This week, Chefs Feed met up with renowned chef Lee at his restaurant in SoMA.
December 6, 2013
● 1 min read
CF: I'm best known for my _______ cooking but I can make one hell of a _______.
CL: refined, tasting menu-style; breakfast
CF: A few words your sous chef would use to describe you.
CL: Hard but fair.
CF: What are you most excited about right now in your restaurant?
CL: Dried and aged abalone from Iwate in Japan. The texture and flavor of dried versus fresh abalone are totally different. When high-quality dried abalone is prepared properly, it has a dense, silky texture like cured egg yolks, and the flavor becomes intense in glutamates so it's wonderfully rich and savory. The ones available domestically are questionable and I only recently found a reliable supplier in Hong Kong that can supply us.
CF: Which chef would you drop everything to stage with?
CL: Chef Jiro Ono. I ate at his restaurant, Sukiyabashi Jiro, in 2006 and it left a great impression on me. It was a lesson in how to distill a restaurant down to what really matters.
CF: Insider tip from the kitchen for your diners.
CL: We write custom menus for our regulars. On any given night, we have several different menus being offered simultaneously based on what you've had before.
CF: Message to professional food critics.
CL: Anonymity is overrated when critiquing restaurants. Knowing who you are allows us to service you better, whether you're a critic or a regular diner. Opinions about food are highly subjective, and even critics have preferences or dislikes. The more we know about our guests, the better their experience will be.
CF: One piece of advice for aspiring young chefs.
CL: Be patient. Invest the time to really learn how to cook and work in a kitchen before trying to manage it. It will pay off in the long run.
CL: refined, tasting menu-style; breakfast
CF: A few words your sous chef would use to describe you.
CL: Hard but fair.
CF: What are you most excited about right now in your restaurant?
CL: Dried and aged abalone from Iwate in Japan. The texture and flavor of dried versus fresh abalone are totally different. When high-quality dried abalone is prepared properly, it has a dense, silky texture like cured egg yolks, and the flavor becomes intense in glutamates so it's wonderfully rich and savory. The ones available domestically are questionable and I only recently found a reliable supplier in Hong Kong that can supply us.
CF: Which chef would you drop everything to stage with?
CL: Chef Jiro Ono. I ate at his restaurant, Sukiyabashi Jiro, in 2006 and it left a great impression on me. It was a lesson in how to distill a restaurant down to what really matters.
CF: Insider tip from the kitchen for your diners.
CL: We write custom menus for our regulars. On any given night, we have several different menus being offered simultaneously based on what you've had before.
CF: Message to professional food critics.
CL: Anonymity is overrated when critiquing restaurants. Knowing who you are allows us to service you better, whether you're a critic or a regular diner. Opinions about food are highly subjective, and even critics have preferences or dislikes. The more we know about our guests, the better their experience will be.
CF: One piece of advice for aspiring young chefs.
CL: Be patient. Invest the time to really learn how to cook and work in a kitchen before trying to manage it. It will pay off in the long run.