Edward Lee (chef)

Edward Lee is a Brooklyn-born celebrity chef, author and restaurateur. He has made numerous television appearances on shows including The Mind of a Chef and Top Chef as well as a judge on Gordon Ramsay's Culinary Genius. He is a nine-time James Beard Award nominee, owns multiple restaurants throughout the United States and the Caribbean, and is the author of two award-winning books Buttermilk Graffiti and Smoke and Pickles.

Early life, family and education
Lee was born on July 2, 1972, and raised in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, to Korean parents. He began cooking at age 11 and credits his grandmother with first sparking his interest in food. Before college, he worked in a traveling circus. He graduated magna cum laude with a degree in literature from New York University.

Career
Lee began cooking professionally at age 22. He traveled to France and toured the US to learn more about different ingredients, cuisines and cooking methods.

On a trip to the Kentucky Derby in 2001, he fell in love with Louisville and Southern cooking. He moved to the city in 2002 and began working at 610 Magnolia with former chef/owner Eddie Garber. Lee now owns 610 Magnolia along with several other restaurants; Whiskey Dry in Louisville, two locations of Succotash, in Washington, D.C., and National Harbor. He is also consulting chef of Nami Steakhouse and Neighbors Noodles in Louisville. Lee's restaurant, Milkwood (Louisville, KY) closed in 2020 and reopened as McAtee Community Kitchen to help feed neighboring communities during the Covid pandemic. In 2007, Lee opened a venue for special events called The Wine Studio@610 Magnolia.

In 2011, he 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.

In 2014, Lee partnered with YouthBuild and IDEAS 40203 to create a culinary training program based in the Smoketown neighborhood of Louisville. The program trains youth who may not be able to afford expensive culinary schools with skills in all aspects of the restaurant industry. In 2015, Lee's young chef trainees launched a pop-up diner called Smoke & Soul.

Lee has been nominated four times by the James Beard Foundation for Best Chef: Southeast in 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014. In 2013, he published a cookbook, Smoke and Pickles. It received positive reviews from food journalists and other chefs including David Chang and Anthony Bourdain.

In 2017, Lee was the chef judge for the American adaptation of Culinary Genius.

In 2017, 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. During the COVID pandemic the initiative developed the Restaurant Workers Relief Program to support workers laid off by the shutdowns. 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.

Cuisine
Edward Lee's approach to cooking frequently blends the flavors of his Korean heritage and culinary traditions and 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.

Personal life
Lee is married to Kentucky native Dianne Durcholz (Lee). Their daughter, Arden, was born in 2013.