Michael Mina

Michael Mina (Arabic: مايكل مينا; born 1969) is an American celebrity chef, restaurateur, and cookbook author. He is the founder of the Mina Group, a restaurant management company operating over 40 restaurants worldwide. He is the executive chef at his two namesake restaurants in San Francisco and Las Vegas, which each have earned a star in the Michelin Guide. He authored his first cookbook in 2006 and has made numerous television appearances.
Michael Mina was born in 1969 in Cairo, Egypt. He immigrated to the United States when he was young and was raised in Ellensburg, Washington.
Mina started working in a French kitchen in his hometown when he was 16. After high school, Mina attended the University of Washington and worked in the restaurant at the Space Needle, where he received his first exposure to working in a busy restaurant. He left after one year to attend Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York.
After attending the Culinary Institute of America, he worked at Tribeca Grill and Aureole restaurants in New York City. He worked in Los Angeles at the Bel Air Hotel with Executive Chef George Morrone. Mina followed Morrone to San Francisco in 1990 to help with Aqua. Following Morrone's departure from Aqua, Mina became executive chef and received numerous awards and accolades.
Michael Mina's approach to cooking revolves around balancing four basic elements: spice, sweetness, acidity, and richness.
Michael Mina has cooked for three United States Presidents.
In 2002, Michael Mina met Andre Agassi in Mina's restaurant in San Francisco; they partnered to start The Mina Group and open concept restaurants such as Nobhill Tavern and Seablue in Las Vegas.
In 2009, Mina opened RN74 in San Francisco, which was named for Route Nationale 74, the highway that passes through France's Burgundy region.
In September 2012, Michael Mina launched Cook Taste Eat, a digital culinary media company that delivers video content through daily emails and videos. Alongside co-host Michelle Branch, Michael Mina teaches viewers how to prepare restaurant-quality meals in their kitchen. Through daily emails and videos, viewers learn each meal one dish at a time, along with useful behind-the-scenes culinary tips and tricks.
In 2018, he opened Mina Brasserie in the DIFC financial district of Dubai.
Michael Mina is married to Diane Mina, who has her own line of Bloody Mary Mixes
In 2021, Mina was named by Carnegie Corporation of New York as an honoree of the Great Immigrants Award.
In 2024, Mina had one of his recipes highlighted in the Mercury News as a Super Bowl recipe.
In October 2006, Mina's San Francisco restaurant, Michael Mina, was awarded two Michelin stars, one of only four restaurants in the San Francisco Bay Area, to be a two-star recipient. For the 2010 San Francisco Bay Area Michelin Guide, Mina's San Francisco restaurant, Michael Mina, was demoted to one Michelin star, then it was excluded altogether from the starred list in 2011. For 2012, it returned to the starred list with one Michelin star.
In October 2011, it was awarded Esquire Magazine's Restaurant of the Year. In 2018, the Michael Mina flagship restaurant shifted to include more Middle Eastern food on the menus.
Recipes from International Smoke, his restaurant in San Francisco which he opened with Ayesha Curry, have been featured in publications such as the Mercury News.
In November 2006, Michael Mina released his first cookbook, Michael Mina: The Cookbook. The book presents a number of recipes with his "Trio concept" as well as his "classic" dishes.