i. Biography
In his own words, Allen Suh says, “I’m not good at socialising.” In the kitchen, that restraint reads less as distance than as method: a preference for letting food carry what he does not put into easy conversation. When he adds, “So food is my way of expressing myself, who I am, and what I’ve been through in my life,” the line lands as a working definition of his approach — direct, personal, and built around control.
Coming Up
A hotel management education at University of Nevada, Las Vegas gave Allen Suh a formal entry point into hospitality before he moved into kitchen work. That grounding in front-of-house systems and service logic is one part of his foundation; the rest was shaped in restaurants with stricter pressures and higher expectations. At restaurant at Eleven Madison Park in New York City, United States, the daily rhythm would have demanded discipline and consistency. Later, as head chef at L'Impression in Seoul, South Korea (from 2018), Suh took on the authority and burden of running the pass from the centre of service. Since 2021, as owner-chef of Restaurant Allen, Suh has held the title that gives his work full authorship. The role marks a shift from learning by absorption to making decisions in his own name. Across those years, the through-line is not ornament but control: a cuisine formed by training, repetition and the steady work of refining a point of view.
Where They Are Now
At Restaurant Allen (since 2021), Allen Suh’s cooking sits at the point where past training becomes present practice. The path from University of Nevada, Las Vegas, to restaurant at Eleven Madison Park in New York City, United States, and then to head chef at L'Impression in Seoul, South Korea (from 2018), shows a career built through structured kitchens and increasing responsibility. What comes through now is a style of authorship shaped by compression rather than noise, with technique used to organize memory and identity into something legible on the plate.
Signature
Allen's signature dishes include foie gras aged in doen-jang and 30-day aged Korean beef with rice yeast. The pair shows a chef working with time, depth and contrast, using aging and fermentation as structural tools rather than decoration. In the foie gras aged in doen-jang, the interest is in tension and balance; in the 30-day aged Korean beef with rice yeast, it is in seasoning and accumulation. Taken together, the dishes point to a method that values patience, texture and measured intensity.
In Their Words “So food is my way of expressing myself, who I am, and what I’ve been through in my life.”
Profile updated August 2026
FAQ
Asked of Allen
What is Allen Suh's current role?
Allen Suh is Chef at Restaurant Allen.
Where did Allen Suh train or study?
Allen Suh trained at University of Nevada, Las Vegas, hotel management.
What recognition has Allen Suh received?
Two Michelin stars (2024).
