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ASIAMS.NET |
ASIAN AMERICAN ISSUES
MING TSAI: PROTOTYPE OF THE NEW AA MALE?
epending on your perspective, Ming Tsai is either a role model for a new generation of Asian American men or the nightmare of many Asian parents.
On the role model side, he's America's most famous Asian chef, with two popular Food Network series (East Meets West, Ming's Quest) and a recipe book under his belt (Blue Ginger). And at the age of 36, he and his wife have built up an acclaimed, highly profitable fusion restaurant (Blue Ginger) in the Boston suburb of Wellesley.
On the parental nightmare side, Tsai threw away a Yale mechanical engineering degree to work in a Paris restaurant just because he belatedly discovered that he'd rather cook than compute stresses. Adding insult to injury (some Asian parents might say), he married a white woman from Dayton Ohio.
The ages-old tension between following the road to traditional success and the yearning to hack one's own trail may have been sown in Tsai's childhood. Ming-Hao C Tsai was born March 29, 1964 in Newport Beach, California and grew up in Dayton, Ohio where his father was a high-level scientist at nearby Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. His mother ran the family's Mandarin Kitchen restaurant and taught cooking classes.
As a teen Ming helped out in the restaurant while aspiring to Yale and following in his father's footsteps. Not until well into his Yale career did Ming discover that his real passion was cooking. He toughed out the Yale B.A. but lost no time after graduation. He went to Paris to take a Cordon Bleu course, then spent two years working his way around that city's kitchens. Upon his return, he enrolled in Cornell for a masters in hotel management, then spent nine years apprenticing under top chefs.
During that period Tsai developed a unique style that fuses Asian and western flavors and ingredients with a rare mix of discipline and dash. He caught the eye of cooking show producers. Audiences liked his babyface and smooth-talking style. In 1998 the Food Network tapped him for the East Meets West series. Tsai and wife Polly lost no time opening the Blue Ginger that March to satisfy the appetites they expected to be whetted when the show premiered in September. Polly contributed the provocative name and served as the hostess while Ming built up a kitchen operation that would free him for filming shows and allowing two uninterrupted family days each week. One is Sunday when the Blue Ginger is always closed.
Ming Tsai is busier than ever now, what with a new son and jetting around the world filming outdoor culinary adventures for Ming's Quest, his second show. Glowing reviews and admiring profiles have made him a media darling. People magazine voted him one of the world's most beautiful people.
Ming Tsai isn't without detractors. Some AA complain that he's catering to stereotypical images of Asian males as smiling purveyors of exotic flavors. Others say he's corrupting venerable Asian cuisines into Asian-lite. Still others grouse that he's enjoying his own cooking so much that he's turning into a chubby Buddha.
So what's Ming Tsai's impact on the AA male image? On the career ambitions of young AA males?
This interactive article is closed to new input.
Discussions posted during the past year remain available for browsing.
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WHAT YOU SAY
[This page is closed to new input. --Ed.]
(Updated
Tuesday, Apr 1, 2008, 05:53:32 PM)
so what's everybody eating for christmans?
villageidiot
Sunday, December 23, 2001 at 20:29:39 (PST)
penny,
"ming tsai" directly translates to "famous dish" in mandrin
villageidiot
Sunday, December 23, 2001 at 20:29:00 (PST)
Dumpling, I don't think that the article to the left shaped our perception of Ming, but merely added some info about him. I would bet that without the article, people would have a favorable opinion about him anyway.
am
Sunday, December 23, 2001 at 14:32:30 (PST)
Better than that fake fob Yan Can Cook.
I bet Ming Tsai can kick Yan's ass.
if yan can cook so can you
Sunday, December 23, 2001 at 14:17:28 (PST)
As an Asian, and a thinking person, I find it very offensive that the writer of this poll said that marrying another race is "adding insult to injury." How close-minded can you get? The writer is doing all Asians a disservice by suggesting that we are all prejudiced and unwilling to intermarry our fellow Americans.
Ming fan (who happens to be dating another race)
Sunday, December 23, 2001 at 09:12:11 (PST)
[The article suggests that his marriage may not be favorably regarded by some AA parents. It is clearly not the opinion of the article. --Ed]
I had an Asian friend from college who's sister dated Ming about ten years ago (I'm sure it's the same Ming Tsai). Then, he was struggling and working very hard. His girlfriend gave him a hard time for being a chef and not being successful in her eyes (being money, as she worked as a banker). It's great to see that he's now not only successful, but also a happy family man.
Repost
Sunday, December 23, 2001 at 08:40:21 (PST)
It's cool that he's doing what he loves and is great at, and getting attention for it. But...a lot of 1st-gen parents would NOT want their daughters marrying an AA chef if he didn't graduate from a high-profile college, and/or didn't make oodles of cash. A lot of very good chefs are not raking it in like Ming.
I Live to Eat
Saturday, December 22, 2001 at 23:40:04 (PST)
I think he's cool. I like it he always uses chopsticks on his shows.
I think he cooks better than a lot of the chefs on tv. Ming and his shows are definitely unique. He looks pretty cool, and cooks pretty good. Unlike other white chefs who look and cook awful.
asdf
Saturday, December 22, 2001 at 23:21:18 (PST)
ming tsai means 'main dish' in chinese. i wonder if he deliberately chose that name.
penelope
Saturday, December 22, 2001 at 22:59:04 (PST)
I seriously suggest everyone out there to watch Ming on tv. This guy has completely taken the AM media stereotype and thrown it out the window! My hat's off to him. It's so refreshing to see an AM pursue a non-traditional route in life and flourish at it. I'm an avid viewer of the TV Food Network. All the programs are good, but East Meets West is so distinct and innovative you can't help but be mesmerized by this guy. He's slick, witty, intelligent and extremely well versed. He executes his program with extreme flair, at the same time carefully paying due respect to his culture and heritage. Call him geek if you want, but Ming definately has my vote. I agree with "Ming is Right On"- you can't trust a skinny chef! Anyways, he's far from having a weight issue.
md
insdoc3@aol.com
Friday, December 21, 2001 at 20:21:41 (PST)
Hmm...I found this very scary. Most of the opinions here are no doubt largely based on the little information about him that's written on the left. It is scary because it shows, once again, how powerful the media is in shaping our opinions without our realizing it. Just a side thought...
Dumpling
Friday, December 21, 2001 at 14:24:11 (PST)
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