15 Facts About Danny Bowien

James Daniel Bowien was born on 1982 and is a Korean-born American chef and restaurateur.

Danny Bowien is the founder and owner of Mission Chinese Food in New York City and Brooklyn and co-founder of Mission Chinese Food in San Francisco, California.

Danny Bowien is a James Beard Award winner, and the main subject of season six of the food and travel show The Mind of a Chef.

Danny Bowien, born in South Korea, was adopted at a young age by a family in Oklahoma.

Danny Bowien had various jobs, including as a dishwasher in a Vietnamese restaurant, and at age 19 he moved to San Francisco.

Danny Bowien partnered with Anthony Myint on a series of food truck pop-ups including Mission Street Food and Mission Burger, and with the owners of a Chinese restaurant called Lung Shan on Mission Street, started Mission Chinese Food as the first restaurant-within-a-restaurant pop-up.

Danny Bowien was nominated the 2011 Rising Star Chef by the San Francisco Chronicle, and in 2012 he was a James Beard Award Finalist.

Danny Bowien was included in Food and Wine Magazine's 40 Big Thinkers under 40, and San Francisco Chronicle's Bay Area 30 under 30.

In May 2013, Danny Bowien was awarded the prestigious "Rising Star Chef" by the James Beard Foundation for his work in the Mission Chinese Food in San Francisco and New York City.

In 2014 Danny Bowien moved Mission Chinese Food to New York's Chinatown.

In 2017, Danny Bowien was chosen to be the main subject of the sixth season of the food and travel show The Mind of a Chef.

In 2018, Danny Bowien opened a new Mission Chinese Food location in Bushwick, Brooklyn in front of the independent music venue Elsewhere.

In September, 2020, Danny Bowien announced permanent closure of the Mission outpost on East Broadway in Chinatown, due to the hardships COVID-19 had on the hospitality industry.

Danny Bowien is recognized for his impact on the democratization of fine dining.

Danny Bowien is known as a populist, making food that is accessible to everyone.