Jack Lee (Lý Vinh Viễn) is an American

celebrity chef A celebrity chef is a kitchen chef who has become a celebrity. Today, chefs often become celebrities by presenting cookery advice and demonstrations, usually through the media of television and radio, or in printed publications. While television ...

of Chinese descent based in

Ho Chi Minh City , population_density_km2 = 4,292 , population_density_metro_km2 = 697.2 , population_demonym = Saigonese , blank_name = GRP (Nominal) , blank_info = 2019 , blank1_name = – Total , blank1_ ...

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

. He is often referred to in Vietnamese media as ''đầu bếp Hollywood'' (the Hollywood chef) or ''đầu bếp của ngôi sao'' (chef to the stars) in recognition of his background as private caterer for numerous Hollywood celebrities in the United States, which by association has advanced his public profile in Vietnam. At the height of his career while based in America, he was the executive chef of Baroness Kimberly Moore's ''Echelon Club'', a charitable lifestyle organization for high-profile individuals in Hollywood, and banquet chef at the

Hotel Bel-Air The Hotel Bel-Air is a boutique hotel located in Bel-Air, Los Angeles, California. The hotel is one of the nine luxury hotels operated by the Dorchester Collection, which is owned by the Brunei Investment Agency (BIA). The hotel has a total of 10 ...

. He has featured on a number of television series both in Vietnam and the United States, including ''Rachael vs. Guy: Kids Cook-Off'';, ''

Cutthroat Kitchen ''Cutthroat Kitchen'' is an American cooking show hosted by Alton Brown that aired on the Food Network from August 11, 2013 to July 19, 2017. It features four chefs competing in a three-round elimination cooking competition. The contestants face ...

'', ''Food of the Stars'' and ''Food Paradise''. He is currently appearing as a judge on Junior MasterChef Vietnam as well as Vietnam’s version of ''My Mom Cooks Better Than Yours'' on state-owned channel VTV3 and is also filming for the ''Asian Food Channel''. He has been promoting Netspace Culinary Academy in Vietnam with celebrity chef Anna Olson and is a goodwill ambassador for the culinary charity K.O.T.O. (teaching employable food industry skills to Vietnamese street children). In 2018, the prominent Vietnamese-language magazine '' The Thao Van Hoa'' named Jack Lee Chef of the Year.

Background

Lee was born in

Cho Lon Cho or CHO may refer to: People * Chief Happiness Officer Surnames * Cho (Korean surname), one romanization of the common Korean surname * Zhuo (), romanized Cho in Wade–Giles, Chinese surname * Cho, a Minnan romanization of the Chinese s ...

(

Chinatown A Chinatown () is an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, North America, South America, Asia, Africa and Austra ...

) in 1970 to a Chinese family who immigrated to Vietnam . At the age of 10, he left the city with his family as a refugee and became one of the

Vietnamese boat people Vietnamese boat people ( vi, Thuyền nhân Việt Nam), also known simply as boat people, refers to the refugees who fled Vietnam by boat and ship following the end of the Vietnam War in 1975. This migration and humanitarian crisis was at its h ...

, eventually settling in California. During his youth, Lee learned English by watching episodes the popular sitcom ''

Three’s Company ''Three's Company'' is an American sitcom television series that aired for eight seasons on ABC from March 15, 1977, to September 18, 1984. It is based on the British sitcom ''Man About the House''. The story revolves around three single roomm ...

'' strongly identifying with the TV character

Jack Tripper Jack Tripper is a fictional character on the sitcom ''Three's Company'', based upon the character Robin Tripp from '' Man About the House'' created by Brian Cooke and Johnnie Mortimer. Jack was played by actor John Ritter. Introduction Janet ...

, a chef played by actor

John Ritter Johnathan Southworth Ritter (September 17, 1948 – September 11, 2003) was an American actor. Ritter was a son of the singing cowboy star Tex Ritter and the father of actors Jason and Tyler Ritter. He is known for playing Jack Tripper on the ...

. Interviews with Lee have frequently focussed on his crediting this show as being his motivation for choosing a career as a chef, as well as his English name.

Career

Jack Lee graduated from the California School of Culinary Art under the Le Cordon Bleu Program. While studying, he undertook a voluntary position at the Hotel Bel-Air, and was eventually permitted to work as a trainee chef until securing a paid position as Banquet Chef. Training under Humberto Contreras, he studied the French-Californian tradition commonly associated with the hotel. It was during this time that he experimented with bringing the tastes and cooking techniques of his childhood to gourmet Western dishes, creating a

fusion cuisine Fusion cuisine is cuisine that combines elements of different culinary traditions that originate from different countries, regions, or cultures. They can occur naturally and become aspects of culturally relevant cuisines, or they can be part of ...

that formed the basis of his subsequent career in catering. After managing the Hotel Bel-Air’s culinary program and catering for a number of celebrity events (such as the ''

Million Dollar Baby ''Million Dollar Baby'' is a 2004 American sports drama film directed, co-produced, scored by and starring Clint Eastwood from a screenplay written by Paul Haggis, based on stories from the 2000 collection ''Rope Burns: Stories from the Corner' ...

'' Oscar Party), he started his own catering firm, Chinoise Cuisine. The firm continued to cater for high-profile events such as the Oscars and Golden Globes as well as culinary events for celebrities and at private parties.

Tasting collections

Inspired by the intricate plating techniques he had studied at the Hotel Bel-Air, Lee began to explore gourmet cuisine as an art form and subsequently went on to release a series of tasting collections at invitation-only events, exhibiting each dish in the same way a visual artist would present a body of artworks.

$100 Egg Roll

As a response to the premium-value dishes he had often served at celebrity events (such as the $5,000 hamburger), Lee released a gourmet version of a simple Vietnamese snack to demonstrate the 'haute cuisine' potential of Asian cooking. This was the $100 Egg Roll. The first version of the $100 Egg Roll was announced in August 2011. After being publicly criticised for the use of shark fin, Lee issued a public apology and revised his recipe to include Maine lobster tail and Alaskan king crab as a replacement. The egg roll was topped with Sevruga caviar and gold leaf, and paired with a fresh raspberry and Sauvignon Blanc reduction dipping sauce. The egg rolls were routinely served with Dom Perignon champagne.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Jack 1970 births Living people Hoa people American people of Chinese descent American chefs American male chefs People from Ho Chi Minh City Vietnamese emigrants to the United States