Transcript
>> HINOJOSA: East meets West in
his kitchen, his cookbooks, and
in his life-- chef,
restaurateur, TV host, and
author Ming Tsai.
I'm Maria Hinojosa, this is One
On One.
Ming Tsai, it's great to have
you on this show.
>> TSAI: Thank you; it's great to be
here.
>> HINOJOSA: So people know you
because of your televisions show
Simply Ming, they might know
you because of your books, or
they might know you because of
your restaurant Blue Ginger.
But here's the question that I
have for you.
So you are third-generation
Yalie...
>> TSAI: Correct.
>> HINOJOSA: But you... even
though your grandfather studied
at Yale, he went back to China.
Your dad studied at Yale, and
then ended up...
>> TSAI: And stayed.
>> HINOJOSA: ...staying here.
>> TSAI: Yup.
>> HINOJOSA: You're then born...
>> TSAI: I was born in Newport Beach,
California.
My brother and I.
>> HINOJOSA: And you grow up in
Dayton, Ohio.
>> TSAI: And we ended up in Dayton,
Ohio.
Culinary capitol of the world.
>> HINOJOSA: You know, I didn't
know this about Dayton, Ohio!
>> TSAI: ( laughing )
Yeah, no; not so much.
>> HINOJOSA: But the questions
was how was it, you know,
growing up-- and you were the
first Chinese family in Dayton,
or one of the few?
>> TSAI: We were... we always joked
that when we had our Chinese
friends over to our home, we
were Chinatown.
( laughing)
So there weren't that many, no.
There weren't a lot.
>> HINOJOSA: So what was it like
in terms of food?
Because you know what?
Kids can be kind of intense when
you're like, suddenly bringing
something different to lunch
that's not peanut butter and
jelly.
>> TSAI: No, you're right, you're
right.
We actually... we did both.
Being in Dayton, and... there
probably was 50 Chinese people,
so we did want to blend in, so
we absolutely had turkey for
Thanksgiving, and we'd have the
pot roasts, and mom had the
famous clay pot that she would
always do the chicken in.
So we certainly had American
food, and dad's famous one was
his Texas toast and steak.
You know, getting big steak from
Woody's Market, and he'd buy
these big steaks.
Texas toast was just a thick
sliced bread on a griddle.
But thank God, they also cooked
tons of Chinese food as well.
It was, one, it was just the
best food in the world.
I still say that.
I'll say that to my grave.
But it's also part of our
culture, and all... everything
that happened in our family, it
usually started at the dining
room table.
>> HINOJOSA: What do you mean?
>> TSAI: Any decisions-- "Where do you
want to go for vacation," or
"What are you thinking about
schools," "How come you're not
doing this or doing that?"
The discussion was always at
5:30, keep in mind.
This is in the Midwest; you ate
dinner at 5:30.
>> HINOJOSA: Right.
>> TSAI: And but the dining room table
was when-- I had one brother--
the four of us would get
together, and that's any family
issue or discussion would happen
there over great food.
>> HINOJOSA: So was there this
whole pressure-- or not
pressure, but the sense of
wanting to blend in-- from a
culinary place?
Like, what would you take to
lunch, for example, when you
were a kid growing up?
>> TSAI: Yeah, that's a great
question.
I mean, we'd do two things.
Sometimes I would just take the
baloney sandwich or that turkey
sandwich, and I'd be normal with
the Fritos or whatever.
Keep in mind, though, back then
there was... the school lunch
was 40 cents, so we would
actually buy lunch as well.
>> HINOJOSA: Okay.
>> TSAI: So this is at South
Elementary School, and as a side
note, 40 cents, everyone got a
dime.
I used to cross the street to
buy a case of hot tamales for 5
cents a piece and sold them for
ten, and I said...
>> HINOJOSA: ( laughing )
>> TSAI: ...and they would say, "Why
is it ten cents?"
I said, "Because you don't have
them, and do you want it or
not?"
So that's how I started my
entrepreneur.
>> HINOJOSA: Oh, my God!
>> TSAI: Absolutely.
>> HINOJOSA: You were...
>> TSAI: This was fifth grade.
Fifth and sixth grade.
>> HINOJOSA: ...fifth grade
business man in food!
>> TSAI: Yeah, exactly.
