Biography
Michael Ty is a Certified Executive Chef® (CEC®) and a member of the American Academy of Chefs (AAC), and served as the American Culinary Federation’s (ACF) national president from 1993 to 1994 and current national president from 2009 to present. In Las Vegas, he owns and operates MT Cuisine, LLC, which offers event management, chef consulting, sales and marketing of foodservice products for Chefs Hat, Inc.; and Hospitality Culinaire, Inc.—a family owned business that is a quick-service restaurant operation featuring two branded concepts at McCarran International Airport.
Ty received his Associate of Science degree in culinary arts from the State University of New York (SUNY) at Cobleskill in 1973. He continued his education with coursework at the University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV) in Harrah Hotel College’s Hotel Management and Food and Beverage Management departments.
In 1975, Ty moved to Las Vegas and took a job at Caesars Palace Hotel and Casino. He moved up through the ranks until he was promoted to executive chef in 1982 and food director in 1986. In 1989, he assumed the position of executive chef at the world-renowned Desert Inn, Las Vegas. From 1997 to 2000, Ty served as executive chef at Lawry’s The Prime Rib, Las Vegas.
The ACF Chef & Child Michael Ty Endowment Fund was established in 2000 to provide a scholarship for an ACF chef who has dedicated countless hours to fighting childhood hunger, working on behalf of the foundation and teaching the children who benefit from CCF programs.
Ty was born to Chinese parents in Manila, Philippines, the third of six children. His family immigrated to the United States in 1966 and settled in Waterbury, Conn. In 1968, they moved to Waverly, N.Y., where he lived until he moved to Las Vegas. Ty is the father of four children, ages 17 to 30.
Employment and Accomplishments
• Chef/Owner, MT Cuisine, LLC, Las Vegas, 1999-Present
• Owner/Operator, Hospitality Culinaire, Inc., Las Vegas, 1994-Present
• Advisory board member, SUNY at Cobleskill, UNLV Harrah Hotel College’s Hotel
Management department and Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts—Las Vegas, current
• Events committee member, Nevada Restaurant Association, 2008-2009
• Chapter Treasurer, Fraternity of Executive Chefs of Las Vegas (now ACF Chefs Las Vegas), 1998-1999
• Executive Chef, Lawry’s The Prime Rib, Las Vegas, 1997-2000
• Chair, ACF National Convention, 1996-2000, 1989-1993
• Vice President, Fraternity of Executive Chefs of Las Vegas, 1996-1997
• President, ACF National Chapter, 1995-1996
• Visiting Chef, U.S. Naval Academy, as well as Shore to Ship Admiral Reception and USS Kitty Hawk, 1994-1998
• National President, ACF Chef & Child Foundation, 1994-1995
• National President, ACF, 1993-1994
• Executive Chef, Desert Inn, Las Vegas, 1989-1997
• Executive Chef (1982), Food Director (1986-1989), Caesars Palace Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas
• President, Fraternity of Executive Chefs of Las Vegas, 1990-1993
• Founding Member, Southern Nevada Culinary Apprenticeship program, 1982
Personal Accomplishments
• Honorary Lifetime Member, Canadian Culinary Federation, 2010
• Humanitarian Award, ACF Epicurean Club of Boston, 2009
• Honorary Texan, Texas Chefs Association, 2009
• Business School Hall of Fame inductee, SUNY at Cobleskill, 2008
• Outstanding Achievement Award, ACF Savannah Chefs Association, 2006
• Chapter Hall of Fame inductee, Fraternity of Executive Chefs of Las Vegas, 2003
• President’s Medallions, ACF, 1989, 1995, 2000
• Antonin Carême Medal, presented by the Chefs Association of the Pacific Coast (now ACF San Francisco Chapter), 1999
• Honorary doctorate degree, Johnson & Wales University, 1998
• U.S.A.‘s Chef of the Year™, 1997
• ACF Western Region Chef of the Year, 1991, 1994, 1997
• Chair’s Medal, AAC, 1996
• Community Achievement Award—Tourism, Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce, 1996
• Certification of Appreciation, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), 1994
• Distinguished Visiting Chef, Johnson & Wales University, 1994
• Industry Achievement Award, UNLV Harrah Hotel College’s Hotel Management department, 1994
• Five Star Diamond Award, One of the Best Chefs in America, The American Academy of Hospitality Sciences, 1994
• ACF Western Region Chef Professionalism Award, 1991
• Inductee, AAC, the honor society of ACF, 1991
• Bronze medal, ACF Culinary Arts competition, 1989
• President’s Award, Fraternity of Executive Chefs of Las Vegas, 1987
• Chef of the Year, Fraternity of Executive Chefs of Las Vegas, 1986
• Distinguished Alumnus Award, SUNY at Cobleskill, 1984
