Lee Anne Wong

Last updated
Lee Anne Wong
Born
New York City, New York, U.S.
Education Fashion Institute of Technology,
French Culinary Institute
Known forChef, culinary producer, television host, restaurateur
Culinary career
Current restaurant(s)
  • * Koko Head Cafe, Honolulu, Hawaii
Previous restaurant(s)
  • * Sweetcatch Poke, New York City, New York
Television show(s)

Lee Anne Wong is an American chef, restaurateur, a television culinary producer, and television figure. She has appeared as a competitor on reality television cooking competitions, and she is a Top Chef television series alum. Wong was based in New York City, before moving to Hawaii in 2013. [1] [2] She has also worked extensively as a culinary producer for American television series, including for four seasons of Top Chef.

Contents

Early life and education

Lee Anne Wong grew up in Wynantskill, New York, a small town in Rensselaer County outside Albany.

She began her college education at the Fashion Institute of Technology, where she studied fashion design, but later transferred to the professional cooking program at The French Culinary Institute (now the International Culinary Center). [3]

Career

Later she became the Executive Chef of Event Operations at The French Culinary Institute, [4] a position she maintained while participating in the Top Chef competitions. [5]

From 2010 until 2013, she has also been seen on the Cooking Channel's Unique Eats as a commentator. She was also the chef consultant for the 2007 American remake of the German film, Mostly Martha , called No Reservations .

Wong participated in a tasting benefit event produced by New York Loves Japan and Project by Project to fundraise for the 2011 Japan earthquake aid relief. [6] In 2011, Wong appeared on Iron Chef America (season 10, episode 1), with Halloween candy being the secret ingredient; chef Wong successfully challenged Iron Chef Marc Forgione with a resulting score of 52–51. [7]

Wong moved to Honolulu, Hawaiʻi, in 2013, followed by a brief move to Maui. [1] In 2014, she opened and continued to run Koko Head Cafe, a popular brunch spot. [8] Wong also joined the Hawaiian Airlines culinary team in 2015 and became executive chef in 2018. [9]

She was one of the last four contestants on the 2006 first season of Bravo's reality show, Top Chef . She was the culinary producer for the next four seasons of Top Chef, [10] where her duties included sourcing and styling the ingredients for the various challenges, as well as determining the budget, equipment restrictions and time limits. [11] She also blogged about the show for Bravo, [12] and hosted the webcast Top Recipe: The Wong Way to Cook, in which she demonstrated how to prepare various winning dishes invented by the program contestants. [13]

In 2018, Wong competed on Top Chef: Colorado, winning a spot on the season proper through its Last Chance Kitchen feature. She withdrew during her second week of the competition due to altitude sickness combined with her pregnancy. [14] In 2020, Wong competed on Top Chef: All-Stars L.A. and made it to Episode 9 before being eliminated.

In 2023, Wong's restaurant Papa’aina at Lāhainā's Pioneer Inn was destroyed during a major wildfire. She and other volunteers proceeded to work with World Central Kitchen to help in the relief effort for affected Maui residents. [15] [16]

Filmography

Notes

  1. 1 2 "Explore Lee Anne Wong's Best Spots in Honolulu". Food & Wine. Retrieved 2023-03-14.
  2. ↑ Dai, Serena (2016-08-17). "How a Former Top Chef Wants to Change the Poke Scene in NYC". Eater NY. Retrieved 2023-03-14.
  3. ↑ "Top Chef Lee Anne Wong," Asiance.com. "Asiance Magazine: Top Chef Lee Anne Wong". Archived from the original on June 9, 2007. Retrieved June 15, 2007.
  4. ↑ The French Culinary Institute http://www.frenchculinary.com Archived July 29, 2004, at the Wayback Machine
  5. ↑ "Top Chef's Star Chef Lee Anne Wong," KQED "food blog," Bay Area Bites, September 7, 2006.
  6. ↑ "Lee Anne Wong at New York Loves Japan tasting benefit April 27". Asia Pacific Arts. April 4, 2011.
  7. ↑ List of Iron Chef America episodes
  8. ↑ Hanney, Kevin (September 8, 2015). "Hawaii Chef Lee Anne Wong to open first Koko Head Café restaurant in Japan". Pacific Business Journal. Retrieved 2023-03-14.
  9. ↑ "Lee Anne Wong appointed as Hawaiian Airlines chef". Travel Weekly. May 31, 2018.
  10. ↑ Bonvissuto, Danny (November 12, 2008). "Grub Street: 'Top Chef': Where Are They Now?". New York Magazine .
  11. ↑ Wasilczyk, Jacqueline (November 25, 2008). "Behind the Scenes of Top Chef". Zagat.com.
  12. ↑ Lee Anne's Blog: Read Lee Anne Wong's Online Blog – Top Chef TV Show – Official Bravo TV Site Archived June 11, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  13. ↑ Top Chef: Watch Chef Lee Anne Wong Prepare Winning Recipes In 'Top Recipe: The Wong Way To Cook' – Episode 1 – Official Bravo TV Site Archived June 16, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  14. ↑ Bloom, Mike (January 18, 2018). "Top Chef Colorado: Lee Anne Wong on the Mother of All Exits". Parade .
  15. ↑ Chen, David W. (August 10, 2023), "Her restaurant in ruins, a Maui chef shifts to feeding the island's evacuees.", The New York Times
  16. ↑ Nolfi, Joey (August 17, 2023), "Top Chef star Lee Anne Wong lost restaurant in Hawaii fires, volunteers to cook meals for shelters", Entertainment Weekly
  17. ↑ Bitker, Janelle (2019-12-13). "San Francisco chef Melissa King returns for next 'Top Chef' season". San Francisco Chronicle . Retrieved 2023-03-14.
  18. 1 2 "Chef Profile: Lee Anne Wong". Hawaii Magazine. 2017-05-06. Retrieved 2023-03-14.
  19. ↑ "Forgione vs. Wong". Food Network. Retrieved 2023-03-14.

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