Corey Lee, Art that reflects a life
Chef Corey Lee is a legend in the San Francisco Bay Area. Although the area is now known to be a place to enjoy extraordinary dishes, there was a dark era…
When Thomas Keller’s The French Laundry in the Napa Valley was the only Michelin starred restaurant in the whole area, Corey Lee, who built his stable career at Keller’s, opened his restaurant benu in San Francisco with an original concept that infused his various culinary experiences. It was 2010. Before long, Lee gave a monumental gift to the city, that was the first Michelin three stars. The New York Times acclaimed benu as one of the 10 Restaurants Worth a Plane Ride, and Forbes Travel Guide gave five stars. After all, Lee has reinvigorated the area’s culinary scene, and now, the area has 62 Michelin starred restaurants.
Street View of benu Photo by Eric Wolfinger
Let me explain a little bit about his dishes in benu. Using hydrocolloids, Lee mimics shark’s fin’s transparent elastic filaments. There, he adds thick broth of chicken and ham along with black truffle custard. Basically, it represents Chinese food, but with Korean bases and French techniques. This sustainable Shark Fin Soup even made a Chineses culinary figure to be a fan of the restaurant. Another dish, Kimchi Porkbelly Oyster reintroduces a Korean traditional flavor with a completely new approach. A Kimchi film as a delicate container, there is a warm mixture of chopped Kimchi, Kimchi purée, and braised pork belly in the half way, Kimchi whip with a dense foam in the middle, and a fresh cold oyster on the top. This bite lets you explore the complexity of incredible flavors and textures. Reimagining not just food, but a human experience, Lee’s exquisite 16 course fixed menu ($390 per person, plus a 20% service charge- 2024) in benu is called ‘New American.’
Chef Corey Lee Photo by Eric Wolfinger
“I was attracted to the creative and artistic aspects of cuisine.”— Chef Corey Lee
When and why did you decide to pursue a culinary career?
I started working in a restaurant when I was 17 with no ambition to be a chef. I just needed a summer job. But immediately, I was so enthralled with the kitchen and working with food. Growing up as a Korean American, I think I understood from a young age the important role of cuisine in cultural identity. So pursuing it as a culinary career came very naturally to me.
From benu, Monsieur Benjamin and in situ at SFMOMA to the upcoming Korean restaurant SAN HO WON, you seem like you are experimenting with new culinary experiences. I think the approach is of an artist, not a businessman.
I started cooking because I was attracted to the creative and artistic aspects of cuisine. The process of imagining something, figuring out how to make it, and then sharing that with someone for them to enjoy is an incredibly rewarding process. But at the end of the day, that cannot happen unless the restaurant is viable. So I guess I am forced to be a businessman too.
Although they are all different, which aspect makes them distinguished as yours?
Yes, I have 3 restaurants that are very different. Benu is the most personal one and also the most ambitious in terms of wanting to deliver a singular experience that reflects my senses in the cuisine, service, and environment. Monsieur Benjamin is a casual French Bistro which I opened because my early training was in French cuisine and I wanted to stay connected to that professionally somehow. I also love eating that kind of food in a cozy neighborhood restaurant. SAN HO WON is a Korean restaurant informed by my heritage and bicultural upbringing. I’ve always been proud of my Korean upbringing and feel our cuisine is so tasty, soulful, and unique. I want other Koreans to feel that same way and hope to inspire a newfound appreciation in non-Koreans. (Lee left out in situ because the concept is about showcasing other chefs’ dishes)
My favorite part of your dishes is the menu developing process. Please explain a specific menu developing process with an example.
For me, there are two different ways to develop a dish. One way is to be inspired, and that can come from anything at any time. Maybe I see a beautiful painting or smell the ocean breeze in the winter or see an infant utter their first words or whatever. I’m moved as a human being first, and then because I’m a chef, that inspiration is applied to food somehow. These kinds of inspirations are gifts and happen randomly. More common is the other kind of development that is much more disciplined. We schedule regular meetings with my main chefs to discuss new ideas and then test them again and again until we develop a dish for the menu.
Steamed Cod in a Bath of Mustard Leaves, Ribs and Seeds, benu
Mussels Stuffed with Glass Noodles and Fine Vegetables, benu
Running your own culinary business means there are a lot of things that you are involved in. What is the factor you most enjoy?
There are many things I enjoy that I didn’t anticipate when I first started cooking–like seeing people who you trained become successful in their own restaurants, getting creative in business, or building relationships with regular guests that celebrate all their special occasions with you. But still, what I enjoy most is the same as when I first started–getting inspired to make a new dish and then figuring out how to make it.
For the last ten years, public interest in culinary experience expanded a lot, and the field must have infinite potential ahead. As a frontrunner, I’m wondering if there is any advice you want to share with the public or people who work in the culinary field.
When I started my career, cooking was still a very humble profession. People who became chefs had a genuine love for the craft or they had no better options in life. Honestly, I think we need to get back to that a little bit. Of course, I’ve personally benefited from the incredible advancement of cuisine and restaurant culture in the past couple decades, but I do think that as a result our industry is so highly leveraged right now and the volatility of the restaurant business hides behind a glossy veneer. My advice to the people in the culinary field is to not chase accolades or public recognition and to find an appreciation in the craft of cooking that you can sustain for the length of your entire career. And if you can’t, get out as soon as possible.
