Ask any chef or restaurateur about who gets the credit, and they’ll likely say it takes a village. The same can be said of Benu, Corey Lee’s three-Michelin-starred fine dining Asian restaurant in San Francisco's SoMa neighborhood.
At Benu, Lee shines attention on his chef de cuisine, Seunghyun Jo, who’s been on staff for three years. “Jo and I actually have a history together because he actually did his externship when I was the chef de cuisine at The French Laundry,” says Lee. “He’s occupying the role that I had when we first met.”
Though it’s Lee’s restaurant, Jo is the head of the kitchen, responsible for the day-to-day activities and production. “I think people often think I’m doing it myself,” says Lee. “But it’s actually a huge team effort, and the kitchen portion of that is coordinated by our chef de cuisine.” Jo oversees all menu production, whether it be tasting, gluten-free or allergy menus, or new dishes for returning customers.
“When we think about three-Michelin-starred restaurants, we’re usually talking about the creation of food, which Jo does a great job at,” says Benu’s director of operations, Aarti Shetty. “But there are several other things that happen in the background. He manages, trains and mentors our kitchen team really well. He’s extremely creative and through all of that he’s very calm. There’s a positive energy about him that deserves to be shown and recognized.”
His organizational skills have helped the Benu kitchen run in a systematic flow; Jo is determined not to get complacent. “The best part of my job is always learning something,” he says. “I like realizing mistakes and problems, and then learning from them. That’s how you improve.”
“We’re a really hard-working team—everyone is working really hard,” Jo adds. “I feel really grateful that I’m a part of it.”
Video and photos shot by Alrik Bursell, a freelance director of photography, editor and producer that has worked on videos for brands such as HBO, Comcast, Sprint and the NFL.
