Alumni Success Stories

After deciding to become a chef, I was looking for a place to learn the basics of western cuisine. I even considered going abroad to study. In the spring of 2012, I saw an ad in the newspaper for the admission information session of Le Cordon Bleu and I learned that a world-renowned culinary school with over 100 years of history was in Seoul. I was very attracted by the fact that I could learn the fundamentals of western cuisine without having to go to Paris.

What did you do after receving your Cuisine Diploma from Le Cordon Bleu?
I worked for a year in a French restaurant called <the Oyster Bar> after which I opened a French bistro called <Prep> in Buam-dong. I ran the place for 4 years and met a lot of great people. Later, I joined a hotel food and beverage subcontracting company called Urban Delight Inc. where I oversaw 5 establishments within 4 hotels. In 2021, I worked at R&D in a food tech company called WeCook. Now, I run a consulting firm called <Prep> and I am working as a chef, a restaurant consultant, and a culinary docent.

Whenever I have the opportunity to have fun cooking and research deeply ingredients, I don’t hesitate and go for it. It is exciting to be able to cooperate with people from various fields and different environments to improve the added value of cuisine. 

I find valuable every moment that I am cooking. For me, cooking is not a means but the ‘ends’ itself. I don’t cook especially for someone. I only wish that the ingredients I chose, which are in front of me on that day, can be put together in the best possible way at the best possible time and be delivered to the person who will eat them. Of course, that person could also be me. After I get off work, rather than getting a ready-cooked meal or getting food delivered, I like to cook for myself. Such moments are also very fun and valuable.

What is chef Youngra Lee’s next challenge?  

This year marks the tenth year since I became a chef. Cooking becomes more and more fun as you do it and I am looking for ways to stay in the kitchen longer. That is why for the next ten years I have decided to give myself some time for the mid-term examinations to become a better and more competitive chef. I need some time to check if I am correctly understanding the ingredients and then if I am serving them at the best moment in the best combination to the customers. Further, I need to verify if I have a good understanding of the overall gastronomy as a menu engineer and as a gourmet docent (expert commentator).  That is why I am taking a year to research. To give you a slight glimpse of my long-term plan, I hope to create a food tech research institution like Ferran Adrià’s <El Bulli Foundation> or Nathan Myhrvold’s <Modernist Cuisine>. Because food is a science. I also want to contribute to resolving the food crisis caused by climate change.

What joy it is to be able to live doing something you like. There really are no cons. Recently, during an interview for a Daily Journal, a reporter asked me what I thought of the common advice given by elders ‘to keep things you like only as hobbies’. I replied that I found this saying to be rather uncomfortable as it resonated the same way as saying ‘Only date the person you really love but get married to the person that meets your conditions’. It seemed cowardly to not take on the thing you like as a job. Is it the fear to fail, getting tired of, or not being good at doing the thing you like? Because my job is something I like, I am able to overcome stress and hard times with love.

I mostly order my ingredients from Market Kurly. For the rest, I go to the Yaksu market, which is right across my place. Old markets have their own charm and so I make sure to go at least once a week. If I suddenly need herbs or western ingredients, I go to Saruga Shopping Center at Yeonhui-dong. I can find most ingredients there.

Do you have a memorable event from when you were attending Le Cordon Bleu?
Chef Arnaud Lindivat, who taught the basic and intermediate classes, was known to be scary and especially strict with regard to cleanliness, dressing during practical courses, as well as attitude. He checked whether people had their hats on properly and whether they wore their ties properly as they came into the kitchen. He also scolded students when they peaked too often at their notes during practical courses. “Will you also be depending on your notes so much in the field?” It was tough as he would often scold us in detail, so much so that once, he came up to me during a practical course and told me: “Youngra, the problem with you is that you work too fast”. I asked myself whether cooking fast was something to be scolded for, and as I wanted to rebuke him, he added: “The kitchen is like an orchestra. Harmony is crucial and you must constantly monitor your colleagues to be at the same tempo. If you start playing the violin quicker than everyone because you are better, everything will be ruined. This is not a solo stage where you can perform well on your own, you need to learn to harmonize, and look around you, that’s what cooking in a kitchen is like.” Chef’s advice from 10 years ago still resonates with me as a categorical imperative. That was the day I learned the 3 most important things in a kitchen, to be observant, considerate of others, and make harmony.

What are you most interested in these days?
I felt again that it is important to maintain the body’s balance through yoga. A chef needs to be standing for a long time. I also recently started biking, and I am very satisfied as it is very convenient to go to the market.

Any advice to junior students considering becoming a chef?
Don’t try to follow the trend or to come up with volatile content that will last only 1 year or 2 years, rather, take the time to understand yourself, learn what you truly like and what you are good at, what makes you happy. You can become a happy creator in the kitchen only once you are certain of who you are. It is up to you whether you will live like a machine that, repeats simple tasks, or live as a creative artist.

To you, Le Cordon Bleu is?
Le Cordon Bleu is a special place that taught me the chef’s mindset.