Ming's love of cooking was forged in his early years. Raised in Dayton, Ohio, he spent hours cooking alongside his mother and father at Mandarin Kitchen, the family-owned restaurant. His experience taught him about restaurant operations and most importantly, the art of making customers happy through food. 

In high school, 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 summers attending Le Cordon Bleu cooking school and apprenticing at area restaurants in Paris. After graduating from Yale, Ming moved to Paris and trained under renowned Pastry Chef Pierre Herme and then on to 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. 

In 1998, Ming 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, and was nominated by the James Beard Foundation as "Best New Restaurant 1998". That same year, Esquire Magazine honored Ming as "Chef of the Year". The James Beard Foundation crowned Ming "2002 Best Chef Northeast" and since 2002, the Zagat Restaurant Guide rated Blue Ginger within the "Top 5 of Most Popular Restaurants". In 2007, Blue Ginger received the Ivy Award from Restaurants & Institutions for its achievement of the highest standards in food, hospitality and service. In 2009, Ming and Blue Ginger won IFMA's Silver Plate Award in the Independent Restaurant category recognizing overall excellence in the country. In 2012, Boston Magazine ranked Blue Ginger as one of the 50 Best Restaurants. In June 2017, after 19 years of excellence, Ming closed Blue Ginger to pursue other opportunities. See more about Blue Ginger here.

In early 2013, Ming opened his second restaurant Blue Dragon - an Asian gastro pub located in the Fort Point Channel area of Boston. The tapas-style menu features Ming's East-West approach with a twist on traditional pub favorites. Blue Dragon was named one of Esquire Magazine's "Best New Restaurants 2013" and one of Zagat's "24 New Restaurants You Need to Know About Around the US".  For more information on Blue Dragon click here. 

Born out of disappointment in variety and quality of options in the market while trying to find quick vegan options for his wife, Chef Ming Tsai created MingsBings, a delicious veggie patty. In 2017, Chef’s wife Polly was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer. As they explored medical treatment options at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Polly also made the decision to transition to a vegan diet with the hope of lowering inflammation by using food as medicine. Ming knew he could create delicious options while at home, but was disappointed by the options he found in the grocery store to stock up on while he was away for work trips. In that moment, MingsBings was born to create a product full of easily recognized ingredients and most importantly, absolutely delicious. Beyond being filled with 8 delicious superfoods, MingsBings contributes to two organizations close to Chef’s heart- The Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Family Reach. Learn more about MingsBings here.

Ming is the host and executive producer of the public television cooking show, Simply Ming. In 2009, Simply Ming received two Emmy nominations for "Outstanding Culinary Program" and "Outstanding Lifestyle/Culinary Host", and received two Bronze Telly Awards in the categories of "Lighting" and "Art Direction". 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, also aired on Food Network. In the summer of 2008, Ming traveled to the Beijing Olympics with NBC's Today Show to provide viewers with insight into food customs and traditions that define his Chinese heritage. 

In addition to television, Ming is the author of five cookbooks: Blue Ginger: East Meets West Cooking with Ming Tsai, Simply Ming, Ming's Master Recipes, Simply Ming One-Pot Meals, and Simply Ming In Your Kitchen.