Raymond Li Jr.

Resident City : Miami, United States

About Me

Restaurant:

Palmar Miami

Previous restaurants:

The Ritz Carlton Hotel, Matador Room By Jean-Georges, Zuma, Benu (San Francisco), L ‘Atelier De Joel Robuchon (Paris), One Door East (Ft Lauderdale), Valentinos Cucina (Ft. lauderdale) City: Miami, FL

Cities traveled / worked:

Miami (FL - USA) , Ft Lauderdale (FL - USA), Atlanta (GA - USA), San Francisco (CA - USA),
Barranquilla (Colombia), Paris (France), Cat Cay (Bahamas)

Trained: 

Le Cordón Bleu

What’s your favorite dish to cook?

My Paella Hotpot with Royal Red prawns from the Gulf of Mexico.

What’s your favorite cuisine to eat?

Chinese (Dim sum), Cuban. My father's Cuban/Chinese so growing up I would eat Dim Sum.

Who would you be nervous cooking for?

Corey Lee, Andre Chiang, Grant Achatz, Joan Roca, Adonis Mugaritz, Paul Liebrandt

Favorite ingredient?

Calamansi Vinegar, Saikyo miso. Koji.

If you were to host a dinner party, whom would you most like to cook for (living or dead)?

Corey lee, Paul liebrandt, Joan Roca, Andre Chiang, my grandmothers and grandfathers.

What inspires you?

My Family & My Past.

Favorite Music?

Hip Hop, Jazz, Vivaldi

What do you do enjoy doing when you’re not in the kitchen?

Spending Quality time with my family. Fishing . Meditation

What’s the last cookbook you bought?

Octophilosophy by Andre Chiang

What was the first cookbook you bought?

Benu by Corey Lee

Anything else you would like to promote?

Thekitchenvangogh.com

Any extra/interesting information you would like to add?

Working on a clothing line directed to chefs.

Which of your skills (besides culinary skills) have you found are useful in the kitchen?

Leadership, Psychology

If your kitchen were a movie, what would it be called?

“The Kitchen Van Gogh”

What are you proudest of?

The places I’ve chosen to work at.

What’s the most challenging part of your work and how do you overcome it?

The long hours and mental fatigue you get from providing exceptional service. On my two days off, I dedicate one to just rest and relaxing with the family, meditating and other like activities. It helps a lot .

Why do you love what you do?

It’s A Form to express my inner thoughts in an edible form on a plate.
Taking and transforming different single ingredients, to then unite them.
I get an amazing feeling of satisfaction doing that.

Social Media