Lunch with a Chef

George is from Taipei, Taiwan and currently an undergraduate student at UC Berkeley. Before he went to college, he spent a summer at Le Cordon Bleu Paris, where he received his culinary training in cuisine. While he loved to cook, he did not enjoy having to process raw meats. After arriving at college, Lee took a short break from cooking and began focusing on pursuing a degree in science. He became particularly interested in food science and alternative protein. During April 2020, in the midst of a raging pandemic, Lee started Chez Jorge while staying home in lockdown, eventually deciding to dedicate the page to strictly posting vegan recipes (even though he was not fully vegan then), to feed off his budding interest in the field. Over time, he slowly fell in love with plant-based cooking, and taking those techniques to recreate dishes that might re-live moments from his childhood. It was exciting — liberating, almost. Lee feels that it not only allowed him to bridge his love of science and cooking, but take pride in his heritage and continually challenge himself to innovate.