EXECUTIVE CHEF
GILT OF THE NEW YORK PALACE HOTEL

Named as one of the ten “Best New Chefs” by Food & Wine Magazine for 2006, Chef Christopher Lee was also honored with the Gallo Sonoma "Rising Star Chef of the Year" Award at the 2005 James Beard Awards for his accomplishments as Executive Chef at Striped Bass in Philadelphia. In August of 2006, Chef Lee was named Executive Chef at Gilt of The New York Palace Hotel where he embarked on the creation of a Modern American menu.

Born in Queens and raised on Long Island, Chef Lee, 30, is a graduate of The California Culinary Academy in San Francisco. Prior to his culinary training, he earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree from The College of Wooster, where he majored in Political Science. Chef Lee has worked in renowned Manhattan restaurants such as Daniel, Jean Georges, and Oceana throughout the course of his career.

The first signature dish of Chef Lee’s Modern American menu for Gilt is the Tuna Wellington, a yellow fin tuna baked in puff pastry with porcini mushrooms and flat leaf spinach and served with red wine reduction and foie gras sauce. Chef Lee’s Bar and Lounge menu includes such selections as Truffle Potato Fries, Lobster Sliders, and Caviar Service.

About Gilt
Gilt, a restaurant and bar, opened in The New York Palace Hotel on December 15, 2005. Defined by Webster’s as a thin layer of gold, the name Gilt pays tribute to The Gilded Age of the late nineteenth century, a period of time in American history in which many great fortunes were born. One such fortune, that of Pennsylvania railroad magnate Henry Villard, resulted in the creation of The Villard Mansion in 1882. The historic landmark has served as the grand entranceway to The New York Palace Hotel’s 55-story tower since the hotel opened in the fall of 1980. Fully honoring The Mansion's role in The Gilded Age, Gilt boldly complements the opulent walls and barrel-vaulted ceilings of the interior landmark rooms with a revolutionary design concept by one of France’s greatest new interior talents, Patrick Jouin. The concept for Gilt’s 55-seat dining room provides guests with a feeling of being simultaneously comforted by the future and inspired by the past. The design for the bar has been conceived to exude a sense of intimacy and warmth within the sleek and ultramodern structure that was built for the space.