CHRISTOPHER LEE
I’ve been a professional cook and chef my entire career. In college, I was urged by an Irish friend and knowledgeable cook to consider cooking as a career, and in 1976 moved to the San Francisco Bay Area to pursue cooking professionally. I’ve had the opportunity to cook and consult for some of the best restaurants, butchers, and retail shops in the San Francisco Bay Area; in New York City; in Florence, Italy; London, England; and Dublin, Ireland. I’ve cooked for American presidents; English royalty; Michelin starred chefs; artists, musicians, and writers; for leading food and wine events in the California wine country, including the internationally renowned Napa Valley Wine Auction; and most important, I’ve been incredibly fortunate to mentor many young cooks, chefs, butchers, salumiere, and food writers.

I grew up in Chicago. My family is one of extraordinary artisans, who were for many years the top fine art picture framers, custom mirror manufacturers, and art restorers the country. My grandfather’s business, Armand Lee & Company, established in 1940, catered “to the fine art trade only” – art museums, collectors, and interior designers. It still does business under my grandfather’s name, Armand Lee & Co., on the near-north side of Chicago.

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WORK HISTORY

ECCOLO RESTAURANT
2004-10
Chef, Owner
Eccolo was my Italian restaurant in Berkeley. We received three stars from the San Francisco Chronicle and were one of the Chronicle’s “Top 100 Restaurants in the Bay Area.” At Eccolo, I was able to continue my mentorship of young cooks, many of whom went on to become chefs and owners of their own restaurants.

CHEZ PANISSE RESTAURANT
1987-2004
Co-Chef
During my tenure, Chez Panisse won several James Beard awards; was named “Best Restaurant in America” by Gourmet Magazine (2001); and was listed among the Restaurant Magazine’s “Top 50 Restaurants in the World” (2002-08). Chez Panisse was among the creators of what is now called farm-to-table cuisine, which built foundational relationships between restaurants, farms, ranchers, and other suppliers, seeking the best quality products.

NARSAI’S RESTAURANT and CATERING
1976-85
Catering Director
We catered events for everyone from music producer Bill Graham and his legendary productions (The Band, Grateful Dead, Rolling Stones), and for the Bay Area’s social and cultural elite. We catered for many wineries in California’s burgeoning wine country, and for the first years of the Napa Valley Wine Auction. In San Francisco, we created Narsai’s Café at I. Magnin store, and the Phyllis Wattis Founders Room at Davies Symphony Hall.

CHRISTOPHER & CLARK
1985-87
Chef, Owner
In the mid-1980’s I co-owned a high-end catering company, Christopher & Clark, in Oakland, CA. We for many exclusive society events in San Francisco and the East Bay, for many museums, and other cultural institutions, and to countless Napa and Sonoma Valley Wineries.

CONSULTING
Clarke’s, London, England
il Buco Alimentari e Vineria, New York, NY
Noho Star, New York, NY
Elephant and Castle, New York, NY
Elephant and Castle, Dublin, Ireland
Bartavelle Café, Berkeley
Fava On Vine, Berkeley
Zut, Berkeley, CA
Bombera, Oakland, CA
Farmstead Hudson Valley, Stuyvesant, NY