Primarily, I’m a food obsessed bartender. I’m adopted. Very Korean and very gay. I’m a cat dad to two little fur babies. Musically inclined, someone who spends all their free time on live music. A jack of many talents. Someone who’s used years of hospitality experience to foster a personality in environments where people get the same, warm feeling as when they see my familiar and friendly face behind the bar. Bringing people together over common grounds. Someone who believes that everyone has a story that’s more complex than face value, and wants to deep dive into every story. A professional veteran that understands that every gig is going to be different, and finds a way to curate a special experience catered to what you are looking for.. I was lucky to be raised in a family that valued sit down dinners, no matter how hectic and sporadic the schedules. Even between me and my sibling's extracurriculars in a dual working parent household, my mom still made it a point to have a fresh cooked meal every night for the family. Starting with black toast, burned coffee, and following in my mom’s footsteps, an aura of hospitality, a warm smile, and taking care of people became natural to me. This would carry me through life, working in bars and restaurants for 25 years + constantly hosting friends and family through parties, events, and happy hours.
I started in corporate fast food, working in multiple franchises and creating standards that would make my workplaces the Midwestern Corporate Training Stores before heading to Grand Valley State University and getting my degree in Hospitality and Tourism Management. After graduating, my desire for new experiences led me to Chicago, where I helped manage multiple bars and restaurants, giving me more say and sway and using my evolving, creative palate that led to TV spots and more notoriety as I worked my way through the city for bigger and better opportunities.
Upon moving to the Big Apple, my palate and confidence gifted me opportunities to curate menus for multiple establishments across Manhattan. I used my skills, leadership experience, and creativity to consult and restructure bar programs, helped open new establishments, and was granted opportunities at Michelin Guide rated establishments. I branched out into bartending corporate and private events, taking my talents off site from brick and mortar jobs and fostering more intimate and untraditional settings like in office happy hours, at home experiences, and more to help make specialized, unique experiences.
In 2023, I was featured on a Gordon Ramsey show, Masterchef (FOX), as one of the best home cooks and semifinalists of Season 13. Meeting Gordon Ramsey was a dream come true, but more importantly, the experience gave me the courage to dabble in private cheffing as well as continue my private bartending. The exposure put me in front of a bunch of new eyes, more opportunities and it's brought me to where I am today. The knowledge I have on both sides of bar and restaurant operations means I can create an individualized experience, no matter what you're looking for.
Currently, I have an umbrella of opportunities that I'm working in, including consulting, private cheffing and bartending, publishing + media, I'm open to talks about opportunities across the board. I would LOVE to chat with you, and you can reach me via my Contact page!