In honor of Earth Month, we’re spotlighting SHIA—a nonprofit restaurant in Washington D.C.—driving sustainability conversations and innovation forward in the culinary industry. James Beard Award-winning chef, author, and advocate Edward Lee is leading by example, showing how sourcing with intention, reducing waste, and rethinking operations can create real, actionable change.
Their nonprofit restaurant model is like no other—innovating their own daily routines to eliminate plastics, gas, and to limit as much waste as possible. Researchers leverage the results to establish new methods that every restaurant can adapt to for a lighter footprint. SHIA tells a story of sustainability, and transparently shows every leg of the journey.
Under the leadership of Chef Edward Lee, this innovative spot champions a zero-waste approach and an ingrained promise to support its community, mirroring the values we built MISE on. SHIA is dedicated to breaking down barriers through their mentoring programs like Pitch Day—an opportunity for aspiring female chefs to pitch their restaurant concept to a panel of chef judges and investors for a chance to win $5,000. Three DMV chefs will be selected for a three-month mentorship program focused on key business fundamentals, from financial planning to operations, empowering them to hone their pitch and bring their vision to life.
We had the opportunity to ask Chef Lee about SHIA's sustainable vision that he and his team work diligently to uphold and share with others in the industry.
MISE: What does the name SHIA mean, and what inspired you to choose it?
Chef Lee: “SHIA is inspired by the Korean word for seed (씨앗). Our mission at SHIA is to plant a seed of inspiration for other restaurants to follow. We hope our research on sustainability blossoms into something big in our industry.”
MISE: At MISE, we’re always looking for ways to lighten our footprint and shape a better future for our industry. What inspired you to create a groundbreaking restaurant experience that prioritizes quality, innovation, and community impact?
Chef Lee: “As a restaurant, we should be working in conjunction with our environment, not against it, so I want to find ways that we can offer meals that also harmonize with the planet and the land we live on. We want to be transparent about what we do and how we do it.”
MISE: Many of your dishes have incredible stories behind them, like the “nurungji” (누룽지) dessert. Is there another dish you’re particularly excited about right now? What’s the story behind it?
Chef Lee: “Every dish has a story behind it. The whole menu at SHIA is about trying to tell the story of Korean food that is little known in America. As Korean food becomes more popular in America, it feels like it is predominantly known for its BBQ which is great, but there is an entire thousands of years old history that I also want to tell about this cuisine.
For example, our Mugwort Noodles with Black Sesame Sauce, Caviar and Sea Urchin Roe: Mugwort (쑥) is an important herb in Korean cuisine, used in everything from tea to medicine to skincare to traditional foods. Known in Korean as Ssuk or Artemisia princeps, it is a wild mountain herb that is native to Korea. In Korean mythology, there is a legend of the founding of Korea that features a bear and a tiger who wanted to be human. Hwanung was the son of a God that instructed them to eat only garlic and mugwort for 100 days. The bear transformed into a woman who later gave birth to Dangun (단군) who founded the first dynasty of Korea. Mugwort is deeply rooted in tradition and mythology and heritage in Korea and so we begin and end our 7-course dinner featuring this ingredient.
For this dish we feature it in the cold handmade noodles, called kalguksu (칼국수) which means knife cut noodles. Cold noodles are a beloved tradition in Korea and something that is uniquely Korean - the passion for a variety of chilled noodle dishes. The noodles have to be fresh and with a chew that delights the Korean palette. We top the handmade mugwort noodles with a sauce made of black sesame and soft tofu. It is paired with 2 kinds of roe – sea urchin roe from Santa Barbara and hackleback caviar which is sturgeon roe harvested domestically in the U.S. I love the idea of taking the best of Korean textures and pairing it with the best of American ingredients.”
MISE: What are some unexpected ingredient swaps or operational changes your team has implemented to reduce waste and emissions?
Chef Lee: “Again, there is so much to tell and we will have the full story in our year end papers. But one of the things I can say is that when we eliminated plastics and disposables from our kitchen, we didn't expect that it would have such a profound effect on our way of thinking. Because we use a lot of glass and metal and vessels that are more expensive and permanent than plastic, we are more focused with even our simplest tasks. We move containers with focus and a sense of care. If something drops on the floor, it is a much bigger clean up than something in plastic so we touch everything with extra care and it does something to your mind.
We feel more present and more attentive when we are in the kitchen. It feels so precious to be in a kitchen with no plastic around us.”
MISE: SHIA’s Pitch Day plays a role in fostering the next generation of chefs, especially in empowering female talent. Can you share more about its impact and why it’s important to you?
Chef Lee: “Every study has shown that women have a tougher time raising money and when they do, they often don't get a second chance if their first project fails whereas male counterparts will often get numerous chances at failing and succeeding.
We believe that the most effective way to empowerment is access to capital. There are so many initiatives around that focus on women, but unfortunately, there is very little about financial literacy. It is a training that I never had myself. I think this mentorship program will have a profound effect on the careers of the participating chefs.”
