About Lee
Lee Kalpakis is a professional cook and nature enthusiast living in the woods of the Catskill Mountains.
Her cookbook, OUT THERE: A Camper Cookbook (Weldon Owen) was released April 2024. It’s a collection of campfire meals and tiny kitchen friendly recipes from Lee’s nearly two years living in a vintage camper in the woods with her partner and dog while they built their current home.
Born and raised in the Hudson Valley, she worked at her parents’ restaurant in Shokan, then spent years in New York City working in food media as a recipe developer, cooking show host, culinary producer, food stylist, and private chef before moving back upstate where she now works as the Culinary Director at the beloved Camp Kingston and a consultant for multiple food businesses in the area.