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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?
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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, 05:53:30 PM)
He can put his shoes under my bed any day. He rules.
Mings the man.
Monday, March 18, 2002 at 08:34:20 (PST)
he's skinnier when young, quite athetitc also
mingtsai
Thursday, March 14, 2002 at 23:53:04 (PST)
What parent would honestly be disappointed if their child were Ming Tsai? He is a successful, highly educated, talented, polite, and honorable person. So what if his wife is white and from Dayton, OH? I don't think his parents should worry about who he marries as long as his "filial duty" to financially support his parents in their old age is completed. In fact, I'm a white female and my fiance is an American of Chinese descent. We have been together for almost 8 years, and both of our families absolutely love us!
Ming is Awesome
Monday, March 04, 2002 at 12:55:04 (PST)
I think Ming Tsai is successful, because he followed his heart and did something he truly loved. Too many Asian American kids do what their parents tell them, not what their heart desire. Imagine Ming Tsai stuck with engineering, do you think he would become someone in the top of the engineering field? Maybe he has the intelligence, but he would not have the drive since engineering is not his love. I have met so many Asian American kids who are good at engineering, medicine, law, etc, but are not great, because they went into those field for their parents, not themselves. I think Asian parents force upon those things on their sons more than their daughters as well, which is why we see more AFs in non tradition roles (acting, dancing, sports) than AMs.
NHB
Thursday, February 21, 2002 at 06:15:21 (PST)
To all those who comment on Ming's weight--here's a response:
BEWARE THE SKINNY CHEF!!!
Dude!!!
Wednesday, February 20, 2002 at 09:05:38 (PST)
I think he has a really nice show, and because he fell in love with someone of a different culture and race, does not make him any less Asian nor a "sell-out". To say that is to imply that anyone that follows their heart and marries the one they love regardless of race, is a traitor to their race. Having a mother who is Jewish and a father that is Dutch descent, I would say that thinking like that has more to do with prejudice instead of pride. There is a fine line there. My husband is Chinese and I do not think of him as a traitor for loving me, nor does his Asian friends. I wish Ming happiness and am glad in this world he found his love, regardless of her race. I also enjoy learning about Chinese cooking, so therefore he is doing alot to promote Chinese culture through that alone.
Hannah
Wednesday, February 20, 2002 at 06:16:27 (PST)
Yeah we should be proud of him. He's helping to portray a postive image of Asian American guys in the media(which is sorely needed). Also he's from Ohio, where all the Asians seemed to be ignored by those on the coasts.
AF in Ohio
Tuesday, February 19, 2002 at 18:57:59 (PST)
Do you think that Ming Tsai would be as successful if he had an Asian wife as oppose to a White "sports trophe" wife? I don't for the simple fact that no one honestly wants to see a non-White couple in a positive spotlight, especially that of Asian heritage. I think that having a Caucasian woman has put him ahead. Perhapse it's just my twisted thinking. What do you call it?
Chew On It
Tuesday, February 19, 2002 at 11:37:31 (PST)
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