Chef
Eunjo “Jo” Park
- Discipline
- Chef
- Based in
- New York City, New York, United States
- Venue
- Kāwi · Restaurant
i. Biography
The Path
The line through this career runs from the Culinary Institute of America into Daniel, Per Se, and Momofuku Ko, with each kitchen adding another layer of pressure tolerance and technical control. Eunjo “Jo” Park came up inside rooms where detail mattered and pace stayed high, and that sequence now reads as preparation for work that depends on discipline as much as taste. Executive chef at Kāwi in New York City is the current point on that line. It is a role that follows the same logic as the stages before it: build the method, earn the room, then use both to shape the menu.
The Work Today
Modern Korean food is the center of the work at Kāwi in New York City. As executive chef, Park uses Korean flavors as a base, then keeps the menu moving beyond a fixed idea of tradition. That approach puts Korean tradition and modern creativity in the same frame without letting either flatten the other. The cooking stays connected to Korean flavor, but it is not constrained by it, which gives the kitchen room for memory, technique, and invention to sit together on the plate.
Signature
Jowl Bacon Kimbap, Heritage Jowl BLT Kimbap, and spicy roasted rice cake with chile jam and country ham sit at the center of Park’s signature dishes. The names show the method clearly: familiar forms are kept legible, then redirected through a Modern Korean lens that treats comfort and surprise as working tools rather than opposites.
Acclaim
Eunjo “Jo” Park has received Food & Wine — Best New Chefs (2020). The recognition around Park follows the structure of the career itself: training at the Culinary Institute of America, then chef roles at Daniel, Per Se, and Momofuku Ko before executive chef at Kāwi. Those posts map a course through demanding New York kitchens, and that sequence gives the work its authority. Born in Korea and raised in Philadelphia, Park’s background is part of the cooking only insofar as it clarifies the frame. The food reads as accumulation rather than reinvention for its own sake, with discipline, memory, and contemporary expression held in the same line.
Profile updated July 2026
FAQ
Asked of Eunjo
What is Eunjo “Jo” Park's current role?
As of 2026, Eunjo “Jo” Park is Executive Chef.
Where did Eunjo “Jo” Park train or study?
Eunjo “Jo” Park trained at Culinary Institute of America.
What is Eunjo “Jo” Park known for?
Modern Korean food.
