About Phillip Frankland Lee
Phillip Frankland Lee is a self-taught chef and restaurant entrepreneur based in Los Angeles. He is the creator and chef-owner of Sushi by Scratch Restaurants — an omakase tasting menu concept built around a 17-course progressive sake pairing that operates in multiple cities across the United States including Austin, Los Angeles, Nashville, Chicago, and beyond. Sushi by Scratch has received Michelin Stars in multiple markets and is widely credited with reimagining the omakase format for a broader American audience without compromising on quality or intention. He also created Pasta Bar, a 10-seat counter-service pasta tasting menu that operates on a similar intimate format, and NADC Burger — which stands for Not a Damn Chance — a high-end smash burger concept born from the idea that a perfect burger should stand alongside the best fine dining food in the country. He is the host of the podcast “Not a Damn Chance,” where he covers restaurant industry topics with the same directness he brings to his cooking.
Lee is entirely self-taught — he never attended culinary school and learned to cook by staging in kitchens, obsessive practice, and a refusal to accept that his lack of formal training was a limitation. That background informs his approach to building restaurants that challenge expectations about what a particular food format can be and who gets to do it at the highest level.
Episode Overview
Phillip Frankland Lee built a multi-city Michelin-starred omakase empire without culinary school credentials, a traditional fine dining background, or the approval of the industry establishment. In this episode, André Natera sits down with him to talk about what that path actually required — the battles with the “fancy chef” mentality that dismissed him early in his career, the creative decisions behind Sushi by Scratch and Pasta Bar, and how he built a restaurant business on his own terms.
They cover the building of a high-performing team from scratch, what it takes to maintain standards across multiple cities and concepts simultaneously, how social media changed what is possible for chefs who operate outside the traditional establishment, and the discipline behind building concepts that are both creatively uncompromising and commercially successful. Lee is direct, specific, and candid throughout — this is a conversation about what it actually looks like to refuse to be told no.
Topics covered in this episode:
- Being entirely self-taught and what that meant for earning respect in the industry
- The “fancy chef” culture that dismissed him early — and how he responded to it
- The concept behind Sushi by Scratch and why the omakase format was the right vehicle
- Building Pasta Bar as a 10-seat counter-service tasting menu
- NADC Burger — the idea that a perfect smash burger belongs in the same conversation as fine dining
- Earning Michelin Stars across multiple markets as a self-taught chef
- Building and leading a high-performing team across multiple cities and concepts
- How social media changed the playing field for chefs operating outside the establishment
- The discipline behind maintaining standards and creative vision at scale
- New ventures and what comes next for the restaurant group
Links & Resources
Phillip Frankland Lee on Instagram: @phillipfranklandlee
Subscribe to Chef’s PSA → youtube.com/@ChefsPSA
Shop Chef’s PSA Merch → shop.chefspsa.com
Visit Chef’s PSA Website → chefspsa.com
Spotify | Apple Podcasts | YouTube | Audible