Well, I'm not sure hot tamales
is food, but...
>> TSAI: All right, well, okay, that's
true.
>> TSAI: It's sugar.
>> HINOJOSA: That's true, true.
>> TSAI: But sometimes, mom would then
back a thermos of hoisin pork
and... served hot with this
potato bread.
So I would break this open,
right?
And people are eating their tuna
fish and PBJs, and I'd take...
and I'd... and then literally
the crowd would form.
>> HINOJOSA: ( laughing )
>> TSAI: And I'd be like, "Two
sandwiches for half of this,"
and I would barter.
So I would end up, sometimes,
with eight sandwiches.
I should be obese, considering
how many sandwiches I got, and
I'd be like, "Give me the two
pieces fruit-- banana-- and a
sandwich, I'll give you one
hoisin pork."
Teachers, too, started getting
involved, and then I'm like,
"Okay, come on, guys, enough!"
That was funny.
>> HINOJOSA: So but still, so
you got the whole food thing,
right?
But there was still this like,
"Well, Ming, you've got to go to
Yale."
>> TSAI: Absolutely.
I mean, you used to see these
pictures...
>> HINOJOSA: And be an engineer,
right?
>> TSAI: I had a couple rules growing
up.
One is, "Ming, get any grades
you want"-- my brother and I had
the same rules-- "any grades you
want, as long as they're
straight A's.
Be anything you want, as long as
it's a doctor, lawyer, or
engineer, and if you marry
Asian, that'd be great too."
I am 0 for three!
( laughter )
>> HINOJOSA: No kidding!
>> TSAI: ( laughing )
No, not even close!
My... all those aside, though,
my wife, Polly, speaks fluent
Chinese, so... and is loved by
my parents to death.
I never got straight A's, and I
did study mechanical engineering
at Yale, I did graduate...
>> HINOJOSA: You did make it
to... you made it to Yale.
>> TSAI: I got my diploma.
My motto was "D is for Diploma"
my Senior year because I had to
get the piece of paper, but
literally two weeks after
graduating I went to Paris and
started cooking.
>> HINOJOSA: So you knew food
was it?
You... how did you know that?
>> TSAI: I knew... I mean, at age six
I made my first Duncan Hines
cake.
I thought it was fascinating
that you could take eggs, oil
with this mix and-- poof-- in 30
minutes there was a cake.
And yeah, all my friends are
playing baseball and whatnot,
and they'd be like, making fun
of me a little bit until the
game was over and I had then I
had this cake.
I'm like, "Oh, you want some
cake?"
( laughing )
>> HINOJOSA: And so you were
like, the hit!
"Let's go to Ming; he's going to
eat!"
>> TSAI: Yeah, "Let's go to Ming's and
eat some cake."
And then at age ten-- and this
is what really... I remember
this story to death-- a couple
showed up at our door.
This was back in Dayton, Ohio,
where the doors are unlocked,
right?
It was very safe for everyone in
the world.
And this couple was driving
through, but I recognized them.
They were... we called everyone
"Uncle" and "Auntie," but they
were not, you know, blood.
But the first thing you ask in
Chinese culture is not, "How are
you," but "Chifanle le ma,"
which is "Have you eaten?"
Because we... although we care
how you are, we're more
concerned about, "Are you
hungry," which gives me an
opportunity to eat, as well.
So of course, they said, "Oh,
I'm starved."
I quickly made fried rice.
I never had made fried rice,
which was an issue-- I'm ten
years old-- but I'd seen my
grandparents and parents make
tons of it.
So I said, "Well, I'll do it."
I made it.
It was about a six out of ten in
quality.
I think I put too much soy
sauce, too much oil, but what I
did see is they smiled and they
were happy, and they were like,
"This is fantastic stuff."
And that stuck-- that you can
make people happy through food.
And then eventually, my mom
opened the Mandarin Kitchen in
Dayton, Ohio.
She taught a lot of cooking
classes and was encouraged by
her friends.
Both my brother and I went to
Andover to prep school so we
were empty nesters... they were
nesters early on.
And that was my summertime job
age 14, 15, 16, working at the
Mandarin Kitchen.
And then once again, it kept
continuing-- I can make people
happy through food, give them
good value, and it stuck that
that "restaurant bug" as they
call it; I got it early on.
