Entertaining the masses: Jet and Susur Lee ‘tastefully’ take TikTok by storm

Name a more entertaining TikTok father-son duo than Susur Lee and Jet Bent-Lee. We’ll wait. The pair recently hit six million followers on TikTok, where they hilariously document their food-focused antics. Of course, Lee doesn’t need social media to make him a household name among Canada’s foodie set. Toronto residents and visitors are familiar with his celebrated culinary skills; the famed chef has been a staple on the city’s food scene for decades and is the owner of Susur Lee Restaurant Group. He’s perhaps best known for his long-time restaurant Lee – and its famous Singapore Slaw (seen magically appearing, thanks to camera tricks, in our video cover) – which recently moved to a sleek new location at 497 Richmond Street. Now, he’s learning a thing or two about expanding his skillset from his tech-savvy son. 

A Chick-fil-A sandwich started it all…

During the pandemic, about three years back, Bent-Lee had an idea. He ordered a sandwich from Chick-fil-A – a fast food fried chicken brand his father had never heard of – and presented it to Lee, asking him to transform it into a culinary masterpiece. “I just honestly thought of the idea out of nowhere; it was during COVID and the restaurants were closed,” says Bent-Lee. “Spur of the moment, I was like, ‘I’m going to order from a fast food restaurant and you’re going to transform this dish.” Think: a gourmet glow-up.

Naturally, Bent-Lee captured the whole thing on video – filming his father reimagine the greasy chicken sandwich – and posted it on YouTube. “Someone on TikTok did a video like that with another chef and gave me credit,” says Bent-Lee. “It did super well, so I was like, ‘Why don’t I just reformat my video and post it on TikTok and see how it does?”

It’s safe to say social media ate it up (no pun intended). “Instantly, literally overnight, we had hundreds of thousands of likes and views,” says Bent-Lee. “So I was like, ‘Wow, we need to make more of these; people really like them.’ So, we really started focusing on short-form content.” It’s safe to say it worked, as the pair quickly amassed a massive following of TikTok users who tune into see their creatively delicious and LOL-provoking content.

This means the gourmet makeovers for everything from TV dinners, Panda Express takeout, and Domino’s pizza, to frozen waffles and $100 mangos. Lee also offers candid reviews on everything from new kitchen gadgets to rare fruits and pricey gold-dusted popcorn. You can even catch Lee cooking entirely with an iron, a satirical nod to his appearance on Iron Chef. 

@jetbentlee

would you buy a $100 mango? 😅

♬ 真夜中のドア〜stay with me – 松原みき

Viewers are treated to hilarious videos that offer a look into Lee’s lovable – and completely raw and hilarious – personality and the pair’s relationship. More than food-focused fun and games, the duo has made a business out of their channel, teaming up with a slew of brands, and have their sights set on influential future collaborations. 

The ingredients of a successful food platform

So, what’s the key to their social media success? Bent-Lee credits his dad’s reputation as a seasoned expert. “I think any time someone is an expert in anything, it’s obviously super interesting to learn from them,” says Bent-Lee. “My dad has been in the kitchen for something like 47 years, so you can’t replicate those type of skills because he’s an expert. And, then, I think our relationship as father and son is something people take to.”

Naturally, given the generational gap, Bent-Lee was the one who brought the tech savviness to the equation. “I grew up editing videos; just messing around with my friends,” he says. Bent-Lee says he had an understanding of the social media trends and the value of producing relatable content – content that captures a wide demographic. “The content is easily digestible for people of all ages,” says Bent-Lee. “The people who approach my dad on the street range from 10-year-old kids to 50- and 60-year-olds. So, I feel like I’m able to recognize the trends people will understand and enjoy making them a bit more modern. But the chef is what makes it perfect.”

Lee chimes in at this comment. “I’d like to say that I finally got respect as a dad from him,” he jokes. “Through food; that’s the best way just to be a dad.” Aw. 

Two-way learning 

Like many father-son pairs, Lee and Bent-Lee have learned a thing or two from one another. Like his father did when he was Bent-Lee’s age – when Lee worked his way to executive status at Toronto’s best restaurants – Bent-Lee credits his father for encouraging him to follow his passion. 

“When I was in school and university, I really didn’t know what I wanted to do,” explains Bent-Lee. “I had the video editing skills but thought, ‘Yeah, but I’m not sure how that will work out.’ But I just kept working on it. Then, as I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized the value of learning different skills that you may not use in ‘real life,’ but that may actually be very helpful in the future.”

Naturally, Lee has also inspired his son in the kitchen. For example, Bent-Lee has taken a page from his father’s book and strayed away from recipes. “My dad never uses recipes when he’s cooking,” says Bent-Lee. “I find that it can be a determent if you start cooking and are so focused on measurements. Baking is one thing. But, with cooking, he’s taught me that you need to taste it yourself as you work, it’s not about measurement.”

