Former Daniel Chef Alex Lee Ditches Country Club Gig to Work for Stephen Starr

Alex Lee earned praise from the critics as the executive chef at Daniel for over a decade, then he left the restaurant to work at the Glen Oaks Country Club on Long Island.  And now, after 11 years in the 'burbs, Lee is returning to the world of big city dining as the culinary director of Stephen Starr's sprawling restaurant group.  In his new role, Lee will oversee all of Starr's 34 restaurants in Philadelphia, Jersey, New York, D.C., and Florida, and he'll help develop new projects for his group. Starr tells Flo Fab: "His knowledge of food and the food world blew me away....Maybe one day he'll be doing his own restaurant."  Lee's original move out of New York City was at least partly inspired by his desire to spend more time with his family.  But now the chef remarks: "I felt it was the right time to get back into the game, so to speak....I did miss the energy of the city. And my kids are older and more independent."

Starr currently operates Buddakan, Morimoto, Upland, The Clocktower, and Caffe Storico, to name a few.