Early life and career[edit]
Born in Seoul, South Korea, Lee moved to the U.S. with his family in 1982. At age 17, he began his career in restaurants at Blue Ribbon Sushi in New York.[7] He then went on to work and stage at fine dining institutions such as Pied à Terre, The Restaurant Marco Pierre White, Lucas Carton, Guy Savoy, Daniel, and Lespinasse.[8] In 2001, he began what would be his nine-year working relationship with Thomas Keller at The French Laundry. During that time, he also spent a year opening Per Se in New York City, returning to The French Laundry as head chef.[9]
In 2010, Lee opened Benu in San Francisco and within 6 months was included in The New York Times list of "10 Restaurants Worth a Plane Ride".[10] Benu has maintained three stars from the Michelin Guide since 2014.[11] It has also won the AAA Five Diamond Award, 5 stars from the Forbes Travel Guide, and a James Beard Award for Best Wine Program.[12][13][14] Benu’s fixed menu incorporates ingredients and techniques from many different cuisines, including Korean and Cantonese.[15]
Media and events[edit]
Lee has presented at several international culinary events such as Madrid Fusion, Gastronomika, Melbourne Food and Wine Festival, Global Leaders Forum, and Seoul Gourmet.[16][17][18][19][20] He has also given guest lectures at Harvard University and UCSF.[21][22] His television appearances include Charlie Rose and Korean documentaries produced by KBS, Olive TV, Arirang, and TV Chosun.[23][24][25][26][27]
In 2015, he authored Benu–a collection of recipes and essays that explores the restaurant's food, influences, and collaborators–with forewords by Thomas Keller and David Chang, published by Phaidon and designed by Julia Hasting.[28]
Lee also acted as food consultant for the film Coming Home Again, directed by Wayne Wang and based on The New Yorker short story by Chang-Rae Lee.[29]
Other projects[edit]
Drawing on his training in traditional French cooking, Lee opened the bistro Monsieur Benjamin in 2014.[30] In 2016, he opened In Situ inside the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.[31] Its website describes it as an exhibition restaurant that “[brings] together a revolving collection of culinary influencers, innovators, and icons to make their contributions accessible for greater public engagement.”[32] Hailed as “America’s Most Original New Restaurant” by The New York Times, it earned one Michelin star and won the 2018 James Beard Award for Best Restaurant Design (76 Seats and Over).[33][34] In November 2021, he opened SAN HO WON, a “Korean, charcoal BBQ restaurant located in the Mission District of San Francisco.”[35] It was named #1 Best New Restaurant in America by Robb Report and included in The New York Times 2022 list of their 50 favorite restaurants in America.[36][37]