>> HINOJOSA: Ming, talk a little
bit about that experience at
Cordon Bleu.
What did it mean in terms of
your career and understanding
that no, you were not going to
be an engineer from Yale; you
were going to do something else?
>> TSAI: It was significant because up
until Cordon Bleu, I cooked only
Chinese, so I learned about
primarily Beijing style food--
Mandarin style food-- from both
my parents and grandparents.
So I ended up going to Cordon
Bleu and I had a wonderful
French family, the Moussards,
that I got to stay for free in
France, which is huge.
I go to Cordon Bleu, I realize
that-- wow!
The French can cook, too!
>> HINOJOSA: ( laughter )
>> TSAI: Because up until that point,
I thought it was all Chinese,
Chinese, Chinese-- especially
with desserts, right?
We don't have desserts in
Chinese cuisine.
You know, milk was never... you
know, cream was not around in
China, so the pastry cream and
soufflÈs and crËme anglaise and
all that stuff was like, just...
it just completely opened my
world.
And the first thing I actually
thought about was, "Why can't I
take Chinese and French to
combine the techniques and the
ingredients?
Why can't there be that flavor
combination?"
Because it seemed to work-- I
mean, we call it a wok, they
call it a sautÈ pan.
I mean, it's the same technique,
the knife skills are the same,
and that really got me thinking
I can not only perhaps be a
chef, but I can cook what I like
to eat by combining the cultures
that I've learned from.
>> HINOJOSA: And so how would
you categorize, or if you had
to, kind of describe what your
cooking ended up becoming?
Because you're not... you're
like, "I don't want to be a
fusion cook," so what... how do
you describe..
>> TSAI: I don't like the term
"fusion," because "fusion" is so
forced.
That's what you do with atoms,
so that's... that's what
scientists do.
Food is blending, so I call it
East/West cuisine which in a
nutshell is the blending of
Eastern and Western techniques
that produce a food that is bold
in flavor-- so if you say it's a
ginger broth or a lemongrass
coating, you want to really
taste that-- that has
contrasting textures and
temperatures.
I love crunchy and smooth, I
love hot and cold, so hot shrimp
toast on a gazpacho or a banana
split, right?
You have hot fudge and cold ice
cream and crunchy nuts.
And at the end of the day... a
lot of my food at the end of the
day is inherently healthy.
I'm not a health nut.
I don't really care about
calories and fat, but because of
the steaming and the braising
and even flash-frying-- which is
with flour versus a batter-- you
can cook more healthily with
without sacrificing flavor,
which I think is the key.
Because anyone can make a
granola blah, blah, blah with no
fat and is great for you, but it
doesn't taste very good.
So how do you make food that
does really taste good and
people come back for it that's
also good for you as well?
>> HINOJOSA: Now, you say that
in the Chinese culture the first
thing is like, "Are you hungry?"
>> TSAI: Right.
>> HINOJOSA: So you would think
that if everybody's kind of
always being offered food that
you would have a population that
would be obese.
Not so.
>> TSAI: No, not at all in China.
It's the... a lot of people are
studying it.
I mean, talk about the food
pyramid.
But it's really a combination of
like, a steak here-- you go to
one of these steak houses in
Boston, that meat would feed a
family, probably, for a week.
That, you know, 18, 22 ounce rib
eye.
And I think it's the ratio of
carb to protein to sauce and to
veg.
There's much more vegetables in
Chinese food.
And you don't eat... you don't
sit down and eat a huge... you
know, you might eat a lot of
little things, but you're not
eating that much quantity.
>> HINOJOSA: So portion control.
>> TSAI: Absolutely.
Same in Europe.
I mean, look at the French.
They're eating foie gras and
blah, blah, but they're eating
this.
Whoever invented "supersize"
really should be taken...
>> HINOJOSA: What is that about?
What do you think, I mean, when
you think about kind of, you
know, let's talk foodie culture
here...
>> TSAI: Right.
>> HINOJOSA: ...what is that
about in the United States?
It's like, you've got to have
the biggest, grand slam, you
know, all-you-can-eat...
>> TSAI: Yeah, I think it's parallel
with what's going on everything
with this country-- with Wall
Street, as well-- it's excess.
