For Chef Sharon Lee, the kitchen has never been just a place to prepare meals. It has been a classroom, a workplace, a training ground and a doorway to opportunity.
The San Francisco chef, culinary educator and owner of The Spot! Fine Catering Services has spent more than two decades building a career that blends professional cooking with community service.
Now, Lee is expanding that mission through culinary workforce training and plans to launch a culinary academy that would provide underserved youth and adults with a pathway into the food and hospitality industries. Lee’s passion for cooking began in her mother’s kitchen; however, she built a thriving barbering business before graduating from the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco, where she completed the Cordon Bleu program with an associate degree in operations.
“At some point I wanted to try something new, and I have wonderful memories of helping my mother in the kitchen,” said Lee.
Lee’s professional training took her to New Orleans, where she worked at Restaurant August and expanded her knowledge of Cajun, Creole, and French cuisine under the guidance of internationally recognized chef John Besh. When she returned to San Francisco, Lee was part of the kitchen staff that helped reopen the remodeled Cliff House at Ocean Beach.
Those experiences helped shape the culinary style she later brought to The Spot! Fine Catering Services, which she founded in 2003.
“I have cooking specialties, but I can also cook Italian, soul food, and many foods inspired by different cultures.”
Along the way, Lee strengthened her business and operational skills by working with Paula LeDuc Fine Catering and Levy Restaurants, as well as venues such as the Oakland Arena and Coliseum, Chase Center, and Moscone Convention Center.
As a culinary department head with the San Francisco Unified School District, she directed enrichment programming for high school juniors and seniors, designing curriculum, field trips and health education seminars. She also created a pilot culinary and nutrition program through the University of San Francisco’s Upward Bound Program, teaching college-bound students healthy cooking through a garden-to-table model.
Her community work has included youth culinary education through Big Moma House, food safety and kitchen fundamentals through the Holiday Apron & Hat Program, reentry and job-readiness training through Black Owned Project 365, and culinary instruction for formerly incarcerated men through the Black Cultural Zone in East Oakland.
In her spare time, Lee enjoys feeding her friends, family, and the homeless in the community.
Lee also hosts culinary cohorts to help underserved participants develop practical skills needed to enter the workforce as prep cooks.
Her long-term vision is to build a culinary academy that brings those experiences together under one roof. Lee wants the academy to provide students with more than cooking lessons. Her goal is to teach employable skills, discipline, confidence, and the business knowledge needed to move from an entry-level kitchen position into careers in catering, hospitality, food service management, or entrepreneurship.
For Lee, the recipe is simple.
“It’s all about the next generation and making sure they have the skills and a level of preparation to build a viable career, a good life, and always help others on your journey,” she said.
Chef Sharon Lee will be a guest vendor at the 11th Annual Black-Eyed Pea Festival on Sept. 12 with the Freedom Farmer’s Market at 4521 Telegraph Ave. in Oakland from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
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