry as food and beverage director at Hotel-Intercontinental Chicago.

In 1992, the kitchen lured Ming back and he arrived at Silks, an east-west restaurant at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in San Francisco. There he assumed responsibilities as sous chef, working with Ken Hom. Subsequently Ming served as executive chef for Ginger Club, a Southeast Asian restaurant in Palo Alto, California. He then moved on to Santa Fe, New Mexico, as executive chef of Santacafe, where he was honored as best chef in Santa Fe and a 27 out of 30 rating in the Zagat Guide 1996.

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L.A. Times - Food & Dining

Could that be ice in my soup?
Wed, 29 Aug 2007 00:00:00 -0700
This August 2007 article suggested chilling out -- with a bowl of naeng myun, the served-cold Korean specialty with springy noodles and a tangy broth. Summer in Koreatown has long been marked by the sounds of slurping. The season for naeng myun -- cold noodles -- is now in full swing, and at restaurants across the neighborhood, huge bowlfuls of chewy buckwheat noodles quickly disappear. Occasionally there are pauses for a spoonful of icy-cold tangy broth, a bite of crunchy pickled daikon or cucumber, a sliver of crisp-sweet Asian pear, or a slice of tender beef brisket.
High-end restaurants on a tightrope of economic uncertainty
Wed, 08 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700
Celebrity chefs behind Melisse, Anisette, Craft and other deluxe dining spots try to lure recession-wary diners. PEOPLE always have to eat, but do they have to dine out? That's the question Southern California's top chefs are facing after the last few weeks of grim economic news.
Mix and match to create a spice blend all your own
Wed, 08 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700
Whether it's a Cajun or charmoula combination, add a fresh dimension to a traditional blend of herbs and spices with your own flavor pairings. Bold Cajun blends, Chinese five-spice powder, Caribbean jerk, garam masala garam masala from India, Middle Eastern baharat , Thai green curry paste -- each of these blends of spices and herbs has its origins as a cornerstone of a regional cuisine. Traditionally developed over time and honed through generations, spice blends are calculated combinations of fresh or dry ingredients that create a symphony of flavors. Walk the spice aisle of any store and commercial variations abound.

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