Chef Sean Park, founder of O-Ku culinary concept, has been awarded numerous accolades, including being one of Esquire Magazine’s twenty Best New Restaurants in 2010, Opentable’s Top 50 Hot Spots in 2011, and Best Sushi by Charleston’s City Paper .

Chef Park brings an established tenure of consulting and menu design to his work at Bambu. Prior to joining Bambu, he worked with The Indigo Road and O-ku in South Carolina, and was a vital component of menu conception, design, new store openings and consulting for numerous restaurants.

As a native of Seoul, South Korea, Park is rooted in the art of preparing Asian cuisine. He developed an appreciation for cooking from his mother, and her talent later influenced his culinary career. In 1990, Park moved to the United States to pursue his studies at Drexel University in Philadelphia, P.A. While completing his studies at Drexel, Park gained experience as a server at a Japanese restaurant, and his time there changed the course of his career path. After assisting the restaurant’s chef in a time of need, Park realized his love of cooking, and decided to pursue a career in the culinary world. He then relocated to New York City and spent a year apprenticing with Sekigami Chiro. Chir0 served the emperor in Japan, taught him the art of finely- prepared Japanese cuisine. Under Chiro’s tutelage, Park learned the intricacies of traditional, authentic and upscale style Japanese cuisine.

After acquiring a wealth of knowledge from Chiro, Park assisted in opening a New Jersey sushi bar in 1997. This successful venture gave him firsthand experience in the process of opening a restaurant Responsible for developing innovative menus, Park gained invaluable knowledge and experience working in a restaurant that was voted the best Japanese steak house and sushi bar for more than 14 years.