Mark Wiens (born 26 February 1986) is an American travel and food

blogger A blog (a Clipping (morphology), truncation of "weblog") is an informational website consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries also known as posts. Posts are typically displayed in Reverse chronology, reverse chronologic ...

vlogger A vlog (), also known as a video blog or video log, is a form of blog for which the medium is video. Vlog entries often combine embedded video (or a video link) with supporting text, images, and other metadata. Entries can be recorded in one ta ...

YouTube personality A YouTuber is a content creator and social media influencer who uploads or creates videos on the online video-sharing website YouTube, typically posting to their personal YouTube channel. The term was first used in the English language in 200 ...

, television host, and businessman based in

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

Personal life

Wiens was born in

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...

to a family of Christian missionaries. He is of German and Chinese descent. He has lived with his family in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, the

Democratic Republic of Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...

, and

Nairobi Nairobi is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Kenya. The city lies in the south-central part of Kenya, at an elevation of . The name is derived from the Maasai language, Maasai phrase , which translates to 'place of cool waters', a ...

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

. He attended

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public university, public research university in Tempe, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 as Territorial Normal School by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, the university is o ...

, graduating in 2008 with a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

global studies Global studies (GS) or global affairs (GA) is the interdisciplinary study of global macro-processes. Predominant subjects are political science in the form of global politics, as well as economics, law, the sociology of law, ecology, environmen ...

. After graduation, Wiens traveled through South America, and got a job teaching English in the mountains of

Patagonia Patagonia () is a geographical region that includes parts of Argentina and Chile at the southern end of South America. The region includes the southern section of the Andes mountain chain with lakes, fjords, temperate rainforests, and glaciers ...

. Wiens met his wife Ying while teaching English in Thailand. Their son Micah Wiens was born in 2016.

Career

Wiens is considered one of the most popular food vloggers. Wiens watched

Anthony Bourdain Anthony Michael Bourdain ( ; June 25, 1956 – June 8, 2018) was an American celebrity chef, author and Travel documentary, travel documentarian. He starred in programs focusing on the exploration of international culture, cuisine, and the huma ...

while a student and called him a pioneer. In 2009, Wiens started Migrationology.com, his food blog. In 2012, published an e-book, the ''Eating Thai Food Guide'', and quit his job to begin blogging and making

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

videos full-time. Wiens' travel vlog videos document his visits to dozens of countries. He has been featured as a Thai food expert by

New York Magazine ''New York'' is an American biweekly magazine concerned with life, culture, politics, and style generally, with a particular emphasis on New York City. Founded by Clay Felker and Milton Glaser in 1968 as a competitor to ''The New Yorker'' a ...

CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...

, and

Andrew Zimmern Andrew Scott Zimmern (born July 4, 1961) is an American chef, restaurateur, television and radio personality, director, producer, businessman, food critic, and author. Zimmern is the co-creator, host, and consulting producer of the Travel Channe ...

. In 2019, Wiens, along with Khun Tan (Thai food blogger), Khun Pongthep (designer and actor), Chef Gigg (Chef and Thai Iron Chef Champion) opened a restaurant, เผ็ดมาร์ค (Phed Mark), in Bangkok, specializing in

phat kaphrao ''Phat kaphrao'' (, ; ), also spelled ''pad kaprow'', ''pad kaprao'', or ''pad gaprao'', is one of the most popular Thai dishes in Thailand. History ''Phat kaphrao'' likely gained popularity around 1957, having been adapted from Chinese cuisine. ...

. In 2020, Wiens launched "The Ultimate Bangkok Food Tour" in collaboration with Bangkok-based tour company bangkokvanguards. In 2022, Wiens was announced as the host of the

HBO Asia HBO Asia is the Asian division of HBO, headquartered in Singapore. Originally launched on 1 May 1992 as MovieVision, it was rebranded on 1 June 1995 to its current name upon Home Box Office, Inc. purchase. The Singapore-based broadcast networ ...

series ''Food Affair with Mark Wiens''. The series, made in partnership with the

Singapore Tourism Board The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) is a statutory board under the Ministry of Trade and Industry of the Government of Singapore, tasked to promote the country's tourism industry. History The board was first established on 1 January 1964 and ...

and directed by

Eric Khoo Eric Khoo Kim Hai (born 27 March 1965) is a Singaporean film director and producer who is often credited for the revival of the Singapore modern film industry. Early life and education Born on 27 March 1965 in Singapore, Eric Khoo was the younge ...

, focuses on

Singaporean cuisine Singaporean cuisine is derived from several ethnic groups in Singapore and has developed through centuries of political, economic, and social changes in the cosmopolitan city-state. Influences include the cuisines of the Malays/Indonesians, C ...

Filmography

References

External links

Migrationology

Personal website

Publications

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wiens, Mark Food and cooking YouTubers Mark Wiens 1986 births Living people Arizona State University alumni American restaurateurs American people of German descent American people of Chinese descent YouTube channels launched in 2009 YouTubers from Arizona Mass media people from Phoenix, Arizona