We somehow became the country of
excess, and more is better.
The bigger the house, the
better.
The more cars, the better.
The bigger the plate of food,
the better.
It's very warped, and it's a
shame, because it's quality, not
quantity, that should matter.
>> HINOJOSA: So I feel like
there's something that's
happening in the United States,
that on the one hand you have
the most availability of food
shows, the Food Channel, food
cooking, everything-- on the
other hand you have massive
bombardment of fast food, you
know?
So it's like this double thing.
Like, "Cook at home, do this,"
but at the same time, when...
you know, with working families
it's going to be like, "Oh, wow,
I really could do that great
Ming recipe, or call, or drive
through."
How do you see it?
>> TSAI: Well, I think on top of that
is people... it's really... it's
warped, but people, by watching
cooking shows, are getting their
fix of cooking and so end up not
cooking themselves, which is the
exact opposite of what we're
doing...
>> HINOJOSA: Like, you guys have
actually looked at this
statistically?
Like there is a...
>> TSAI: That is one of the theories
that... I mean, Michael Pollan
said this.
I mean, it's amazing.
There's so many more cooking
shows than ever before, but less
and less Americans are actually
cooking.
And we actually think it's
because, "Oh, that looked great.
Okay, that's my fix, but I'm
just going to go order out."
It's sad, because the reason I'm
doing a cooking show is to teach
people how to cook, to hopefully
make them eat, or help them eat,
more healthily, and talk about
different cuts of meat or fish
and all the Omega-3 and all the
wonderful things you can get
through food.
But at the end of the day... and
it is-- I'm glad you're talking
about this-- it's one of the
major problems is obesity in
this country.
And that starts with school
cafeteria, that starts with the
food source, that starts with
everything that we can effect a
little bit.
But the reality of the situation
is if you're a single mom with
two kids and you have ten
dollars, you can actually get
sustenance at a fast food place
for five bucks for each kid.
And without the knowledge and
the time-- yeah, you can buy
organic carrots and this and
that, but if they don't know how
to put it together... that's
reality.
>> HINOJOSA: Well, and what
about when you have these
communities that are now being
called "Food Oasis," where for
example, you're in a poorer
community and you cannot find a
place to get fresh vegetables,
you cannot find a place that's
going to sell you fresh fruits,
so all you can get-- and you've
seen this-- the kids walking out
with soda pop for breakfast?
>> TSAI: That's horrible.
>> HINOJOSA: As a foodie-- as an
insider-- what do you do about
taking on the "food industry,"
right?
Because this is, like, a lot of
people don't want to talk...
we're all about supposedly
getting healthy and doing the
right thing and eating smaller
portions-- what about the food
industry, Ming?
>> TSAI: It's such... this world is
run by money and corporations
with money, and that's the
challenge.
Because it's easy to go to a
Coca Cola or any one of them and
say, "You need to stop putting
so much sugar," and this and
that, but they're making
billions of dollars, so why
would they listen to someone
like me or anyone?
And what has to happen is that
the government has to get much
more involved.
The FDA and everyone on down has
to really make law.
I mean, it's absurd, but what's
going on now in New York is they
post, you know, fat and calories
at all the fast food places.
>> HINOJOSA: And no trans fat.
>> TSAI: And... but what has
happened-- I was speaking to one
large company-- what's happened
is people now realize that this
chicken salad actually has as
much fat as their pasta
primavera, so now they're going
to eat the primavera, because if
they're going to go out, they
might as well eat the primavera
instead.
So it doesn't... just because
you're giving the information
doesn't necessarily mean people
are going to change their
habits.
I think it has to go back to
just educating.
I think we have to teach
families and children-- starting
in second and third and fourth
grade-- about you are what you
eat.
And that old adage has been here
for years and years, but is so
true.
And you really need to think
about what you can eat and how
government can help the
schools-- starting with the
cafeterias-- to educate.
Because in some instances, the
kids will then educate the
parents.
Because some of these parents
are working their two or three
jobs.
They don't know about what is
good food, or they could
actually get a good meal making
this soup or whatever.
>> HINOJOSA: So we actually need
just young Mings at home waiting
for us, cooking at nine years
old, cooking, you know, a little
bit of fried rice.
