Christopher Lee (chef) facts for kids
Christopher Lee is a famous chef known for his amazing cooking style called New American cuisine. This means he creates new and exciting dishes using fresh, local ingredients, often mixing different cooking traditions.
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Becoming a Chef
Christopher Lee learned how to cook at the California Culinary Academy. After finishing school, he worked in many top restaurants in big cities like New York City and San Francisco. He learned from famous chefs like Daniel Boulud at Restaurant Daniel and also worked at Jean Georges and The Fifth Floor.
Rising Through the Ranks
Chef Lee's career really took off when he became a sous chef at Oceana, a seafood restaurant in New York. A sous chef is like the second-in-command in the kitchen, helping the head chef run everything. Oceana received great reviews from major newspapers like The New York Times.
After that, he moved to Philadelphia to work at Striped Bass. He quickly became the executive chef there. An executive chef is the head chef who manages the entire kitchen and creates the menus.
Gaining Fame in New York
In 2006, Chef Lee returned to New York City to be the executive chef at a restaurant called Gilt. This job brought him international attention. Under his leadership, Gilt earned its first-ever 2-star rating from the prestigious Michelin Guide. Michelin stars are a very high honor in the cooking world, showing how excellent a restaurant is.
New Adventures
Later, Chef Lee joined Charlie Palmer as the executive chef at Aureole in New York. He helped transform Aureole into a large restaurant in Times Square. It had different dining areas, each with its own menu, all run from one big kitchen.
In 2010, Chef Lee also opened his own restaurant called Eden South Beach in Miami Beach, Florida. Eden offered his special New American cuisine in a relaxed setting. He also helped open Huntington Social, a gastropub, in his hometown of Huntington, New York. The New York Times even called Huntington Social a "hidden gem."
Giving Back
Chef Lee believes in helping others. He has supported many local charities. These include Share our Strength, Miami Animal Services, the Miami Zoo, and the Huntington Historical Society. He also contributed to a memorial for September 11.
Sharing His Knowledge
Christopher Lee has his own company called C.LEE Consulting. Through this company, he advises other restaurant owners on how to run their businesses.
Awards and Recognition
Chef Lee has received many important awards for his cooking:
- "Top Ten Best New Chefs of 2006" by Food and Wine Magazine
- "Best Chef 2005" by Philadelphia Magazine
- Striped Bass received a highly-rated "Four Bells" review from The Philadelphia Inquirer.
- Striped Bass was named one of "Best New American Restaurants 2004" by Travel + Leisure.
- Gourmet magazine listed Striped Bass as one of the top restaurants in the country in 2006.
- He was nominated for the James Beard Awards "2005 Rising Star Chef of the Year."
- He was nominated by the James Beard Foundation for "2006 Best Chef, Mid-Atlantic."
- Gilt earned "2 Michelin Stars" from The Michelin Guide under his guidance.
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