Industry Insiders: Chris Lee, Aureole Ingénue

Formerly executive chef at the decadent GILT restaurant, chef Christopher Lee recently re-opened Charlie Palmer's legendary at its new location in the Bank of America Tower at One Bryant Park (that's him in the photo above at right, Palmer smiling paternally at left). The Top Chef Masters competitor talks about manning the kitchen as executive chef at Aureole, his modest perspectives, and having a green thumb. Aureole will beoffering a 15% discount on all menus until the grand opening benefit gala for Citymeals-on-Wheels on September 15.

How would you describe your occupation?
We’re chef-entrepreneurs—business people who create food. A chef’s title these days has expanded from just making food to running and creating a business. I call myself an Average Joe, and I never thought I was God’s gift. As a trade industry, we train ourselves and develop a passion for what we do. I wasn’t born with a palate for this business. I walk to work. I do the same things everyone else does. If I do some things better than others, okay, but I think of myself as a service provider.

Aside from Aureole, what organizations are you affiliated with?
Among the philanthropic organizations CityHarvest has the hardest rules, and when we have food waste on some nights, we donate. The idea is that they have certain parameters that are difficult to meet. For instance, when I was at Oceana on every holiday, we used to make holiday meals and drop them off—one-by-one—to the homeless. Now Citymeals-on-Wheels has been a favorite charity of mine for years, and throughout those years we’ve supported them and raised money. It’s a sad thing when elderly or home-bound people can’t feed themselves. I might be there one day, so one motivation for me is to give back to those who might have to be there for me in the future.

How’d you get your start?
It’s one of those age-old questions that people ask. In junior high and high school, guidance counselors always asked me what I wanted to do, and from the time I was 14, I was in the restaurant business, busing tables, dish washing, whatever. When it came to going to college, culinary school crossed my mind, but my parents on Long Island really wanted me to graduate from college. So after I did that, I bought a car and drove to California and enrolled in culinary school. I was born and raised here, and I wanted to see the diversity on the west coast. People are different; they talk, live and act differently. I didn’t want to stay where I was comfortable. I wanted a challenge and went as far as I could without leaving the country.

Where are your spots in the city?
I have a lot of personal favorites in this city, and I like the rustic world more than anything. I go down to my favorite Italian restaurant, Il Bagatto on Second Street. It’s owned by one of my favorite couples, Beatrice and Leo. Beatrice is cooking in the back of the house, and Leo is out front. She cooked some authentic cuisine and said to me, “Know what makes me different from you? I cook from the heart; you cook to compete.” She really hit it on the head. Even though we all cook from the soul, when you play in the upper tier of the game, we’re all about stars and ratings. Then there’s this woman in Alphabet City who doesn’t care about being better than someone else; she just cares about making people happy. She makes the best lasagna there. I buy two or three extras just to put in the fridge for the week. I’m also a big sushi fan, and Sushi Seki is a favorite of mine. Bar Coastal on 78th and 1st Avenue is fab. The bartenders have great stories to tell, they make amazing frozen drinks, and they make the best chicken in the city.

Who do you look up to?
There are so many of them. One of the reasons I came to work for Charlie Palmer is because I admire him. He’s not just a great chef, but a savvy businessman—one of the many reasons we began our relationship. Food and creating something I love to do is as important as learning to run a business. Daniel Boulud is someone I consider to be the “Dad” of the industry. He’s the headmaster—the one who gave us all the answers.

What’s going on in the hospitality industry now?
The best thing about food is that it’s evolving all the time, especially American cuisine. We’re developing a soul in this country, a style that is all-American. For awhile, we were jealous of European countries and their cuisines, and American food was soulless. But now we’re developing our own cuisine. Maybe it came a little after Europe, but we’re on track. Now Europeans come here to find out what we know.

Anything that peeves you about American cuisine?
I know there’s a place for it, but I definitely dislike the fast-food trend this country. We should be a lot healthier and wiser than to feed ourselves a Happy Meal with saturated fats. That’s been a bad trip from the start. As a realist, I understand the value behind it. For certain people, it may work, but as a country we could do a lot better at offering great, high-nutrition food for a lower price.

What is something that people might not know about you?
I live in Brooklyn, and I love gardening. We built our deck out with about 400 pounds of soil in a trough around it. Squashes, jalapenos, sweet peppers, shallots, eight different variety of heirloom tomatoes, cherries, strawberry plants, cucumber. My wife and I are really good at it. When I have time, I like to play golf, and in my retirement, I want to built motorcycles, but my wife won’t let me do that right now. I didn’t have the passion for motorcycling until I was involved with my wife, and when I put it to her, she put a big “NO” on that one.

Biggest obsession?
I’m a giant Yankees fan.

What are you doing tonight?
Working at . I’ve got a service to go through, every day, I’ve got to go to the kitchen and throw it down.