{"id":4613,"date":"2025-10-29T15:13:02","date_gmt":"2025-10-29T15:13:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kikkomanusa.com\/foodservice\/?page_id=4613"},"modified":"2026-03-12T23:11:48","modified_gmt":"2026-03-12T23:11:48","slug":"chef-kevin-lee-modern-korean-with-heart-and-soul","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/kikkomanusa.com\/foodservice\/chef-kevin-lee-modern-korean-with-heart-and-soul\/","title":{"rendered":"CHEF KEVIN LEE: MODERN KOREAN WITH HEART & SOUL"},"content":{"rendered":"
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CHEF KEVIN LEE: THE SOUL OF MODERN KOREAN CUISINES<\/h1>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
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\nThe Soul of Modern Korean Cuisines\n <\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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\"Chef<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
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Chef Kevin Lee<\/strong><\/p>\n

Birdie’s by Chef Kevin Lee | OKC<\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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A 2025 Kikkoman Kitchen Cabinet<\/em><\/u><\/a> inductee, this celebrated chef has built a career defined by reinvention\u2014and rediscovery. His greatest breakthrough? Learning that the most powerful ingredient is knowing who you are.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Chef Kevin Lee\u2019s story traces more than a culinary career\u2014it maps a search for identity. Born in Oklahoma to Korean parents, he grew up ping-ponging between Korea, Connecticut, Seattle, and back to the Midwest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

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\u201cEvery time we moved, the first thing I noticed was how food expressed the spirit of each place,\u201d he recalls. \u201cI grew up realizing that a meal tells you everything about where you are.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

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He didn\u2019t set out to be a chef. After high school, he enrolled in hospitality management at UNLV, hoping for a career in hotels. But a part-time restaurant job changed everything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

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\u201cI walked into a kitchen looking for a paycheck,\u201d he says. \u201cI walked out knowing what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

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Under Chef Joon Choi, Lee immersed himself in Japanese cuisine\u2014and by 21, he was executive chef at Mandalay Bay. \u201cIt was a dream and a trap,\u201d he admits. \u201cWhen you\u2019re that young, you think being in charge means you\u2019ve arrived. But I realized I was too young to stop learning.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cAfter 20 years in kitchens, I finally feel like I\u2019m cooking with purpose again,\u201d he says. \u201cEvery dish on my menu tells a story. It\u2019s Korean, it\u2019s American, it\u2019s personal\u2014and it\u2019s cooked with heart.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

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\n Shared Values<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n
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Lee\u2019s pantry staple? Kikkoman. \u201cKikkoman has always done what I\u2019m trying to do\u2014honor tradition while evolving,\u201d he says. \u201cThey\u2019ve never lost sight of quality or integrity. That\u2019s why I count on their products. And it\u2019s how I want to cook too\u2014staying true to my roots while always moving forward.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

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Looking for a reset, he opened Birdie\u2019s by Chef Kevin Lee, a Korean fried chicken shop. The plan was to slow down. The reality? \u201cIt was the hardest two years of my life. I knew how to cook, but not how to be a restaurateur. Selling ten-dollar chicken baskets teaches you humility fast,\u201d he laughs. \u201cBut it also taught me how to run a business.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

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\n A Game-Changing Moment<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n
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Then came a wild card: an invitation to compete on Food Network\u2019s Tournament of Champions<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

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\u201cIt was surreal,\u201d he says. \u201cI didn\u2019t win, but I found something better\u2014my confidence. And that\u2019s when I started cooking food that actually felt like me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

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He transformed Birdie\u2019s into a modern Korean steakhouse\u2014a mashup of his heritage, training, and instincts. The gamble paid off. Birdie\u2019s took off immediately, and so did his career. Lee has since won Guy\u2019s Grocery Games<\/em> and Alex vs. America<\/em>, and in 2025, became a James Beard Award semifinalist for Best Chef: Southwest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

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\u201cAfter 20 years in kitchens, I finally feel like I\u2019m cooking with purpose again,\u201d he says. \u201cEvery dish on my menu tells a story. It\u2019s Korean, it\u2019s American, it\u2019s personal\u2014and it\u2019s cooked with heart.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

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\n Shared Values<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Lee\u2019s pantry staple? Kikkoman. \u201cKikkoman has always done what I\u2019m trying to do\u2014honor tradition while evolving,\u201d he says. \u201cThey\u2019ve never lost sight of quality or integrity. That\u2019s why I count on their products. And it\u2019s how I want to cook too\u2014staying true to my roots while always moving forward.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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