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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. From there, Ming continued to Yale University, earning his degree in Mechanical Engineering while spending 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 Chef 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 Master’s degree in Hotel Administration and Hospitality Marketing. Ming continued to learn varied styles of cuisine, holding positions in both 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, MA and immediately impressed diners from Boston and beyond with the restaurant's innovative East-West cuisine. In its first year, Blue Ginger received 3 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 a national spokesperson for the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN), working to further education and research on food allergies. Ming is proud to have developed the Food Allergy Reference Book, first used at Blue Ginger, a pioneering system that creates safeguards to help food-allergic people dine safely.
Ming is currently the host and executive producer of the Public Television cooking show, Simply Ming, now in its fifth season. His Simply Ming video podcasts, the first of their kind, feature tutorials on everything from filleting fish to decanting wine (available on ming.com and iTunes). 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.
In addition to Ming's restaurant and television and print endeavors, he is also a prolific designer and creator of various products. Ming's Blue Ginger line of East-West pantry staples launched in Target and SuperTarget stores nationwide in 2000 and has continually expanded. Drawing on his engineering background and affinity for design, Ming designed, with Tru Bamboo, a line of bamboo cutting boards and assorted tableware. The sushi boards, satay plates and various cutting boards are available at grocery and home stores across the US. Ming's creativity also extends to a line of tea rubs -- unique, East-West spice blends with tea leaves that add vibrant flavor to chicken, beef or fish in minutes. Find them online at Ming.com, Ming’s information-based site focusing on East-West living, recipes, ingredients, culinary gadgets and more.
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