Louisville Chef Edward Lee, owner of Nami and 610 Magnolia, is cooking in another Korean reality show on Netflix.
Lee was recently seen in the hit “Culinary Class Wars,” a cooking competition show, and now has made his way into raiding the refrigerators of special guests, turning the contents into fine dining. “Chef & My Fridge” pits chefs against each other to see who can create the best dish from the refrigerator’s contents.
LIO emailed Lee to ask about his newest venture into reality television and whether his Korean is improving. Lee, who was born in Brooklyn, has been trying to reconnect with his Korean roots.
LIO: Was this filmed at the same time as Culinary Wars
Chef Edward Lee: No, we filmed it after Culinary – they were filmed in winter of 2024
It seems that Korean TV has really embraced you. How are people in Korea responding to your participation and skills?
It has been a dream to have so many fans in Korea and to be able to film so many shows which allows me to travel back to Korea more often, and connect to my heritage while I try to learn more Korean.
You did an episode with the very popular actor Son Sukku, how was that? I know that he is fluent in English having studied in Chicago, was that helpful to you? and have your Korean skills improved since shooting the two shows?
My Korean is getting better but still not fluent. It will be a long road to get to where I want to be in Korean. The show is filmed mostly in Korean even if the actors speak English so I am always having to be on my toes. (The episode with actor Son Sukku has not premiered yet)
See “Chef & My Fridge” on Netflix. The latest episode will premiere Sunday, Feb. 16.
