Cultural Fusion
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2016.037.023 Oral History Interview with Ming Tsai 2015/10/19

Ming Tsai talks with MOCA about his lifelong relationship with food and how he came to be one of the most successful East-West fusion chefs. Listen in as Ming explains the role that food and cooking played in his early life growing up around his grandparents in a Chinese-American household and visiting Taiwan. Despite going to Yale for a degree in engineering, he ultimately decided to become a chef, and after working in several famous French kitchens and culinary schools, he pursued a hospitality degree at Cornell which launched him into hotel management. He eventually followed his dream of becoming a chef-owner at his own restaurant, Blue Ginger. Throughout the discussion, Ming weaves in beautiful anecdotes about food and his philosophy of how to blend cuisines successfully. He concludes his discussion with his thoughts on the importance of charity in his life and his experience using food for diplomacy.