During dinner time at “Lee,” the kitchen is a swarm of activity as the workers negotiate a variety of tasks in close proximity. Everybody seems very intently focused on their exacting tasks. While Lee used to be known as a taskmaster, he seems to have mellowed with age. He shares a playful moment with one or another of his staff members to lighten the mood, before they dash off in different directions. Lee doesn’t just stay behind the scenes. He will come out and sit with the patrons to chat and offer his recommendations, eager to share his latest creation. When two women gush with effusive praise for their dinner and ask to take a picture with him, he happily obliges. Out on the street, people recognize him from his television and magazine appearances and he stops to greet them. He carries his celebrity chef status well.
But it always comes back to the cooking. Lee isn’t about to let the economic climate slow him down. He remains constantly on the lookout for more food ideas, and fresh ways to make dining exciting. He is an artist working with flavours on the plate, rather than a palette. “The bottom line is still food. It’s all sweet, sour, salty and bitter. In that circle, you can always pick and create something. I always say, ‘Preserve the old, and know the new.’ It’s so important to have those thoughts in cooking, because everything comes from tradition. Everything that’s very old is actually very new.”
Click here to view Lee’s website.
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