Chef Peter Cho builds teams and those teams become family. At his restaurants, friends and regulars might be invited to sit at the counter and help fold dumplings. Born in Korea and raised in Oregon, his upbringing influenced his food, as he learned to cook alongside his mother. After earning a degree from the University of Oregon, Peter moved to New York City, where he spent 12 years gaining experience in the restaurant world, eventually becoming executive chef and director for a Michelin-starred restaurant group.

Family has always been at the center for Peter; and in 2016 he and wife Sun Young Park returned to Portland, OR to be close to his mother after a cancer diagnosis. They made their first restaurant Han Oak a live/work space, where they could blend Korean flavors with Pacific Northwest ingredients and be together as a family. 

The restaurant was met with widespread acclaim, earning Best New Restaurant from the James Beard Foundation, GQ, and Esquire. Food & Wine named Peter one of its "Best New Chefs" in 2017, and he was a finalist twice for the James Beard Award for Best Chef: Northwest & Pacific. Peter and Sun opened Jeju Restaurant in 2023, where wood-fired Korean barbecue meets sustainable whole-animal butchery. Across their growing restaurant family, Peter and Sun prioritize mentorship and hands-on learning opportunities for the next generation of chefs, extending their reach from family to community.