THROUGH THE PRISM

Edward Lee's story is one of resilience, creativity and cultural connection. From his Brooklyn roots to his years spent quietly developing in Louisville to Culinary Class Wars fame, his career reflects the twists and turns of life, shaping a chef who sees the world through food's infinite possibilities

- By Fontaine Cheng

Edward Lee’s career defies easy categorisation. A champion on Iron Chef America, a guest chef at White House state dinners and a star of Netflix’s Culinary Class Wars, he’s built a career that spans a variety of roles. As chef-owner of 610 Magnolia and Nami Modern Korean Steakhouse in Louisville, Kentucky, and, most recently, Shia, a non-profit fine dining restaurant in Washington DC, Lee merges culinary innovation with cultural storytelling. He’s a James Beard Award-winning author, with books—Smoke & Pickles, Buttermilk Graffiti and Bourbon Land—that explore the connections between food, identity and heritage, underscoring his dual talents as a chef and storyteller.

Lee was born and raised in Brooklyn to Korean immigrant parents, and had a childhood steeped in the traditions of a homeland he had never seen. “My parents moved here in 1971 and I was born in 1972,” he says. “As an immigrant family, you lose so much when you leave your homeland—language, rituals, history. But the one thing we held onto was food.”

Food was the anchor in Lee’s household, a daily ritual of Korean home cooking that tied him to his roots. His parents, alongside his grandmother, who lived with the family, played central roles in this preservation. “I didn’t grow up in Korea and only visited for the first time when I was 16 but, through food, I had a Korean upbringing,” he says. “It gave me a foundation to understand Asian flavours in a natural way. I’m so grateful for that.”

His fascination with food began early. “I don’t remember a time when I didn’t want to cook,” he says. “Other kids were collecting baseball cards or comic books. I’d go to laundromats with my mum where people would leave magazines, and I would go through them and collect all the food magazines to bring home. I read them cover to cover.”