Jeremy James Lee (born 21 October 1963) is a British chef and chef proprietor at

Quo Vadis ''Quo vadis?'' (, ) is a Latin phrase meaning "Where are you going?". It is commonly translated, quoting the KJV translation of John 13:36, as "Whither goest thou?" The phrase originates from the Christian tradition regarding Saint Peter's fi ...

, London. He had previously been head chef at the Blueprint Café for eighteen years.

Career

Lee's first job in the hospitality business was as a waiter at the Old Mansion House Hotel in

Auchterhouse Auchterhouse (; ) is a village, community, and civil parish in the Scottish council area of Angus, located north west of Dundee, south east of Alyth and south west of Forfar. It lies on the southern edge of the Sidlaw Hills, below Auchter ...

. He started working in the kitchen there instead, and after three years he moved to London where he worked under

Simon Hopkinson Simon Charles Hopkinson (born 5 June 1954) is an English food writer, critic and former chef. He published his first cookbook, ''Roast Chicken and Other Stories'', in 1994. Early life Hopkinson was born in Greenmount, Bury, in 1954, the son of ...

at the Bibendum. He then became head chef at the Frith Street Restaurant and Euphorium before joining the

Terence Conran Sir Terence Orby Conran (4 October 1931 – 12 September 2020) was a British designer, restaurateur, retailer and writer. He founded the Design Museum in Shad Thames, London in 1989. The British designer Thomas Heatherwick said that Conran "m ...

owned Blueprint Café at the

Design Museum The Design Museum in Kensington, London, England, exhibits product, industrial, graphic, fashion, and architectural design. In 2018, the museum won the European Museum of the Year Award. The museum operates as a registered charity, and all fund ...

in 1994. He went on to run the kitchen at the Blueprint for the next eighteen years. In January 2012, he took over as head chef at

Soho SoHo, short for "South of Houston Street, Houston Street", is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, New York City. Since the 1970s, the neighborhood has been the location of many artists' lofts and art galleries, art installations such as The Wall ...

, replacing Jean-Philippe Patruno. Food writer

Matthew Fort Matthew Fort (born 29 January 1947) is a British food writer and critic. Matthew Fort is the son of the Conservative MP Richard Fort, who died when he was 12. His brother is the writer Tom Fort. He attended Eton College, and later Lancaster Un ...

compared Lee to

Jane Grigson Jane Grigson (born Heather Mabel Jane McIntire; 13 March 1928 – 12 March 1990) was an English cookery writer. In the latter part of the 20th century she was the author of the food column for ''The Observer'' and wrote numerous books about Eu ...

and

George Perry-Smith George Perry-Smith (10 October 1922 – 1 October 2003) was a chef and restaurateur, who opened the ''Hole in the Wall'' restaurant in Bath and ran it for 20 years. He introduced into British restaurant culture menus that were radically differ ...

, and was pleased that he had brought his style of cooking with him from the Blueprint Café to Quo Vadis.

Jay Rayner Jason Matthew Rayner (born 14 September 1966) is a British journalist and food critic. He has worked as a freelance journalist for newspapers including ''The Observer'' and ''The Independent on Sunday.'' He was the ''Observer'' restaurant criti ...

described Lee as "one of those rare phenomena in the London food world: a chap everyone agrees is a good thing." Lee was a finalist in the second series of the

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matte ...

television series

Great British Menu ''Great British Menu'' is a BBC television series in which top British chefs compete for the chance to cook one course of a four-course banquet. Format Series one and two were presented by Jennie Bond, the former BBC Royal correspondent, where ...

in spring 2007 and presented ''Could You Eat an Elephant?'' alongside

Fergus Henderson Fergus Henderson (born 31 July 1963) is an English chef who founded the restaurant St. John on St John Street in London. He is often noted for his use of offal and other neglected cuts of meat as a consequence of his philosophy of nose to ta ...

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

. Lee later appeared as a first round judge for the Wales contenders in 2013 and again as a first round judge for the Scotland contenders in 2014. In 2017 he was first round judge for the North East region. In late 2018 (Season 13) Lee was first round judge for Northern Ireland. In 2002, he was shortlisted for the Newspaper Cookery Writer award at the

Glenfiddich Awards The Glenfiddich Food and Drink Awards were intended to recognize achievements in writing, publishing and broadcasting on the subjects of food and drink. The awards had been sponsored since 1972 by William Grant & Sons, a family-owned Scottish disti ...

for his work in '' Guardian Weekend''. Quo Vadis was awarded the award for Best Kitchen at the ''

Tatler ''Tatler'' (stylised in all caps) is a British magazine published by Condé Nast Publications. It focuses on fashion and lifestyle, as well as coverage of high society and politics. It is targeted towards the British upper and upper-middle c ...

'' awards in 2013. In 2022, Lee published his cookery book titled ''Cooking: Simply and Well, for One or Many''. Lee was appointed

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(MBE) in the

2024 New Year Honours The 2024 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 15 Commonwealth realms to Orders and decorations of the Commonwealth realms, various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Hono ...

for services to the food industry.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Jeremy Living people People educated at the High School of Dundee Scottish male chefs Scottish food writers Scottish television presenters Scottish television chefs 1963 births Members of the Order of the British Empire