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Edward Lee (chef)

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Edward Lee
Lee in 2018
Born (1972-07-02) July 2, 1972 (age 52)
Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
EducationNew York University (BA)
SpouseDianne Durcholz Lee (m. 2010)
Children1
Culinary career
Cooking styleNew American
Southern
Korean
Current restaurant(s)
    • SHIA
    • 610 Magnolia
    • Succotash Prime
    • Nami Modern Korean Steakhouse
    • NaCl
Award(s) won
Websitechefedwardlee.com
Korean name
Hangul
이균
Revised RomanizationI Gyun
McCune–ReischauerI Kyun

Edward Lee (born July 2, 1972), Korean name Lee Kyun (Korean: 이균),[1] is an American celebrity chef, author and restaurateur. He has made numerous television appearances on shows including The Mind of a Chef, Iron Chef America, Top Chef, and Culinary Class Wars. He owns multiple restaurants in Louisville, Kentucky and Washington, D.C. and has garnered several James Beard Foundation Award nominations. In 2019, Lee was awarded the James Beard Foundation Award for his book Buttermilk Graffiti, as well as the James Beard Humanitarian Award for his organization, the LEE Initiative, in 2024.[2][3]

Early life

[edit]

Lee was born on July 2, 1972, in Brooklyn, New York, to Korean parents. He began cooking at age 11 and credits his grandmother with first sparking his interest in food. He graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor's degree in literature from New York University.[4]

Career

[edit]
Lee (second from right) presented at the State Dining Room of the White House by First Lady Jill Biden at the April 2023 State Dinner for President Yoon Suk-yeol of South Korea, alongside White House Executive Chef Cristeta Comerford (middle) and pastry chef Susie Morrison (far right) (White House photograph by Adam Schultz)

Lee began cooking professionally at age 22 in a French Moroccan restaurant called Chez Es Saada in the East Village of Manhattan. One summer, he traveled to France and cooked in several restaurants, after which he spent five years learning Korean cuisine, as well as the cuisine of other parts of East Asia and Southeast Asia.[5]

On a trip to the Kentucky Derby in 2001, Lee fell in love with Louisville and Southern cooking.[6] He moved to the city in 2002 and began working at 610 Magnolia with former chef and owner Eddie Garber. Barely a year after he moved to the city, he became owner of 610 Magnolia.[7]

In 2010, Lee appeared on Season 8 of Iron Chef America.[8] The next year, in 2011, Lee was one of the "cheftestants" on season 9 of Top Chef. He won two elimination challenges and finished fifth in the competition. He was also the host chef featured in the third season of The Mind of a Chef, for which he received a Daytime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Culinary Host.[9]

In 2013, Lee published a cookbook, Smoke and Pickles. It received positive reviews from food journalists and other chefs including David Chang and Anthony Bourdain.[10] The next year, in 2014, Lee partnered with YouthBuild and IDEAS 40203 to create a culinary training program based in the Smoketown neighborhood of Louisville. The program trained youth, who may not be able to afford expensive culinary schools, with skills in all aspects of the restaurant industry.[11] In 2015, Lee's trainees launched a pop-up diner called Smoke & Soul.[12]

In 2017, Lee was the chef judge for the American adaptation of Culinary Genius.[13] The same year, Lee founded the LEE Initiative; Lee is an acronym for "Let's Empower Employment." The Initiative identifies issues surrounding diversity in the restaurant industry and creates solutions to help the restaurant community grow. The initiative includes two programs: Smoke and Soul, and Women Chefs in Kentucky.[14] During the COVID pandemic, the initiative developed the Restaurant Workers Relief Program to support workers laid off by shutdowns.[15] In 2024, the initiative won a James Beard Humanitarian Award.[3]

Visiting Chef Edward Lee prepares food in the White House Kitchen on April 26, 2023, for the official State Dinner for the Republic of Korea

In 2023, Lee was selected as the guest chef at the April 26 state dinner at the White House during South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol's visit to the United States.[16]

In 2024, Lee published his third book, Bourbon Land, which collects several recipes involving bourbon and elaborates its history and regional significance.[17] The same year, Lee participated on the Korean cooking competition show Culinary Class Wars on Netflix, finishing as runner-up.[18] There, he revealed his Korean first name, Kyun, in the finals round after making a dessert inspired by tteokbokki.[1] Shortly afterward, it was announced that Lee would be making an appearance on a reboot of the Korean show Please Take Care of My Refrigerator, which involves chefs cooking for celebrity guests using any ingredient in their refrigerators. The show is due to air in December.[19]

Cuisine

[edit]

Edward Lee's approach to cooking frequently blends the flavors of his Korean heritage and culinary traditions with the ingredients of the southern United States including sorghum, ham, and bourbon. In The Mind of a Chef, Lee said he believes that food that grows in the same latitude often blends well together, even if the locations are thousands of miles apart.[20]

