Richard Lee

Richard Lee is Co-Owner and Executive Chef of Saison, the two-Michelin-starred open-hearth restaurant in San Francisco. A San Francisco native, Lee began cooking professionally at 17 and graduated from the Culinary Institute of America in 2009. He worked at One Market and Gilt before spending five years at Eleven Madison Park, where he rose to sous chef and later served as chef de cuisine for the EMP Summer and Winter House projects. Lee returned to San Francisco in 2019 as Saison’s executive sous chef, advanced to chef de cuisine and executive chef, and is now a co-owner. His cooking builds on Saison’s live-fire tradition with concise, intentional flavors shaped by Northern California’s culinary diversity. In 2025, the James Beard Foundation named him a Best Chef: California nominee.