| Katie Lee | |
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Katie Lee, September 2007. Photo by Christopher Peterson. |
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| Born | Katherine Rebekah Lee September 14, 1981 Huntington, West Virginia, U.S. |
| Other names | Katie Lee Joel |
| Occupation | Cook, Food Critic |
| Spouse | Billy Joel (2004–) (separated) |
Katie Lee (born Katherine Rebekah Lee on September 14, 1981) is a television food critic and chef.
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Lee is from Milton, West Virginia. She is a graduate of Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, with a Bachelor's degree in English and Journalism.[1] While there she was a member of Kappa Alpha Theta.[2] She spent a semester abroad in Florence, Italy at The British Institute.[3][4]
She met Billy Joel when she was 22 years old, working as a restaurant correspondent for George Hirsch: Living it Up! on PBS in 2003. After dating for a year, she and Joel married at his home in Oyster Bay, Long Island, on October 2, 2004. Alexa Ray Joel, Billy Joel's daughter from his marriage to Christie Brinkley, served as maid of honor.
After nearly five years of marriage, Billy and Katie Lee separated in June 2009.[5] The separation came after months of rumors that Lee was having an affair with Israeli fashion designer Yigal Azrouel.[5]
Since graduating, Lee was a TV restaurant critic for PBS's healthy lifestyles and cooking TV series George Hirsch: Living It UP!
Lee has worked in several restaurants and gourmet food and wine stores. In 2003, she helped to open Jeff and Eddy’s Restaurant where she served as the house fishmonger.[4]
In July 2005, Lee created the foodie website OliveAndPeach.com with partner Aleishall Girard. The web site ceased updating in September 2006.
In 2006, she hosted the first season of Bravo's Top Chef. Critical reception to Lee's hosting style was less than enthusiastic, however, with many viewers citing her lack of culinary credibility and monotonal delivery as detrimental to the enjoyability of the show.[6] As such, Bravo producers decided to replace her with a more lively Padma Lakshmi in an effort to boost ratings and bolster viewer reception.[7] She later returned as a guest judge on Top Chef All Stars, Episode 2 (Night at the Museum) in 2010.
Lee's first cookbook, The Comfort Table, was published by Simon & Schuster.[8]
Lee occasionally appears on Extra as a special correspondent. She is a contributing editor to Gotham magazine, and her culinary and lifestyle column, "Katie's Kitchen," is published weekly in its sister magazine Hamptons.[9] Lee has also appeared on Paula's Party, Martha, Today, The Early Show, The Nate Berkus Show, and Fox News.During 2007, she was a judge on Iron Chef America.[10]
Lee sits on the council of Chefs for Humanity, a group that provides humanitarian aid worldwide and she is also a member of Les Dames d'Escoffier, an organization that educates and mentors women in the culinary profession.[11]
Lee appeared on WineLibraryTV with Gary Vaynerchuk on May 8, 2009.
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