Susur Lee

marriage Marilou Covey (m. ? - September 1, 1983), widowed

Susur Lee (born 1958) is a Hong Kong-American celebrity chef based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He was born in Hong Kong, the youngest of six children. He served his culinary apprenticeship at Hong Kong's renowned Peninsula Hotel. He immigrated to Canada in 1978, where he worked his way to executive chef status at a number of restaurants. Lee currently owns two restaurants in Toronto, "Lee" located at 601 King St. West and "Bent" located at 777 Dundas St. West where he teamed up with two of his sons Levi and Kai Bent-Lee. In 2008 he opened "Shang", located in the Thompson Hotel in the Lower East Side of New York City (now closed). In 2009 he opened "Zentan", located at the Donovan House in the Logan Circle area of Washington DC, but he parted ways with the restaurant in 2013. His eclectic style is described as fusion cuisine.

The internationally acclaimed restaurant "Susur", opened its doors in 2000, and was designed with aid from his wife, Brenda Bent (Lee's first wife Marilou Covey died in the Korean Air Flight 007 disaster in 1983). Recognized by Gourmet, Restaurant (UK) and Food & Wine, among others, "Susur" has been on various international Top 50 lists, including Restaurant's World's 50 Best Restaurants Awards. Instead of offering a traditional menu, a tasting menu is built each day from whatever inspires Lee at the marketplace that morning.

He was the second Canadian chef to appear on the Food Network's Iron Chef America (the first was Rob Feenie) in a battle with Iron Chef Bobby Flay, resulting in a tie. The episode first aired on May 3, 2006. The theme ingredient was bacon. Lee has also been a guest chef on Ming Tsai's show, East Meets West, on the Food Network.