Childhood nicknames are often discarded during one's journey through life, but no nickname is more appropriate or prophetic than the one which was given to Mai House s' executive chef, Bao Michael Huynh. Bao, which means special or precious in his native Vietnamese, is not only the name given to two of his restaurants, but it is also the prefect description for the unique culinary experience that the self-taught Huynh creates with each dishes.

The product of an architect and restaurateur, Huynh, known as "The Architect Chef," has seamlessly merged childhood influences from his parents into a career that encapsulates many facets of the restaurant industry. Born in Saigon, Huynh's love of culinary pursuits was fostered by his mother, Nghia Nguyen, a cookbook author of traditional Vietnamese cuisine, as well as the owner of Thuy, a successful restaurant in Vietnam. A precocious child, Huynh started cooking at the age of twelve and even contributed a few recipes to one of his mother's cookbooks. Huynh's other influence, his father Hy Huynh, was a respected architect whose works included the statue of Buddha on the hilltop of Vung Tau resort in Vietnam.

Recognizing that their son's talents could stretch far beyond their shores, Huynh left Ho Chi Minh City in 1982 for America. He soon settled in upstate New York with his adopted family that owned an Italian restaurant. After a short period of training and working as a sous chef, he soon climbed the ranks to executive chef. While continuing as a chef, he deciced to follow his father's footsteps and enrolled at the NY Institute of Technology to study architecture in 1987.

After working at several restaurants, including Saigon Bistro, Huynh's two disciplines of architecture and culinary arts began to merge. Soon he was designing, planning and building restaurants with chefs like Guy Rough of Mirabelle and Nello Balan of Nello. In September of 2002, Huynh opened his own restaurant. Though he quickly gained the reputation as a chef to watch (The James Beard Foundation singled him out a "tastemaker"). New York Magazine has recognized Huynh as one of the BEST CHEFS of 2003.