Beyond the Line at Mei Mei, Irene Li’s Boston Restaurant

To keep the celebration going for Eater Young Guns, Eater's running photo essays of the 2016 winners all season. Up next: Irene Li, chef and owner of Boston restaurant Mei Mei.

They say if you can’t stand the heat you should get out of the kitchen, but that’s not the only reason chefs these days aren’t seen on the line. In the case of Mei Mei, a Boston-area restaurant and food truck, chef and owner Irene Li does operational work as frequently, if not more often, than she cooks.

The 2015 Eater Young Guns winner says, "I really think of my role here as a kitchen manager, managing the ingredients and helping to move the kitchen forward and not necessarily doing the work in the kitchen. Working on new dishes, new ideas is a big part of what I do." Here, see what life looks like behind the scenes.

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