Michael Mina
Chef & Founder of The MINA Group
“People can be addicted to hospitality, but it's not the job that you want to have unless you actually love it. I knew I loved it from day one.
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Podcast
EP 85: Michael Mina
Chef Michael Mina, Founder of MINA Group, went from washing dishes at fourteen to building a hospitality empire with 38 locations and 18 concepts....
Oct 27, 2026
EXPERIENCE
EDUCATION
When you're young, you feel like you have to have the answer to every question. That's one of the biggest mistakes because it puts an enormous amount of pressure on you, and when you're young, it's hard to handle the pressure the right way.
Don't limit yourself to what you think is your destination.
Always look forward when you're leading. Yes, you're leading the people under you, but you're also looking ahead at how you're being led.
If you're not working with talented people, maintaining balance gets really, really hard. The more you invest in the systems to either work with talented people or train people to become more talented, the better your work-life balance is gonna be.
If I could tell my younger self one thing, it would be slow down to speed up.
If you're struggling, make sure that the passion is there. Sometimes you need a change of environment, but it really comes down to your passion and whether you really want it. If it's the environment that's keeping you from doing that, don't just give up on the industry, maybe make a change.
I think so many people in hospitality become very laser-focused because a lot of this industry is very exciting. Things are always new and different and moving forward.
There's people that live to eat, there's people that eat to live. I live to eat, and I've always enjoyed it.
What's so inspiring is just seeing this food movement now. You see food in the United States is just exploding. Everywhere you go, there's great restaurants and great chefs and great restaurateurs, and the whole globe is being represented, which is amazing.
Disclaimer: Individuals featured in the Inspirational Career Timelines section have been nominated by peers, colleagues and/or other members of the hospitality industry. It is to the best of our knowledge that each individual has demonstrated leadership and acted as a positive role model for others.
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