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Christopher Lee garnered national attention as the executive chef at the Striped Bass in Philadelphia. He received the James Beard "2005 Rising Star Chef of the Year" award and was named one of Food & Wine Magazine's Best New Chefs for 2006. In Autumn 2006, the Long Island native returned to his New York roots to take the helm at Gilt Restaurant in the New York Palace Hotel.
A graduate of San Francisco's California Culinary Academy in 2000, he shined as a chef de cuisine under Cornelius Gallagher at Oceana, until he was hand-selected to be the chef de cuisine at The Striped Bass. There he quickly rose to the position of executive chef, drawing on his prior experience at Jean Georges, Daniel, and San Francisco's Fifth Floor.
Chef Lee is interested bringing out the best flavors in the food, using farm fresh products and creating plates that are works of art. He uses everyday products in a New Millennium way, infusing new excitement into classic dishes. For example, his Tuna Wellington turns the classic beef dish on its side, not just by substituting beef filet for stunning deep red tuna, "the beef of the sea," but also by turning the pastry-and-spinach wrapped classic into something lighter, even as it is enhanced by foie gras sauce and red wine reduction.
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