>> TSAI: A little fried rice, a little
chicken soup, a little sautÈed
spinach, I mean, any of that
stuff.
>> HINOJOSA: So take me inside
for a little bit, because I'm
not a foodie.
>> TSAI: Right.
>> HINOJOSA: I would love to be
a foodie.
Honestly, I don't think I can
afford to be a foodie, because
it's expensive out there to be a
real foodie.
But let's talk about foodie
television-- the politics behind
foodie television.
Like, when you're looking at
these new cooking shows, are
things better, or are we looking
at cooking shows where actually
it's like, you know, open up a
can and make it seem like you're
really... what do you see?
>> TSAI: Well, I think there's two
types of cooking shows now.
I think there's the ones that
are based on entertainment-- and
there's nothing wrong with that,
and they're entertainers, and
they're Nielsen rates... you
know, they're the ones that talk
about Nielsen ratings, and
they're trying to get higher
Neilsen, they're trying to get
more demographics, so they're
entertaining people and food is
just kind of the conduit.
So they're not really "chefs,"
per se.
I mean, look at the Food
Network, and they're a huge
success, but there's really one
chef left at the Food Network--
there's Bobby, right?
I mean, a true chef that owns a
restaurant, that still cooks for
a living?
The rest are entertainers.
And there's nothing wrong with
the Rachel Rays of the world.
I mean, she's done fantastic,
but she's not a chef.
So fortunately, they do have
some shows that are called, you
know, the healthy cooking shows
and what not, so they're trying
to promote that, but I think it
is our responsibility as chefs--
and as an industry-- to be able
to show easily how you can make
good-tasting food.
And that is not the emphasis and
the focus, I think, when people
are trying to create new cooking
shows.
I think they're all talking
about, "Okay, what do people
want?
How can we make it popular?
How can we make it successful?"
If it happens to be healthy too,
great, but that's not the focus.
That's not what they're
thinking.
If it ends up at the end of the
day, fine, but their focus is on
entertainment.
>> HINOJOSA: So not necessarily
so good for a chef like you.
>> TSAI: Well, if you take... one of
the reasons I actually came to
public television was because in
the public television arena, you
can still do a true cooking
show.
So Simply Ming for me is I'm
still honestly cooking the food
I love to eat and do.
It's simpler than what we do at
Blue Ginger, but it's still true
cooking.
And you look at Lidia
Bastianich, you look at Rick
Bayless, all... there's Mario
Batali now-- all of us are
really cooking on public
television, and I think that's
the new forum where most of the
chefs are.
>> HINOJOSA: All right, so I
just love the fact... because
like you, I'm an immigrant.
Born in Mexico.
My mom is a great cook; and
amazing cook with six kids in
the family... or six of us all
together-- fresh meal every
single day.
Wow, did we love watching Julia
Child.
You actually met Julia Child.
>> TSAI: Oh, I've met her a bunch of
times.
I'll tell you one of my two
favorite stories.
One-- the first time she came to
Blue Ginger, I was petrified.
I mean, I don't really get
nervous for people, right?
I don't care if you're the
president of this or CEO of
that, but when Julia Child was
coming in, I'm like...
>> HINOJOSA: Well, how did you
know?
Did they call?
>> TSAI: Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Oh, yeah; they called.
They fortunately gave me the
warning, so, you know, so
everyone stood at attention, and
of course I did the best meal I
possibly could.
And I ended up serving this foie
gras course.
It's a shumai, it's steamed, and
I knew she's never had this
preparation, and after she ate
that, she... the waiter says,
"Julia wants to speak to you."
So I'm thinking, as I'm walking
over with my shoulders up like,
"Oh, she's going to say it's the
most creative, or the tastiest,
or the best," and I have an open
kitchen, right?
And she goes, "Ming, you don't
have one woman line cook!"
I'm like, "Oh, God!"
>> HINOJOSA: Oh, my God!
>> TSAI: Right into my chest!
I'm like... and she was right.
And look, I love women-- I
married one!
But... at that point at Blue
Ginger, there was not a woman
line cook.
And you know, there's only 5%
women in our industry anyway,
and oh, I was so crushed.
I went back to the line and the
cooks are like, "What did she
say?"
I go, "Shut up, keep cooking!"
Fast forward a few months later,
I get invited to her home.
