Miyoko Schinner

Schinner was born in a town outside of Tokyo, Japan as Miyoko Nishimoto.[5] She came to the United States when she was seven,[5] grew up in Mill Valley, California,[6] and at age 12 decided to become a vegetarian (which led her to cooking her own meals).[7] She began college at the Pratt Institute in order to study graphic design, but dropped out after a year.[7] She eventually transferred to St. John's College in Annapolis,[5] and graduated with a B.A. in Philosophy in 1979.[7]

After moving to Japan,[6] Schinner transitioned to eating vegan in the mid-1980s.[8][9] In 1994, she opened the vegan restaurant Now and Zen in San Francisco. It eventually expanded into a natural food company of the same name, and was sold in 2003.[10]

Schinner also launched the UnTurkey brand, which she exhibited at the 1995 Natural Products Expo alongside competitor Tofurky.[11]

In 1991 The Book Publishing Company published her first vegan cookbook The Now and Zen Epicure.[12] In 2012, it published Artisan Vegan Cheese, which Food & Wine referred to in 2021 as "the seminal cookbook that put vegan cheesemaking on the map."[13]

Also in 2012, Schinner began co-hosting PBS cooking show Vegan Mashup, with Toni Fiore and Terry Hope Romero.[14]

Schinner's 2015 book, The Homemade Vegan Pantry[15] was named one of the Best Vegan Cookbooks by Good Housekeeping magazine in 2019.[16]

Schinner's 2021 publicationThe Vegan Meat Cookbook: Meatless Favorites. Made with Plants, was named one of the "best new cookbooks to start 2022" by The San Francisco Chronicle.[17]

• Nishimoto, Miyoko (1991). The Now and Zen Epicure: Gourmet Cuisine for the Enlightened Palate. The Book Publishing Company. ISBN 978-0913990780.
• Nishimoto Schinner, Miyoko (1999). Japanese Cooking: Contemporary & Traditional [Simple, Delicious, and Vegan]. The Book Publishing Company. ISBN 978-1570670725.
• Nishimoto Schinner, Miyoko (2001). The New Now and Zen Epicure: Gourmet Cuisine for the Enlightened Palate. The Book Publishing Company. ISBN 978-1570671142.
• Schinner, Miyoko (2012). Artisan Vegan Cheese. The Book Publishing Company. ISBN 978-1570672835.
• Schinner, Miyoko (2015). The Homemade Vegan Pantry: The Art of Making Your Own Staples. Ten Speed Press. ISBN 978-1607746775.
• Schinner, Miyoko (2021). The Vegan Meat Cookbook: Meatless Favorites. Made with Plants. Ten Speed Press. ISBN 978-1984858887.

In 2014, Schinner launched the vegan cheese company Miyoko's Kitchen (later renaming it Miyoko's Creamery).[18][19] Tofurky founder Seth Tibbott was the company's first investor.[20] In 2016, the Specialty Food Association reported the company had "grown 300% year over year," and "they recently signed on to a new 28,000+ square-foot headquarters in Petaluma."[20]

Schinner married Michael Schinner[6] and as of April 2023 is going through a divorce.[26] They have three children, a son (a basketball player in Japan) and two daughters.[6]

In 2018, Melaina Juntti of New Hope Network described Schinner as a "vegan rock star."[8] Also in 2018, she was among 28 women featured in PopSugar's "28 Women Changing the World Right This Second" list, a project backed by UN Women.[27]

• Vegan cheese

• Miyoko Schinner on Instagram
• "The Vegan Good Life With Miyoko" on YouTube