Chef Corey Lee: Benu, in San Francisco Written by Andy Isaacson for Koreataste.org You can see and read more of his work at  http://www.worldwebeyes.com Chef Corey Lee: Benu, in San Francisco At Benu, James Beard Award-winning chef Corey Lee’s first solo restaurant, which opened last August in San Francisco, each intricately prepared dish is so exacting, so considered, and so nuanced in flavor that to talk while eating— “mmm”, “woah” and other involuntary expressions of sensual pleasure aside—would be far too distracting. Fully appreciating the subtleties of each dish requires a certain meditative state, which is encouraged even before you pick up a fork: the modernist, cement courtyard outside, planted with symmetrical Japanese maples, calls to mind a Zen temple garden; the minimalistic, neutral-toned dining room—grey carpeting, grey padded chairs, bare grey-colored walls—achieves the serenity of a day spa. My treatment: first, some crisp, delicate, toasted buckwheat and...

Here is the story that I wrote for Seoul Tourism. You can find it here. http://english.visitseoul.net/visit2007en/aboutseoul/whyseoul/whyseoul.jsp?cid=46&sid=2448 Do me a favor and leave a comment on the above link because they help me live my life of food. Also, if you hit the link, you'll find many great pictures. Dan Last week, Pierre Gagnaire, Massimo Bottura, Luke Dale Roberts and Corey Lee - all internationally renowned chefs - were invited to Korea to participate in the inaugural ‘Amazing Korean Table’, a gourmet food festival seeking to introduce global flavors to Koreans, and Korean flavors to the world. Local celebrity chefs such as Han Bok-ryo, Park Kyung-sik, Kim Min-ji and Jeong Chan-bu worked aside these international stars to create dishes that represented a perfect fusion of Eastern and Western influences. I was able to attend cooking classes held at the newly remodeled Korea House located near Chungmuro station. Han Bok-ryo, who is the top authorit...