Chef Edward Lee will help launch this year’s 1 Night 12 Kitchens
March 19, 2010
Edward Lee, one of the hottest young chefs in the Midwest, will be featured at a charity dinner April 23 that kicks off this year’s 1 Night 12 Kitchens gala at the Midwest Culinary Institute.
The proprietor of 610 Magnolia in Louisville, Lee is a Semi-Finalist in the 2010 James Beard Award competition for Best Chef in the Southeast. He’s known for his dedication to locally produced foods and a unique approach to preparing them – one that combines Southern culinary traditions with those of his Korean-American family in New York City and the education he picked up in kitchens across Asia, Europe and the United States.
“It’s an absolute thrill to have a talent of Chef Lee’s caliber for this event,’’ said Joe Moss, executive director of the Midwest Culinary Institute. “Our guests will be in for a treat.’’
Guests at the April 23 dinner will be welcomed with a Maker’s Mark bourbon craft cocktail that will set the stage for Lee’s six-course take on Southern cuisine. The menu includes Kentucky Ham and Cheddar Pretzel Bites with Jalapeno Mustard; Rhubarb and Spoonbill Caviar; Pheasant and Wild Mushroom Roulade; Capriole’s Mont St. Francis Aged Goat Cheese; Candied Fiedler Farm Bacon and a Honey-Apple Compote. It also features dishes that continue the Maker’s Mark theme, including Maker’s Mark Bourbon Barrel Stave Smoked Salmon and Maker’s Mark Bourbon Cherries.
Jerry Comfort, a wine educator for Foster’s Wine Estates Americas and Beringer Wines, will select and pour the dinner’s wine pairings.
As with the entire 1 Night 12 Kitchens event, proceeds from the dinner will help underwrite scholarships for students at Cincinnati State’s Midwest Culinary Institute. Cincinnati State’s culinary students will be in for an additional treat: Chef Lee has agreed to teach a class at MCI from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. Friday, April 23 prior to the dinner.
Though he’s developed a national reputation as a Kentucky chef at the forefront of the Farm to Table movement, Lee’s own roots are decidedly urban – and literary, and international.
A Korean-American who was raised in Brooklyn, Lee graduated magna cum laude from New York University with a degree in literature. His culinary training began in New York City under Chef Frank Crispo, and continued during the time he spent traveling through Asia and Europe. His stops included Tante Alice in Lyon, France and Le Belvedere in Annecy, where he worked under Chef Vincent Lugrin.
In 1998 Lee returned to New York and, at age 25, took over a failing Chinese restaurant in the Nolita district just north of Little Italy. He named it Clay and developed it into a hip, Asian-inspired restaurant that attracted international media attention. But four years later, wanderlust and a desire to open a new restaurant in keeping with the Farm to Table movement took hold, and Lee toured the country in search of a new venue. He found it at 610 Magnolia, an elegant restaurant in an historic building in the heart of Old Louisville.
Lee sold Clay, moved to Kentucky and acquired 610 Magnolia, preserving its essence while reworking its décor and, more importantly, its menu in a way that preserves its Southern roots while reflecting his tastes and cutting edge, global approach to cuisine. Lee also began contracting with farmers in the region to produce products specifically for the restaurant.
In the years since, Lee has established 610 Magnolia as one of the region’s premier fine dining destinations. The chef and his restaurant have been featured in Bon Appetit, Food & Wine, the New York Times Magazine, Saveur, Organic Style, Southern Living, Gourmet Magazine, MSNBC and the BBC’s “The World.’’
The April 23 dinner with Chef Lee will begin at 6:30 p.m. Friday, April 23 at The Summit Restaurant at the Midwest Culinary Institute at Cincinnati State. Cost is $125.
The 1 Night 12 Kitchens Event – co-sponsored by Cincinnati State and Cincinnati Magazine – will be held from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday, April 25 at the Midwest Culinary Institute. Chefs from some of the top restaurants in the region will join Chef Lee and the faculty chefs at the Midwest Culinary Institute to prepare food and pour paired wines in the school’s state of the art kitchens. General admission tickets are $90.
A $175 VIP package is also available that includes food and wine sampling with an exclusive culinary station, a private meet and greet reception with regional chefs and kitchen tours. Those interested in both the Friday dinner and premium access to the 1 Night 12 Kitchens events on Sunday may purchase a “Foodie Package’’ for $300.
To order tickets please visit www.cincinnatimagazine.com or call 513.562.2777.
