Mei Lin Biography
Mei Lin is a Chinese-American chef and television personality best known as the winner of the Bravo television network’s reality television series Top Chef’s twelfth season. Lin won Top Chef in 2014 and worked as Oprah Winfrey’s personal chef before opening her first restaurant, Nightshade, in Los Angeles in 2019.
How old is Mei Lin? – Age
She is 36 years old as of November 29, 2021. She was born in 1985 in Guangdong Province, China.
Mei Lin Family – Education
She went to Fordson High School and Schoolcraft College. Lin and her family moved to the United States when she was a baby. They settled in Dearborn, Michigan, where Lin grew up helping her mother and father run their family-run Chinese restaurant.
Mei Lin Top Chef
Lin competed in Bravo’s Top Chef’s twelfth season in 2014. Lin faced off against challenger Gregory Gourdet in the series finale, which was shot on location in San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, Mexico. Lin’s fourth course, “Strawberry lime curd with toasted yogurt, milk crumble, and yogurt-lime ice,” stood out. During the Judges Table segment, judge Tom Colicchio proclaimed it the best dessert he has ever had on Top Chef, and one of the best desserts he has ever had in his life. Hugh Acheson, another Top Chef judge, agreed, calling the dish “blow-you-away amazing” and describing Lin as a “chef’s chef.”
Mei Lin Net Worth
She has an estimated net worth of $2 Million.
Mei Lin Career
In January 2019, she opened Nightshade in Los Angeles’ Arts District, which was the culmination of her personal culinary history and received rave reviews. Since its inception, the restaurant has received widespread critical acclaim, including being named one of Food & Wine’s Best New Restaurants, with the shrimp toast named Dish of the Year; and being named one of GQ Magazine and Eater National’s Best New Restaurants in America, as well as 2020 JBF Best Chef California & Best New Restaurant Nominations. The menu is concise, with much of it showcasing an elegant elevation of classic Asian dishes, such as her Mapo Tofu Lasagna with in-house pasta.
Prior to opening, she worked at a number of well-known restaurants, but she attributes the majority of her formal training and skill refinement to her time at Wolfgang Puck’s Spago Vegas and Michael Voltaggio’s ink. in Los Angeles. As a member of the ink. opening team, she spent the first three years working her way up the ranks, eventually becoming a sous chef. Lin also worked as a sub for Bryan Voltaggio at VOLT in Frederick, MD. She rose to fame as Top Chef on Bravo TV’s Emmy-winning show.
She previously appeared on Zagat’s 30 Under 30 list in 2015, won an episode of Esquire TV’s Knife Fight, and was named one of Eater’s Young Guns in 2014. Daybird, Lin’s fast-casual Szechuan Hot Fried Chicken restaurant, recently opened to critical acclaim.