Ming Tsai is the man who satisfies your appetite only to leave you with a bigger appetite. He is an American celebrity chef, restaurant owner, and television personality who has created shows like Simply Ming, which he also hosts, and Ming’s Quest. The restaurant owner is very popular with his mix of eastern and western cuisine. You can find out all about him here.
Ming Tsai Bio
It was in Newport Beach, California, on March 29, 1964, when Ming Tsai was born and raised by a mother who was also in the food industry and a father who was an engineer.
Raised in a family that loved cooking, Ming always cooked with his parents in the family’s Mandarin kitchen and at Dayton’s award-winning Chinese restaurant, but he never really intended to make a life out of it. He wanted to follow in his father’s footsteps and become an engineer, just as his father had followed in the footsteps of his own father, Ming’s grandfather. His father worked for the US government as a rocket scientist.
Of Chinese descent, Ming Tsai is multilingual and speaks English, Mandarin, Spanish and French. He has a brother he grew up with.
For his education, he moved to Massachusetts to study at the Phillips Academy in Andover where he graduated. His next move was to Yale University where he studied engineering. He later moved to Cornell University to earn a master’s degree in hotel management and hospitality marketing.
During his time in high school and college, Ming played squash. In fact, he became an all-American squash player while still in college.
As soon as he finished Yale, Ming moved to France after he decided to become a chef to train with master confectioner Pierre Herme. Next, he trained again under Sushi Master Kobayashi. After that, he went to his masters.
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His Career
Even after he went to Yale to study engineering, his parents had no problem when he told them he was going to be a cook. While his mother gave him her full support, his father said he would not be a good engineer, so he might as well keep on cooking.
The first time Ming was asked to cook was when he was only 10 years old. Years later he started his career in 1998 when he started with blue ginger. By 2005, not only was the restaurant to be named the best new restaurant by Boston Magazine, but Ming was also to receive a number of awards from Esquire Magazine, the James Beard Foundation, and the Zagat Restaurant Guide.
He would develop the restaurant into one of the best restaurants in the United States and win many more prizes and awards in the process. Nonetheless, in 2017 he decided to close Blue Ginger, which had been running for 19 years until then. After closing, he continued with his Asian-gastronomic pub Blue Dragon in Boston.
His popularity was triggered by his appearance on various shows such as East Meets West, which he designed and hosted from 1998 to 2003. The next show, in which he again appeared as producer and director, was Simply Ming, which has been broadcast since 2003.
Apart from his own shows, he appeared as a juror in Cooking Under Fire in 2005 and 2010 and as a contestant in The Next Iron Chef.
Ming is actually more than just a cook and host of a TV show, he is also a writer who has published a number of works such as Blue Ginger: East Meets West Cooking with Ming Tsai (1999), Ming’s Master Recipes (2004) and Simply Ming In Your Kitchen (2012).
His career has been highlighted by many awards, including the Emmy Award, which he received in 1999 for hosting an Outstanding Service Show, and IFMA’s Silver Plate Award in 2009.
Ming Tsai Wife (Polly), Family, and Children
If you’re wondering about the celebrity chef’s family life, he’s a married man. He has been married since 1996 to Polly Talbott (now Polly Tsai), who was born in September 1977.
Polly has become known for her support and contribution to her husband’s business. They share two children, David and Henry.
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Net Worth – How Rich Is He?
For a man who has been in the grocery business for over 20 years, Ming Tsai has rightly made his contribution. He now has a net worth estimated at $10 million. The host of the food show has earned his fortune with his restaurant, TV shows, and other investments he has made in the meantime.
