Sean Park (Korean)
Park owns Kanpai in Mount Pleasant, where his sushi continues to wow eaters who first knew him as O-Ku’s executive chef. But Park’s heritage is Korean: He was born in Seoul, and moved to Charleston in 2010.
Favorite childhood food: Kalbi, the marinated beef short rib which many American-born eaters will recognize from Korean restaurants with tabletop grills.
Current favorite food to make: Like Tedesco, Park most enjoys "any kind of soup."
Keep in mind when cooking a Park recipe: Park says he tries to season his food with a "hint of humor and song," but he's most concerned about the salt in home cooks' spice cabinets. "No cheap sea salt," he pleads, recommending kosher or high-quality sea salt instead of the iodized table salt for which many cooks instinctively reach.