Corey Lee (born 1977) is a Korean-American chef and restaurateur based in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

. In 2014, his flagship restaurant,

Benu Benu may refer to: People * Benu Dasgupta (1928–2010), Indian cricket player * Benu Gopal Bangur (born 1931), Indian businessman * Benu Malla (8th century), 3rd king of the Bagdi Malla dynasty of Bishnupur * Benu Sen (1932–2011), Indian photo ...

, became the first in San Francisco to receive three stars from the

Michelin Guide The Michelin Guides ( ) are a series of guide books that have been published by the French tyre company Michelin since 1900. The Guide awards up to three Michelin star (classification), stars for excellence to a select few establishments. The ac ...

, making Lee the first Korean chef to garner that accolade. In 2019, Benu made its debut on

The World's 50 Best Restaurants The World's Best 50 Restaurants is a list produced by UK media company William Reed, which originally appeared in the British magazine ''Restaurant'' in 2002. The list and awards however are no longer directly related to ''Restaurant'' magazine ...

. Lee is also a two-time

James Beard Award The James Beard Foundation Awards are annual awards presented by the James Beard Foundation to recognize chefs, restaurateurs, authors and journalists in the United States. They are scheduled around James Beard's May 5 birthday. The media award ...

winner, a former ''

Food & Wine ''Food & Wine'' is an American monthly magazine published by Dotdash Meredith. It was founded in 1978 by Ariane and Michael Batterberry. It features recipes, cooking tips, travel information, restaurant reviews, chefs, wine pairings and season ...

'' Best New Chef, and a Goodwill Ambassador to Seoul.

Early life and career

Born in

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...

, South Korea, Lee moved to the U.S. with his family in 1982. At age 17, he began his career in restaurants at Blue Ribbon Sushi in New York. He then went on to work and stage at fine dining institutions such as Pied à Terre,

The Restaurant Marco Pierre White The Restaurant Marco Pierre White, also known as The Restaurant, Restaurant Marco Pierre White and later Oak Room Marco Pierre White, was a restaurant run by chef proprietor Marco Pierre White. The Restaurant was opened at the Hyde Park Hotel, ...

, Lucas Carton,

Guy Savoy Guy Savoy (; born 24 July 1953) is a French chef who is the head chef and owner of the eponymous ''Guy Savoy'' restaurant in Paris and its sister restaurant in Las Vegas, both of which have gained multiple Michelin stars. He owns three other res ...

Daniel Daniel is a masculine given name and a surname of Hebrew origin. It means "God is my judge"Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 68. (cf. Gabriel—"God is my strength" ...

, and Lespinasse. In 2001, he began what would be his nine-year working relationship with

Thomas Keller Thomas Aloysius Keller (born October 14, 1955) is an American chef, restaurateur, and cookbook author. He and his landmark Napa Valley restaurant, The French Laundry in Yountville, California, have won multiple awards from the James Beard Founda ...

The French Laundry The French Laundry is a three-Michelin star French and Californian cuisine restaurant located in Yountville, California, in the Napa Valley. Sally Schmitt opened The French Laundry in 1978 and designed her menus around local, seasonal ingredie ...

. During that time, he also spent a year opening

Per Se Per se may refer to: * ''per se'', a Latin phrase meaning "by itself" or "in itself". * Illegal ''per se'', the legal usage in criminal and antitrust law * Negligence ''per se'', legal use in tort law *Per Se (restaurant) Per Se is a New Ameri ...

in New York City, returning to The French Laundry as head chef. In 2010, Lee opened Benu in San Francisco and within 6 months was included in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' list of "10 Restaurants Worth a Plane Ride". Benu has maintained three stars from the

since 2014. It has also won the

AAA Five Diamond Award American Automobile Association (AAA – commonly pronounced as "Triple A") is a federation of motor clubs throughout North America. AAA is a privately held not-for-profit national member association and service organization with over 60 mi ...

, 5 stars from the

Forbes Travel Guide Forbes Travel Guide (formerly known as Mobil Guide or Mobil Travel Guide) is a star rating service and online travel guide for hotels, restaurants and spas. In 2011, Forbes Travel Guide published its last set of guidebooks and on November 15, 2011 ...

, and a

for Best Wine Program. Benu’s fixed menu incorporates ingredients and techniques from many different cuisines, including Korean and Cantonese.

Media and events

Lee has presented at several international culinary events such as Madrid Fusion, Gastronomika,

Melbourne Food and Wine Festival The Melbourne Food and Wine Festival, run by Food and Wine Victoria Ltd. is an event held in March annually since 1993 to promote Melbourne and Victoria's food and wine culture. Operating on a not-for-profit basis, the festival's charter is to p ...

, Global Leaders Forum, and Seoul Gourmet. He has also given guest lectures at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

and

UCSF The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) is a public land-grant research university in San Francisco, California. It is part of the University of California system and is dedicated entirely to health science and life science. It condu ...

