Edward Lee on Southern Bookstores | Listen

By: The Local Palate

Copy to clipboard

Edward Lee is a man of stories. Some are his own: like the one about how a guy raised in Brooklyn by Korean parents went to NYU to study literature before finding his way to Louisville and—bypassing the culinary school route—made a name for himself on the Southern food scene. His food tells stories too. Lee has forged a culinary identity through his exploration of the crossroads between Southern and Korean food traditions, a journey he documents in his first book, Smoke and Pickles. Never one to slow down, he recently opened Nami to critical acclaim and in 2024 released Bourbon Land: A Spirited Love Letter to My Old Kentucky Whiskey, with 50 Recipes. The intersection of chef and author has come naturally for Lee, who’s made a hobby of collecting books from independent shops. Here, he shares some of his favorite Southern bookstores.