On October 8, Michael Mina released his second cookbook, My Egypt. The Egyptian-born celebrity chef, who operates five restaurants in Las Vegas with another on the way, calls the book “the ultimate passion project.”
On October 11, he held a party at his eponymous Bellagio restaurant to celebrate its release. That night, he sat down with the Food and Loathing podcast to discuss his motivations for the book, researching the recipes in Egypt, and the reaction of the woman who inspired it.
Exploring His Roots
Mina says that while he moved to the United States when he was just two years old, he grew up eating the cuisine of his native land. He was always determined to explore it more fully someday. And he recently realized the time was now.
“I really wanted to get this book done while my parents are still here with us,” says Mina. “They’re 90 and 92.”
“My Egypt” is Mina’s second cookbook; he knew they take time. He also knew this one would take longer than most because he wanted to research it and shoot all the photos in Egypt.
“The concept of the book was to really get a feeling of the food my mom used to make, and then [explore] how it’s made traditionally, and the heart and soul of where it comes from.”
From there, he would add personal touches to the recipes “to bring just a little bit of new innovation.”
Discovering The Influences
Mina says he and his team loved exploring Egypt and meeting its people.
“They would give you the shirt off their backs, and they don’t have much,” he says of the Egyptians he encountered.
“Everyone is funny. Everyone loves to laugh. Everyone is emotional, and people love to tell stories. They’re cooking your [food] and [have] stories to tell you. And it was beautiful. I learned a tremendous amount about the food.”
In the process, he learned the origins of many dishes he had long associated with his childhood. While he had set out to shine a spotlight on the nation of Egypt, he soon learned that many of the dishes he associated with his homeland had much deeper roots.
“What I learned through the journey was how much of the food that I grew up eating was Greek, or Greek-influenced, or other influences, because of how many times Egypt was invaded and how much the Middle East shares their cuisines.”
Enjoy At Home, Or On The Strip
Translating the lessons he learned in Egypt into recipes people could easily make at home was another challenge, but something that was important to the chef this time.
“The first [book] was more restaurant focused,” he concedes of “Michael Mina: The Cookbook,” released in 2006. “And the recipes [could] take four days to make.”
This time around, a priority was for home cooks to be able to follow recipes easily in their kitchens.
“There’s a lot of really simple recipes in this book. And I think that’s how you can really connect with a book.”
For those who don’t trust their abilities, Mina notes that many of the dishes in the book are also available at his restaurant, Orla.
“I always knew that I was going to do a restaurant that paid homage to my youth,” the chef says of the Mandalay Bay Greek restaurant.
“And then, when I really got into the research and saw the crossover with Greek … these unbelievable classic Greek techniques with a lot of Middle Eastern seasoning and spices, I just thought that was so fun to bring to life in a restaurant.”
Mom’s Thoughts
So, how does his first culinary mentor, his mother, feel about his interpretations of her dishes? The chef laughs when asked.
“You know, when she eats at the restaurant, she’ll still tell me it’s really good, but hers is better.”
