Jack Lee (Lý Vinh Viễn) is an American celebrity chef of Chinese descent based in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
[8] During his youth, Lee learned English by watching episodes the popular sitcom Three’s Company strongly identifying with the TV character Jack Tripper, a chef played by actor John Ritter.
It was during this time that he experimented with bringing the tastes and cooking techniques of his childhood to gourmet Western dishes, creating a fusion cuisine that formed the basis of his subsequent career in catering.
[14] Inspired by the intricate plating techniques he had studied at the Hotel Bel-Air, Lee began to explore gourmet cuisine as an art form and subsequently went on to release a series of tasting collections at invitation-only events, exhibiting each dish in the same way a visual artist would present a body of artworks.
[10] As a response to the premium-value dishes he had often served at celebrity events (such as the $5,000 hamburger), Lee released a gourmet version of a simple Vietnamese snack to demonstrate the 'haute cuisine' potential of Asian cooking.