This may be a silly question. I wonder what your signature style is. As a non-expert, I don’t have much sense of the signature style of each chef.
I’m not really sure if defining a signature style is my job, as I don’t think about it like that. I just cook the food that resonates with me and if there’s an observable continuity to make up a style, so be it. But generally, I try to make food that is unique to us but also feels classic–dishes that you’ve never actually had but taste like you must have. When I am successful with a dish, it feels timeless and you could imagine having it again and again.
Abalone Preserved in Homemade Soy Sauce, benu
“I think the virtue of Korean cuisine is finding deliciousness in necessity and limited resources.”— Chef Corey Lee
What is your favorite Korean food that you like to eat in your daily life?
Just plain steamed rice with some of my favorite banchan (side dishes) –maybe a myeongnan-jeot (pollock roe) or gejang (marinated crabs), some seasonal namul (lightly seasoned edible plants), and good seaweed freshly roasted.
Could you share the process that you have developed with the idea of your new Korean restaurant SAN HO WON?
We are a Korean restaurant outside of Korea. I want to satisfy Koreans who are craving real Korean food and make fans of non-Koreans. Our goal is pretty simple and the last thing I want to do is some kind of modern, new Korean offering. But our food is definitely not dumbed-down. Through our team’s collective experience and talent, I think we can introduce new variations and dishes to even Korean diners.
To you, what is a virtue of Korean cuisine?
Korea is situated between two nations that have had a long history of wealth and dominance–China and Japan. Usually, with dominance and wealth comes vast development of cuisine. While Korea certainly shares some of its neighbors’ culinary traditions and flavors, its cuisine reflects its humbler history. I think the virtue of Korean cuisine is finding deliciousness in necessity and limited resources. I think the most identifiable aspects of Korean cuisine were born out of a need to survive on mainly plants and seafood that can be preserved over time.
Chilled Beef Tendon and Fine Vegetable Salad with Acorn Jelly, SAN HO WON
The interior designs of your restaurants have always been highly acclaimed. I believe you have an excellent sense or instinct of design. Do you have any specific field that you are interested in besides cooking?
I love sensibly innovative architecture, furniture, clothing, industrial design, etc. Like food, they are basic human needs that we interact with daily, but they’re also opportunities to improve the quality of life. I find a lot of things interesting and I casually dabble, but I don’t delve into them in a meaningful way. Life is too short to learn everything, even about my own discipline.
Could you share the interior concept of your latest SF restaurant SAN HO WON?
The restaurant is an industrial space from the 60’s that was built as an annex for a historic brick building. Our concept is to maintain the feel and look of the original buildings instead of trying to make it look “Korean.” But interestingly and coincidentally, the building has exposed CMU that reminds me of the masonry in Seoul that was so common in the 70’s and 80’s. So it kind of looks retro.
Ultimately, what are you pursuing through your cooking/ and culinary business?
I want to feel like I’m doing good work that I can be proud of and continue to be excited about; take care of our employees who have invested talent and significant time into our restaurants; provide memorable dining experiences for our guests.
Last question. What was the feedback of diners that you were most touched about your dishes?
The best feedback I receive from diners is when they speak to me about how their meal made them feel proud of their Asian heritage and how they enjoyed seeing dishes they had some kind of reference for being executed at such a high level. I think that means we've been able to provide an experience that transcends just being tasty. Interestingly, I receive this comment from guests who come from various parts of Asia, not just Korea.
Corey Lee
Corey Lee (이동민 1977, Seoul) immigrated to New York following his family at age 5. Starting to work at Blue Ribbon Sushi, a Japanese restaurant in Soho, at age 17, he built more cooking experience in England and France, and finally joined to The French Laundry, chef Thomas Keller’s French restaurant in Napa Valley. While working there, Lee was the most helpful contributor to open Keller’s annex in NYC, Per Se. After eight years later, in 2010, Lee opened benu, his first restaurant in the SoMa district of downtown San Francisco, and was highly acclaimed. Besides three stars from Michelin Guide, he received the James Beard Award for Best Chef representing the West Coast in 2017.
His book benu, a collection of the restaurant’s food, inspirations, and people, was published by Phaidon in 2015. In 2016, when SFMOMA reopened after its long renovation, he was invited to their new restaurant in situ as executive chef and invented another new concept of the restaurant, serving international chefs’ popular dishes like what museums do with artists. With more than eighty the most acclaimed chefs’ participants, from Rene Redzepi from Noma in Copenhagen to David Thompson from Nahm in Bangkok, this restaurant was also awarded a Michelin star as the first museum restaurant. With his affection for the mother country, his new restaurant SAN HO WON opened in the Mission area of San Francisco, 2021.
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Words by J.M./ Images © Courtesy of benu/ Originally published in The Seoul Review (Autumn 2020)/ Front Image. Interior of benu Photo by Eric Wolfinger