Team Bios

  Steve Palmer   |   Sean Park

Sean Park, Executive Chef

Chef Sean Park joined Steve Palmer and The Indigo Road team at O-Ku in Charleston, S.C. in March 2010 with both extensive training experience and a deep appreciation for Asian cuisine. Named one of Esquire Magazine’s twenty Best New Restaurants in 2010, Park and O-Ku have flourished in its first year.

Park brings an established tenure of consulting and menu design to his work at O-Ku. Prior to joining The Indigo Road in South Carolina, he 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 that his love of cooking, and he decided to pursue a career in the culinary world. He then relocated to New York City and spent a year apprenticing with Sekigami Chiro. Chiro, who once 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 the opening of a sushi bar in New Jersey in 1997 and the 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 at a restaurant that was voted the best Japanese steak house and sushi bar for more than 14 years.