She was shooting a show with
Jacques PÈpin, right?
Julia and Jacques.
It was a sandwich show.
And she started with an ice
cream sandwich, and she started
the segment with, "When I was an
itsy, bitsy girl, I loved ice
cream sandwiches," took a bite,
and then Jacques' like, "Well,
in the South of France where I
grew up, I had pain au
chocolat," he'd take a bite.
They were like, "Cut."
They had to redo the lighting.
There was some bad movement.
So they grabbed Jacques'
sandwich, they grabbed Julia's,
she was like, "Nope!"
( slurping sound )
She ate three entire ice cream
sandwiches.
She became my instant hero.
Then we went to Rialto, where
Julia cooked a fantastic six
course meal.
She just chowed, which is
awesome, because she was someone
that loved to cook, but loved to
eat even more.
>> HINOJOSA: So do you think
that things are going to-- in
terms of food in Americans-- are
things going to get better
before they get worse?
What do you see?
>> TSAI: Yeah, that's a great
question.
I think it's still going to get
worse before it gets better.
I mean, I think there's a lot...
you know, there's the slow food
movement and everyone's talking
about cooking locally, and you
know, we do as much as can.
We use Verrill Farms, we're
trying to get meats that are at
least from around here, we get
water that's local now and not
from Fiji, so we're all trying
to be the... you know, reduce
the carbon footprint, be as
green as we can, cook as
healthfully as we can, but
that's just restaurants, and you
know, not everyone in America
goes to restaurants.
I mean, more people still do
cook at home.
And I think it's us continually
supplying information and
teaching people the simple ways
to cook-- to make tasty food.
It's not... I think if you try
to shove, "This is healthy for
you," no one's going to eat it.
No one wants to know it's
healthy, they just want to know
if it tastes good.
And is it affordable?
You know, I work with the
Greater Boston Food Bank.
They move 50 million pounds of
food a year out of their new
facility, which is crazy, and
they're busier than ever.
And that's part, of course, of
the recession and people losing
jobs and what not, but there is
an opportunity at least with
that, that, "Well, here's some
food; here's what you can do
with this food."
And I think that's going to help
our country.
Again, it's important to start
with the children.
You have to teach them.
>> HINOJOSA: And the children is
another reason why you are a
real spokesperson for this
particular issue, which is food
allergies.
Who would have thought that you
would give birth to a son who,
at the time-- very early in his
life, as an infant-- had
allergies to...
>> TSAI: Soy, wheat, dairy, shellfish,
peanuts, tree nuts, and eggs.
Seven of the top eight.
>> HINOJOSA: Peanuts... what
came after peanuts?
>> TSAI: Tree nuts.
>> HINOJOSA: Tree nuts.
>> TSAI: So all nuts.
>> HINOJOSA: All nuts.
>> TSAI: Walnuts, Macadamia nuts,
almonds, cashews...
>> HINOJOSA: So what does
that... like, when you realize
that and you're like, "Okay, how
am I supposed to... I'm a
foodie!
I've got all this..."
>> TSAI: Yeah.
Well, we always joke that it's
the unfunny joke from upstairs.
The good news, though, is I'm a
chef, so you can never feel bad
for David.
David grew up eating organic New
Zealand lamb rack and Alaskan
line-caught halibut with fried
rice or fried rice noodles.
So... and Asian cuisine too,
because he was, you know, wheat
allergy, rice was okay so all
the rice products still worked.
So he ate fine, but it ended up
being my calling.
Everyone has their calling in
life, and my calling became
being the national spokesperson
for FAAN-- the Food Allergy
Anaphylaxis Network.
And it's crazy.
In the last ten years, there's
ten times more peanut allergies
than ten years ago.
>> HINOJOSA: What's that about?
Why?
>> TSAI: It's... I'm not a doctor, but
from all the research I've done,
it's a combination I think
primary is we overprescribe
antibiotics.
>> HINOJOSA: Hmm.
>> TSAI: No one grown up on a farm.
I don't know if you did;
probably not.
>> HINOJOSA: Nope.
>> TSAI: So because you don't grow up
on farm anymore, you don't build
your immune system naturally,
and nowadays, if a kid has a
cough-- boom-- antibiotic.