. His television appearances include

Charlie Rose Charles Peete Rose Jr. (born January 5, 1942) is an American former television journalist and talk show host. From 1991 to 2017, he was the host and executive producer of the talk show '' Charlie Rose'' on PBS and Bloomberg LP. Rose also co-an ...

and Korean documentaries produced by KBS, Olive TV,

Arirang "Arirang" (; ) is a Korean folk song. There are about 3,600 variations of 60 different versions of the song, all of which include a refrain similar to "''Arirang, arirang, arariyo'' ()". It is estimated the song is more than 600 years old. ...

, and

TV Chosun TV Chosun ( ko, TV조선; Hanja: 株式會社朝鮮放送; ''Jusikhoesa Joseon Bangsong''; literally "Company Korea Broadcasting"), stylised as TV CHOSUN, is a South Korean pay television network and broadcasting company, owned by the ''Chosun ...

. In 2015, he authored ''Benu''–a collection of recipes and essays that explores the restaurant's food, influences, and collaborators–with forewords by

and

David Chang David Chang (Korean: ; born August 5, 1977) is an American restaurateur, author, podcaster, and television personality. He is the founder of the Momofuku restaurant group. In 2009, Momofuku Ko was awarded two Michelin stars, which the restaur ...

, published by Phaidon and designed by Julia Hasting. Lee also acted as food consultant for the film '' Coming Home Again'', directed by

Wayne Wang Wayne Wang (; born January 12, 1949) is a Hong Kong Americans, Hong Kong–American Film director, director, Film producer, producer, and screenwriter. Considered a pioneer of Asian-American cinema, he was one of the first Chinese Americans, ...

and based on ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

'' short story by

Chang-Rae Lee Chang-rae Lee (born July 29, 1965) is a Korean-American novelist and a professor of creative writing at Stanford University. He was previously Professor of Creative Writing at Princeton and director of Princeton's Program in Creative Writing. E ...

Other projects

Drawing on his training in traditional French cooking, Lee opened the bistro Monsieur Benjamin in 2014. In 2016, he opened

In Situ ''In situ'' (; often not italicized in English) is a Latin phrase that translates literally to "on site" or "in position." It can mean "locally", "on site", "on the premises", or "in place" to describe where an event takes place and is used in ...

inside the

San Francisco Museum of Modern Art The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) is a modern and contemporary art museum located in San Francisco, California. A nonprofit organization, SFMOMA holds an internationally recognized collection of modern and contemporary art, and was ...

. Its website describes it as an exhibition restaurant that “

rings Ring may refer to: * Ring (jewellery), a round band, usually made of metal, worn as ornamental jewelry * To make a sound with a bell, and the sound made by a bell :(hence) to initiate a telephone connection Arts, entertainment and media Film and ...

together a revolving collection of culinary influencers, innovators, and icons to make their contributions accessible for greater public engagement.” Hailed as “America’s Most Original New Restaurant” by ''

'', it earned one Michelin star and won the 2018 James Beard Award for Best Restaurant Design (76 Seats and Over). In November 2021, he opened SAN HO WON, a “Korean, charcoal BBQ restaurant located in the Mission District of San Francisco.” It was named #1 Best New Restaurant in America by

Robb Report The ''Robb Report'' is an American, English-language, luxury-lifestyle magazine featuring products, including automobiles, aviation, boating, real estate and watches. Founded in 1976, it is currently owned by Penske Media Corporation. It also dist ...

and included in ''

'' 2022 list of their 50 favorite restaurants in America.

Awards and honors

* 3 Stars,

, Benu * 1 star,

, In Situ * Rising Star Chef,

James Beard Foundation The James Beard Foundation is a New York City-based national non-profit culinary arts organization named in honor of James Beard, a prolific food writer, teacher, and cookbook author, who was also known as the "Dean of American Cookery." The prog ...

, 2006 * Best Chef: West,

, 2017 * Outstanding Wine Program,

, 2019 * Food & Wine Magazine Best New Chef, 2012 *

Eater Eater may refer to: * Eater (band), an English punk rock group * "Eater" (''Fear Itself''), a 2008 episode of the NBC television horror anthology ''Fear Itself'' * ''Eater'' (novel), a 2000 science fiction novel by Gregory Benford * ''Eater'' (w ...

38 Icon (Named one of America's 38 Essential Restaurants for five consecutive times) * On the 2019 list of

* The 40 Most Important Restaurants of the Decade, ''

Esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentlema ...

'' * The Most Important Restaurants of the Decade, ''

'' * 5 Stars,

* 4 Stars, ''

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. de ...

'' *

Five Diamond Award American Automobile Association (AAA – commonly pronounced as "Triple A") is a federation of motor clubs throughout North America. AAA is a privately held not-for-profit national member association and service organization with over 60 m ...

AAA AAA, Triple A, or Triple-A is a three-letter initialism or abbreviation which may refer to: Airports * Anaa Airport in French Polynesia (IATA airport code AAA) * Logan County Airport (Illinois) (FAA airport code AAA) Arts, entertainment, and me ...

Benu: Press
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Corey American restaurateurs South Korean restaurateurs 1977 births Living people South Korean emigrants to the United States People from Seoul People from San Francisco Chefs from San Francisco