My Journey
I’m originally from Chicago, where I grew up in a family of artisans with a long tradition of exceptional craftsmanship. For 50 years, my family was among the country’s leading practitioners of fine-art picture framing, custom mirror making, and art restoration.

That legacy began with my grandfather, Armand Lee, Sr., who founded Armand Lee & Company in 1940. The firm served the trade exclusively, working with art museums, distinguished fine-art collectors, and leading interior designers. More than eight decades later, Armand Lee & Co. continues to operate in Chicago under the same name—a remarkable testament to my family’s enduring legacy.

In 1976, I moved to the San Francisco Bay Area in search of a cooking apprenticeship. What began as a desire to learn a craft grew into a nearly 50-year career in professional kitchens. Through hard work, determination, and a good measure of good fortune, I had the opportunity to cook in some exceptional restaurants and develop a career that took me far beyond California.

Over the years, I’ve had the privilege of cooking and consulting for outstanding restaurants, butcher shops, and specialty food retailers throughout the San Francisco Bay Area and New York City, as well as Florence, London, and Dublin. I’ve cooked for American presidents, English royalty, Michelin-starred chefs, artists, musicians, and writers. I’ve also catered many distinguished food and wine events in California’s wine country, including the internationally renowned Napa Valley Wine Auction.

After years working in restaurant kitchens, I expanded my professional life into consulting, working with food businesses and culinary professionals both in the United States and overseas.

Of all these experiences, one of the most rewarding has been the opportunity to mentor generations of young cooks, chefs, butchers, salumiere, and food writers. Passing along knowledge, encouraging craftsmanship, and helping others find their own paths in the food world have become an especially meaningful part of my life's work.
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ECCOLO RESTAURANT, Berkeley
2004-10
Chef, Owner
Eccolo was my Italian restaurant, where we perfected making cured meats and sausages, and produced daily housemade pastas. We received three stars from the San Francisco Chronicle and were one of the Chronicle’s Top 100 Restaurants in the Bay Area for many years. 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, Berkeley
1987-2004
Co-Chef
During my tenure at Chez Panisse we won several James Beard awards. We were named “Best Restaurant in America” by Gourmet Magazine in 2001. We were listed among 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, a term that now pervades the food world. We built relationships with farms, ranchers, and other suppliers, in an effort to procure the finest products, a practice that defines restaurants of today.

NARSAI’S RESTAURANT and CATERING
1976-85
Catering Director
Narsai’s catered events for everyone from famed music impresario Bill Graham and his legendary productions (The Band, Grateful Dead, Rolling Stones), to the Bay Area’s social and cultural elite. We catered for countless wineries in California’s wine country, and for the formative 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 1985, I formed a high-end catering company, Christopher & Clark, in Oakland, CA, along with Diane Clark, an experienced caterer in D.C.. We produced many exclusive society events in San Francisco and the East Bay, for museums, the San Francisco Ballet, Davies Symphony Hall, the Asian Art Museum, De Young Museum, and other cultural institutions, and for 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