During the span of a few days, Edward Lee will help prepare a state dinner at the White House for the visiting South Korean president, and open his much anticipated Nami Modern Korean Steakhouse in Butchertown.
It sounds like an exhausting, yet rewarding, week spent working in two very different kitchens. Darlene Superville has the story at the Associated Press, as relayed by the Courier Journal.
WASHINGTON — Chef Edward Lee says food, at its best, tells a story. And the story he wants told with the meal he’s whipping up for next week’s White House state dinner is of the deep connection between the United States and its ally South Korea.
President Joe Biden is hosting South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on Wednesday for a state visit, including a glitzy state dinner, and the White House invited Lee, a Korean American chef and restaurateur, to help prepare the meal.
The chef elaborated in an interview with the AP.
He said any iconic American food, if spiked with a “little Korean flavor or Korean spice,” will still be familiar, but it will just be different and unique. Real food for thought, he said.
“Your mind becomes curious about more than just the flavors,” Lee said. “When food is at its best, it tells a story.”
The article provides a bullet point bio of Lee and covers curent events.
He has one restaurant, 610 Magnolia, in Louisville, and is weeks away from opening another. He lives part time in Washington, D.C., where he is culinary director for a third restaurant, Succotash. He won a James Beard Award for his book “Buttermilk Graffiti.”
As for the forthcoming Nami, Louisville tourism’s Roseanne Mastin says the restaurant is ready to open for Derby.
A hot reservation for the Kentucky Derby weekend will be Chef Edward Lee’s new restaurant, Nami at 835 East Main Street.
As the first restaurant coming from Lee that explores the cuisine of his heritage, and his first restaurant in his home city of Louisville in five years, Nami will feature classic Korean dishes alongside modern interpretations of the cuisine such as Korean BBQ, Bibimbap, Banchan, Mandu, and Pa Jun, as well as feature items like house-made Kimchi, and more.
Inside, guests can anticipate a space that features collaborative elements from local Kentucky artists that reflect Korean aesthetics. The lower level will house the main dining...Read more
