CHEF VINCE HONG
Chef Vince Hong was born in Seoul, South Korea, and raised in Hawaii, where food was never far from the center of family life. His mother is a chef who owned her own restaurant in Hawaii, and her father ran a restaurant back in Korea—so for Vince, growing up meant growing up in kitchens. Everything was made from scratch: fermented foods, kimchi, dishes rooted in care and tradition. He helped out from a young age, absorbing it all naturally, and by the time he finished high school, he knew he wanted to turn that lifelong immersion into something more serious.
He set his sights on the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, and it was there that the path toward fine dining took shape. Through the CIA, he secured an internship at Benu in San Francisco—a three-Michelin-star restaurant under Chef Corey Lee, himself a protégé of Thomas Keller—a formative experience that affirmed his passion for the craft at the highest level. After graduating in 2017, he joined The Modern in New York City, the two-Michelin-star restaurant inside the Museum of Modern Art, where he spent two years deepening his technique. He then moved to Gunter Seeger NYC, rising to a Junior Sous Chef role, before joining Per Se—Thomas Keller's flagship New York restaurant—where he has spent the past six years working his way up to Executive Sous Chef.
Along the way, Vince earned recognition through the American Culinary Federation, winning Student of the Year in Hawaii and earning a silver medal representing Hawaii in ACF team competition.
Chef Vince's cuisine is anchored in classical French technique, locally sourced and ingredient-driven, with a natural pull toward American sensibilities and the balanced Asian flavors that have been part of his palate since childhood. Thoughtful, refined, and deeply rooted in where he comes from, his cooking reflects a lifetime of influences—from his grandmother's kitchen in Korea to the finest dining rooms in New York City.
