Growing up in a Middle Eastern family, Michael Mina fondly remembers his mother’s falafel, and the hours spent around the dining room table. Mina, who was born in Egypt and immigrated to the United States with his family when he was two, now likes to mix the spices and influences of his youth with the fresh ingredients he finds in California.
The celebrity chef is the founder of Mina Group, which operates 45 restaurants around the world, including the Michelin-starred Michael Mina flagship restaurant in San Francisco. He has cooked for three American presidents, including two in one week (George W. Bush and Bill Clinton) and — most memorably — lunch for then President Barack Obama.
“It blew my mind,” Mina recalled in an interview Venice magazine. “Here I am, this punk kid from a little town — an immigrant! — talking with the president of the United States. This business has given me the most amazing opportunities.”
Mina has received many honors for his culinary art, including James Beard Foundation Awards and multiple Michelin stars. He was inducted to the Who’s Who of Food & Beverage in America in 2013, and named Gayot Best Restaurateur in the U.S. in 2011 and Bon Appétit Chef of the Year in 2005. Mina, who got his first restaurant job when he was 15, is coauthor of Michael Mina: The Cookbook, which has a foreword by tennis legend Andre Agassi, one of Mina’s business partners.
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