Ming was raised in Dayton , Ohio , where he spent countless 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 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." Almost a decade later, the popularity continues. The James Beard Foundation crowned Ming "2002 Best Chef Northeast," and, since 2002, 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.  In addition to receiving these awards, Ming is also national spokesperson for the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN), working to further education and research on food allergies.

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. Ming’s frozen dim sum, noodle bowls, rice bowls, stir-fry kits and flavored chips and sauces bring Ming's East-West cooking from the microwave or skillet to the table in minutes!

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 and are available for free download on ITunes and Ming.com. 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. For the past two years, SIMPLY MING has been awarded the prestigious CINE Golden Eagle Award. 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.

Take a look around ming.com  -- Ming’s information-based site focusing on East-West living, for recipes, ingredients, culinary gadgets, signature products, updates on Ming, his restaurant and more.