Personal life

[edit]

Lee is married to Kentucky native Dianne Durcholz Lee.[21] They have one child.[22]

Restaurants

[edit]

In 1998, Lee opened his first restaurant, Clay, a small establishment in Manhattan serving Asian cuisine. Clay closed following the September 11 attacks.[23]

In Louisville, Lee has owned 610 Magnolia, a modern restaurant specializing in Southern cuisine, since the early 2000s.[7] There, in 2007, Lee opened a venue for special events called the Wine Studio.[24][25]

Lee also owns Succotash, a restaurant combining Southern and Asian cuisine, the first location of which opened in National Harbor in 2015.[26] Later, in 2017, he opened a second location for Succotash in Washington, D.C.[27]

In 2019, Lee opened a fine dining steak restaurant located at the Hodges Bay Resort & Spa in St. John's, Antigua and Barbuda, called NaCl.[28]

In 2020, Lee closed his Louisville restaurant, Milkwood, and briefly reopened it as McAtee Community Kitchen, named after David McAtee, which helped feed the West End, Shelby Park and Russell neighborhoods in Louisville during the COVID-19 pandemic.[29]

In 2023, Lee opened Nami Modern Korean Steakhouse in Louisville, which was named on USA Today's best restaurants list of 2024.[30][31]

In November of 2024, Lee opened a fine dining restaurant in Washington, D.C., called Shia, that aims to serve Korean American fusion cuisine, including his take on bibimbap which appeared in the tenth episode of Culinary Class Wars. The restaurant is environmentally conscious through sustainable practices such as being plastic-free, designing menus and coasters from leftover paper, and dehydrating waste.[32][33]

Current restaurants

[edit]
  • Shia (Washington, D.C.)
  • 610 Magnolia (Louisville, KY)
  • Succotash Prime (Washington, D.C.)
  • Succotash Prime (National Harbor, MD)
  • Nami Modern Korean Steakhouse (Louisville, KY)
  • NaCl – located in Hodges Bay Resort & Spa (St. John's, Antigua and Barbuda)[34]

Previous restaurants

[edit]
  • Milkwood (Louisville, KY)
  • Whiskey Dry (Louisville, KY)
  • Clay (Manhattan, NY)

Awards

[edit]

James Beard Foundation Awards

  • 2008–2010 James Beard Award for Best Chef Category Semifinalist
  • 2011–2017 James Beard Award for Best Chef Category Finalist
  • 2019 James Beard Award for Best Book of the Year in Writing[2]
  • 2024 James Beard Award for Humanitarian of the Year – Awarded to LEE Initiative[3]

Selected filmography

[edit]
Year Title Role Notes
2010 Iron Chef America Himself 2 episodes
2014 The Mind of a Chef Himself 7 episodes
2017 Fermented Himself Documentary[35]
2021 The Next Thing You Eat Himself Episode: "Restaurants: A Reckoning"
2024 Culinary Class Wars Himself 12 episodes

