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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?
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WHAT YOU SAY
[This page is closed to new input. --Ed.]
(Updated
Tuesday, Apr 1, 2008, 05:53:29 PM)
People,
Leave Ming alone.
Sure, the man is chunky (Hell, 2/3 of the population is chunky, so what's your problem?); however, he is a good cook and seems to really enjoy what he does. He is intelligent affable and well spoken. His smiley, chubby buddha image is perfect for a cooking show. A chef who enjoys his own creation is a good chef.
Bon apetite, Ming.
Just an AM
Wednesday, July 10, 2002 at 12:10:47 (PDT)
David,
The title of the show " East Meets West" should clue you in to the fact that the whole premise and the appeal of the show is that fusion. That is what has made it so popular!! Why on earth would he want to change the format? I don't see that happening...
Ming's Fan
Thursday, July 04, 2002 at 14:41:28 (PDT)
Anyone watch Martin Yan's China Town? That guy is awesome!
If Yan can, you can.
Wednesday, July 03, 2002 at 16:03:50 (PDT)
Ming Tsai's cooking show is enjoyable to watch but there is too much Thai/Japanese dishes in his more recent episodes. And what's with fusion? I would rather eat tradition cuisines. I prefered the old Ming Tsai shows in the late 90's and not the more recent ones. The show would be the best if it was all Chinese cooking and the "West" would be how to cook it for Westerners.
David
Saturday, June 29, 2002 at 19:31:34 (PDT)
I LOVE MING TSAI!! badly for me that he was already married. hehehe!! he is a role model for all aspiring chefs especially to asian men. ming were proud of you. you are professional. and a good looking one. keep up the good work!!
the philippines love you!!
Michelle Mencias
Monday, May 20, 2002 at 12:27:18 (PDT)
you should call him nouveau AM -- the "elle" ending in nouvelle would be the adjective for a feminine noun. He is still a "he"!
chicky poo
Friday, May 17, 2002 at 17:30:51 (PDT)
[We are playing off "nouvelle cuisine", not trying to satisfy the French Academy. --Ed]
I am an Asian American male of Chinese descent. I even have an Ivy League education like Ming and enjoy cooking. Any of you fine ladies (all skin colors accepted) want to take a trip on the Orient Express? ;)
All abroad!
Wednesday, May 15, 2002 at 19:08:50 (PDT)
WOO HOOO Lady I hear ya!! Can I have him twice on Saturdays then?
Happy Clam
wschien1@mchsi.com
Friday, April 12, 2002 at 09:42:46 (PDT)
I'm a white broad who'd bang Ming Tsai any day of the week, twice on Sundays.
There. I've said my piece.
Lady Shizuka
notme@hotmail.com
Wednesday, April 10, 2002 at 11:32:00 (PDT)
In my opinion Ming Hater and Dumpling are jokes. Ming is an excellent cook and had to of worked really hard to get where he is, and people like you guys to bring race in as an issue just shows how uneducated you are, This is one of my favorite shows (Ming's Quest) and for him to have a family and a job that requires him to travel and be very busy, and still be able to share quality time with his family is very impressive. Ming is hands down the most creative and well decorated chief I've ever seen...
Aaron
Thursday, April 04, 2002 at 10:52:34 (PST)
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