As for Lee, he says his learning experiences from his son have been humbling ones. “I have to say, it’s inspired me to put my ego on the side,” admits Lee, who’s never been a fan of fast food. “As a professional chef for many years, I was always cooking gourmet food. I have to always be compassionate to people who may not have a lot of money. But cheap food doesn’t have to be junk food. So, this experience has got me to understand that there’s a generation of people with a different kind of lifestyle, so it gave me a lot of creativity that way. I’m enjoying looking at things completely differently, turning myself upside down in terms of food and not having my ego in the way. It’s kept me open.”

What’s next?

As for the next steps for the duo’s rapidly growing platform, Jet has his sights set on collaborations with other creators. He’d also like to switch it up a bit when it comes to his father’s role. “People love videos of my dad when he’s not even cooking because he is so funny,” says Bent-Lee. “So, I think we’ll do more of that. But, honestly, the cooking is the most fun for him creatively and the most fun for me to edit, so we will definitely be doing more of that.” 

In the meantime, Lee is busy helming his beloved restaurant. While the closure of Lee on King Street earlier this year gave the city something to talk about, much to the relief of his loyal customers – some who’ve been coming back for years – the restaurant lives on in its new location. 

“When I started 20 years ago, the King Street location really had a nice vibe and energy and that’s really important when you’re opening a restaurant,” says Lee. “So, after all these years, culture and also the structure and perception — everything had changed on King Street West. And, obviously, I got older; I think differently. And I think King West is really for that next generation. So, I decided I need to move. I needed to kind of see my next way to continue to find things my joy of cooking.”

Lee says the July move to Richmond Street is one that motivates him to do other great, fresh new things – something that isn’t always the case when you’re caught in the busyness of life and business. “With Richmond Street, I had a lot of room to create – we built everything from the plumbing up – and how it runs as a restaurant reflects a cohesive new energy,” says Lee. “I was also excited about the content with Jet. It feels like everything has come full circle. Everything connected in a strange way.”

While the menu features some new additions, the beloved favourites like the famous Singapore Style Slaw and the Cheeseburger Springrolls live on (and it would be a travesty for them not to). “I have some dishes that have been with me for so many years, so I wanted to offer the favourites and consistency that people are looking for,” says Lee. As for the slaw, Lee says it continues to evolve. “When I first started, it was only 16 or 17 ingredients; now there are 24,” says Lee. New addition include things like lotus root and sun sprouts. Fun fact: the slaw is Bent-Lee’s favourite dish of his father’s (but Lee also makes an incredible homemade pizza, he says). 

Aside from his content creation, Bent-Lee also owns his own apparel brand, Mewt, something inspired by the reaction to his fashion-based content on YouTube. “I discovered I really liked designing clothes and also had a lot of help on how to start from my brothers who also have their own successful brands,” says Bent-Lee. “A large portion of my audience is similar age to me and the brand really plays off the nostalgia of our childhood.”

As for his next moves, Bent-Lee says we can expect the release of a capsule once and month in 2024 and plans to expand the brand catalogue to more than just garments.

Words of advice 

Naturally, up-and-coming chefs have looked up to Lee for decades. While a strong skillset is essential, it needs to be accompanied by hard work and relentless passion, says Lee. 

“Very much — work as hard as possible,” says Lee. “When you love your passion, you don’t think that it’s work. You put in so many hours and it’s important not to give up. When you open a new restaurant, it takes six months to set it up and three years for it to be successful. Even after all these years, I still have the same mindset with my staff, needing consistently. Secondly, you need to provide really great, memorable hospitality. The industry sort of lost it during the pandemic. I think anything really old is new again.”

As for Bent-Lee, he advises up-and-coming content creators to expertly hone in on their skillset, especially editing. “Editing is super important and I think you really need to take your time with it,” says Bent-Lee. “You can’t expect for anything to happen overnight. Editing is so important because that’s how you hold people’s attention span for content. Your first 10 videos may not do well, but you’re still improving. I think you should just focus on improving your skills of the video editor content creator, rather than the success of the numbers.”

As for their TikTok, the pair can only expect their numbers to increase, as more people discover their hilarious (and, admittedly, heartwarming) channel. In the meantime, we’ll be following along with popcorn — and imagining ways we can reinvent it. 

Credits

Shot by, Nick Merzetti; Creative/Fashion Direction and Production by, Steven Branco; Wardrobe styling by, Sharad Mohan; Lighting assistant, Alejandro Silva Cortez; Hair and makeup/grooming by Taryn Harvey; Head of Beauty/Grooming, Angela Lee; Production assistant, Mursal Rahman; Location, LEE Restaurant. Full wardrobe curated from Harry Rosen’s new wave of designers now available in select stores and online. A special thanks to Jenny Brazeau, Honey Lee and Jordan Shore for their assistance in making this all happen. A Stamina Group production.