Asian American Chefs Who Earned Their Michelin Stars
By Kelli Luu | 09 Nov, 2025

Niki Nakayama, Corey Lee, and Jason Liang are culinary visionaries that are breaking barriers in the fine-dining scene.

These three Asian American chefs are taking the fine dining world by storm with their innovative dishes that are earning the highest culinary achievement, the Michelin star. 

Starting with Niki Nakayama. 

The Los Angeles native was born to Japanese parents who worked as fish distributors. After studying at the Southern California School of Culinary Arts, Nakayama spent three years in Japan, immersing herself and her cooking in the culture. 

She opened n/naka in the heart of L.A. in 2011 where she features a multi-course menu using seasonal ingredients. Some of which are grown right in Nakayama’s personal garden. She earned the StarChefs Rising Star Chef Award in 2014 and in 2019 her restaurant was one of six restaurants in the city to receive two Michelin stars. 

Our next star is Korean-American chef, Corey Lee. 

He is a restaurateur born in Seoul and moved to the United States with his family in 1982. When Lee was 17, he began working at Blue Ribbon Sushi in New York before entering fine dining. In 2001 he helped culinary legend Thomas Keller open Per Se in New York City and later returned as head chef at The French Laundry in Napa Valley. 

Lee opened his own restaurant called Benu in San Francisco in 2010 and was awarded three Michelin stars in 2014 and has maintained those three stars for ten consecutive years. His other restaurants San Ho Won and In Situ each have also earned a Michelin star. He is a two-time James Beard award winner proving that he has perfected the fusion of Korean and French cuisine. 

Finally, down in Atlanta we have Taiwanese-American chef, Jason Liang. 

He was born in South Carolina and grew up in Taiwan where he climbed the industry ladder starting in hotel kitchens in Taipei. Liang trained under Japanese chefs and later moved back to the United States in 2006 to continue his career working in small sushi restaurants. His dream was to bring Tokyo style dishes and traditions right to Atlanta.

In 2016 he opened up Brush Sushi, giving sushi lovers authentic fish, ramen, and even a separate omakase counter, O by Brush, which is run by Liang himself. He was awarded a Michelin star in 2024 for his 20-course omakase experience and stands as one of the only eight Atlanta restaurants with a Michelin-One-Star.