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San Francisco Michelin-starred chef Geoffrey Lee stepped down from his leadership roles at three prominent restaurants —Ju-Ni, Handroll Project, and the newly opened Hamburger Project — on Friday, January 3, following a publicized social media clash with food influencer Kathleen Ensign.
According to The San Francisco Standard, the social media showdown began in December after Ensign posted a lukewarm review of Hamburger Project, calling the smashburger “good but not great” and rating it a 7.2 out of 10.
Ensign’s critique, shared on Instagram and TikTok, triggered a series of escalating responses from Lee, including personal attacks on her social media posts unrelated to the restaurant. According to Ensign, Lee’s messages included comments about her weight, appearance, and even a voice memo from his child calling her a “dumbface,” which she shared on social media. Screenshots also showed Lee referring to Ensign as “weird” and “unstable,” and accusing her of having “the most annoying Karen voice.”
“She came in within the first three or four days of Hamburger Project being open and made a public review of the restaurant, kind of insulting me and calling them ‘Ozempic burgers’ for clickbait,” Lee told The Standard. “A few days later, I mentioned there are a lot of people who like it, and maybe it’s just you who doesn’t?”
The dispute gained traction on December 23 when Ensign shared screenshots of Lee’s comments in a viral TikTok post that garnered over 100,000 views. The situation escalated further after Maggie Z, another content creator and friend of Ensign, amplified the story to her 25,000 Instagram followers.
Lee began to send angry messages to Maggie Z as well. “I find influencer culture to be some of the scummiest in our community,” he said in a direct message to Maggie Z. Then, upon uncovering a message she’d sent long before, offering to collaborate, he accused her of seeking attention.
In response to the backlash, Lee set his Instagram account to private and initially planned an indefinite leave of absence. However, facing mounting criticism and “Yelp-bombing” of his restaurants with one-star reviews, he ultimately decided to resign from all three establishments.
“I signed up for therapy to make sense of all this ordeal,” Lee told The Standard. “Clearly, my opinions do not reflect those of everyone else in the restaurant. When I made the comment, it was me standing up for the rest of the team.”
“I learned a lesson,” Lee said. “I shouldn’t have replied back. But I don’t believe that just because I’m a chef-owner, my voice should be silenced. What I was trying to figure out is what makes this influencer exempt from my critiques, but she’s allowed to come into my house, my restaurant, to criticize my food.”
In a statement to Eater SF, Lee expressed regret and emphasized that his actions were personal and not representative of the hardworking staff at his restaurants.
“The opinions and actions I expressed are my own. They are not reflective of the hardworking staff at Hamburger Project, Handroll Project, or Ju-Ni. The staff shouldn’t be punished for how I acted.”