Publications

[edit]
Title Publication date ISBN Ref
Smoke and Pickles: Recipes and Stories from a New Southern Kitchen May 16, 2013 ISBN 978-1579654924 [36]
Buttermilk Graffiti: A Chef’s Journey to Discover America’s New Melting-Pot Cuisine April 17, 2018 ISBN 978-1579657383 [37]
Bourbon Land: A Spirited Love Letter to My Old Kentucky Whiskey, with 50 recipes April 2, 2024 ISBN 978-1648291531 [17]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b 강, 주일 (2024-10-09). "[스경연예연구소] "흑백요리사, 우승은 맛피아지만 주인공은 이균"". Sports Kyunghyang (in Korean). Retrieved 2024-10-10.
  2. ^ a b "All the 2019 James Beard Award-Winning Books You Need on Your Shelf". Food & Wine. Retrieved 2024-10-31.
  3. ^ a b c Hancock, Amanda (April 3, 2024). "Louisville-based organization founded by chef Edward Lee wins James Beard Humanitarian award". The Courier-Journal. Retrieved 2024-11-05.
  4. ^ "'Top Chef' Edward Lee on Why Lo-Mein Is as American as Apple Pie". NBC News. 2016-05-25. Retrieved 2024-10-21.
  5. ^ "Norman Van Aken's Kitchen Conversations: Edward Lee". The Daily Meal. 28 September 2015. Retrieved 2016-02-03.
  6. ^ "Behind the Scenes Chef Edward Lee 610 Magnolia Louisville KY". friendsdriftinn.com. 13 May 2012. Retrieved 2016-02-03.
  7. ^ a b Zuraw, Lydia (May 3, 2013). "Chef Edward Lee Adds Korean Spice To Southern Comfort Food". NPR.
  8. ^ "Garces vs. Lee". Food Network. Retrieved 2024-10-14.
  9. ^ "Edward Lee - Awards". IMDb. Retrieved 2024-10-21.
  10. ^ Lee, Edward (2013-05-01). Smoke and Pickles: Recipes and Stories from a New Southern Kitchen. Artisan. ISBN 9781579654924.
  11. ^ "Chef Edward Lee launches Smoketown program". The Courier-Journal. Retrieved 2016-02-03.
  12. ^ McMahan, Dana (2015-09-29). "Edward Lee Has An Idea To Help Solve The Chef Shortage". foodrepublic.com. Retrieved 2016-02-03.
  13. ^ "Louisville chef Edward Lee stars in new TV show 'Culinary Genius,' set to air Monday". Courier Journal. Retrieved 2018-01-02.
  14. ^ "Home". chefedwardlee.com.
  15. ^ Brownfield, Elizabeth. "Looking To Help The Restaurant Community? Armchair Travel To France In A New Doc Featuring Manresa Chef David Kinch". Forbes. Retrieved 2023-06-26.
  16. ^ "Edward Lee chosen as guest chef for White House state dinner". Associated Press. April 21, 2023. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
  17. ^ a b Al-Hatlani, Alana (May 30, 2024). "Chef Edward Lee's New Book Explores Kentucky's Beloved Drink". Southern Living. Retrieved 2024-11-05.
  18. ^ Bríñez, Ana Rocío Álvarez (19 September 2024). "Chef Edward Lee stars in a new Netflix show. Here are 5 things to know about him". The Courier-Journal. Retrieved 2024-09-25.
  19. ^ Kim, Ji-ye (2024-11-01). "'Culinary Class Wars' runner-up Edward Lee joins 'Please Take Care of My Refrigerator' reboot". koreajoongangdaily.joins.com. Retrieved 2024-11-05.
  20. ^ "Season 3 Episode 6: Latitude | The Mind of a Chef | PBS Food". PBS Food. Archived from the original on 2016-01-31. Retrieved 2016-02-03.
  21. ^ https://www.louisville.com/ed-lee-changing-courses
  22. ^ "24 Hours with Chef Edward Lee in Charleston, SC". The Daily Meal. September 2013. Retrieved 2016-02-03.
  23. ^ "How Louisville Turned a New Yorker into a Top Chef". Kitchn. Retrieved 2024-11-17.
  24. ^ "Wine Studio". 610magnolia.com. Archived from the original on 2016-02-07. Retrieved 2016-02-03.
  25. ^ "Peek Inside the Bold New Succotash Chef Edward Lee's Opened in D.C." 11 September 2017. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
  26. ^ Carman, Tim (September 2, 2015). "Edward Lee's Succotash to open on Labor Day at National Harbor". The Washington Post.
  27. ^ Carman, Tim (February 16, 2017). "Acclaimed chef Edward Lee is moving his base to 'cutting edge' Washington". The Washington Post.
  28. ^ Traveller, The Skinny (2019-04-22). "Hodges Bay – Antigua, Carribean [sic]". Gin & Bone. Retrieved 2024-11-17.
  29. ^ "Louisville chef closes restaurant to open community kitchen". whas11.com. 2020-06-10. Retrieved 2024-10-21.
  30. ^ Latham, Tori (2023-05-03). "One of Louisville's Most Celebrated Chefs Has Opened a Modern Korean Steakhouse". Robb Report. Retrieved 2024-11-05.
  31. ^ Gahan, Juliet (February 21, 2014). "Chef Edward Lee strikes gold again with Nami". spectrumnews1.com. Retrieved 2024-11-05.
  32. ^ Kim, Juliana (November 2, 2024). "Chef Edward Lee reflects on 'Culinary Class Wars', identity and his next chapter". NPR.
  33. ^ Venezky, Emily (2024-11-14). "D.C.'s New Shia Serves Korean Food With a Side of Sustainability". Eater DC. Retrieved 2024-11-17.
  34. ^ "Heading to the Caribbean? Don't Miss These 7 Celebrity Chef-Driven Restaurants". Yahoo Life. 2021-06-25. Retrieved 2024-10-21.
  35. ^ Cianfrani, Jonathan (2017-05-29), Fermented (Documentary), Zero Point Zero Production Inc., retrieved 2024-10-21
  36. ^ Forbes, Paula (2013-04-09). "First Look: Edward Lee's Cookbook, Smoke & Pickles". Eater. Retrieved 2024-11-05.
  37. ^ Norton, James (April 30, 2018). "'Buttermilk Graffiti' is a road trip in search of contemporary American cuisine". Christian Science Monitor. ISSN 0882-7729. Retrieved 2024-11-05.
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