Lee was also an innovator, creating machines that successfully automated the process of kneading bread and making breadcrumbs.
[5] Lee further developed his cooking skills and knowledge as a steward in the United States Coast Survey, where he worked for eleven years.
[2][1] Lee left the Coastal Survey[3] and settled in Needham, Massachusetts,[2] where he opened a restaurant[5] and gradually developed the Woodland Park Hotel, which he leased in 1882 and purchased the following year.
[2] Lee was interested in automating the process of making bread to ensure a uniform quality with less time and effort than it took to knead by hand; he invented a machine that did that and received a patent on August 7, 1894.
Lee became a well-regarded member of Massachusetts society, serving on several hotel associations and attending social events in Boston.
By then he also was running a successful catering company and from at least April to November he ran the Trinity Court Cafe in Boston.