And our one salient or proof was
David... in utero, my wife got
an infection.
She got antibiotics for the
infection, so he... his immune
system was compromised in utero.
Because our other son, Henry,
has no allergies.
And so we just... we're too
clean.
So antibiotics, the hand
sanitizers everywhere... I say
this in jest, but I think
it's... it would work.
If you have a newborn, you
should go to a farm and roll him
in some cow manure.
>> HINOJOSA: ( laughing )
>> TSAI: Seriously.
That's going to make your kid
healthy.
The kid needs to get sick and
build up their immune system.
And that plus a combination with
over processed food... a
carrot's barely a carrot now.
So food has been so processed.
And you know, the environment;
something.
So it's a combination of all of
that.
But it's the fact that we are
too clean and we over prescribe
antibiotics.
>> HINOJOSA: So what do you want
us to take away from... you
know, because my kids, for
example, there has been one kid
in the entire... because they've
had the same kid in their
classroom for all their years,
and the kid actually was over at
our house and said, "Yes, I'm
the one that's allergic to
peanuts."
And Julian was like, "Right, I
can never take a peanut butter
sandwich to school."
How do you deal with that kind
of like, there's a little bit of
tension there.
>> TSAI: Oh, there totally is.
And look, we were... we live in
Natick and we looked at the
Natick school system.
They did not have a peanut
policy in place, although they
were willing to do something.
But you know, six, seven years
ago that was that table did not
have peanut butter but the other
tables are okay.
Well, that doesn't work, because
if a kid touches a door knob and
he just ate peanut butter and my
kid touches the door knob and
puts it to his mouth, he can...
it's cross contamination.
So we actually looked at tons of
different schools, and Park
School, where they go, had a
peanut policy-- a nut policy--
in place.
And I think that's what you have
to do.
That's no nuts, ever.
You can never bring food into
the school, so no birthday
cakes.
It's... there's zero tolerance.
You can't have a little bit.
There's kids that cannot walk
into Fenway Park because they
can't breathe in peanut
molecules in the air.
They can go into anaphylaxis.
It has to be that extreme.
>> HINOJOSA: And you did this
for your restaurant.
This is part of what you wanted
to do.
>> TSAI: Well, we... we recently
passed law-- which I'm very
proud of-- to make restaurants
safer.
And we did not pull the peanuts
out of my restaurant, though,
purposely.
I mean, I own Blue Ginger, so I
could have done anything, but we
have a system that shows what
you need to do to guarantee that
this dish does not have nuts--
even though there is nuts down
the line, but use a new pan or
you clean the grill, or you use,
you know, you don't use a
steamer.
It's all about educating
people-- just like obesity.
It's about educating people
about cross-contamination.
And we're a busy restaurant, so
it'd be one thing to pull all
the allergens out of it, but I
couldn't pull soy out of my
restaurant, right?
Between soy sauce and everything
we use?
So it's about how you control it
with a system that on a Saturday
night, you can look at this
system and we have checks and
balances.
There's seven points of checks
between when the food is ordered
and then it's served to the
child or the adult.
And we go through it, and you
know, I mean, we've messed up
twice.
Fortunately, no one's ever
gotten sick.
But that's twice out of, you
know, 500,000 to 700,000 people.
And so there's a way to be able
to serve people safely.
And the law right now is you
have to post this poster we
developed with FAAN that talks
about cross-contamination, you
have to put this blurb on your
menu that "If you have food
allergies, notify your server
while ordering."
That helps everyone-- that helps
the restaurant itself and the
client-- and there's a Serve
Safe training.
We're developing a training
system that will talk about food
allergens specifically.
And my best analogy is when you
talk about raw chicken.
People get what they're supposed
to do when they cut raw chicken,
right?
They got to wash, and wash the
knife, wash the board.
It's the same thing with
allergens.
If you cut peanuts on the board,
you have to wash everything
completely off.
Same thing.
>> HINOJOSA: All right, well
thanks for all those lessons,
Ming.
>> TSAI: You're welcome.
>> HINOJOSA: Thank you, and
you're going to treat me to
dinner, okay, one of these days!
>> TSAI: I hope so!
I'll cook you some Mexican food.
>> HINOJOSA: I love it!
See you then.
Thank you.
>> TSAI: Thank you.
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