Eugene Kwon
Chef Instructor, Culinary Arts

Contact LAC, V-127

A native of Los Angeles, Chef Eugene Kwon cumulates close to 20 years of experience in the food and hospitality industry. Since November of 2011, he has brought his experience and expertise to the education sector, teaching the future chefs of America and beyond.

Chef Kwon began his passion and love for food in his early high school years working at his uncle’s ramen/snack shop in Koreatown. After some time in different career fields and a little soul searching, he enrolled in the Southern California School of Culinary Arts in 2001.

He quickly worked his way up through many prestigious establishments in Los Angeles, like the famed Hotel Chateau Marmont in 2003, creating innovative California Cuisine. Chef Eugene also trained under the tutelage of Chef Gino Angelini, a James Beard award winner for best chef in Los Angeles in 2005. It is here Chef Eugene learned the complexities of a few and simple ingredients in contemporary Italian Cuisine. In 2006 Chef Kwon trained under Chef Roy Yamaguchi of the Roy’s Restaurant group working with bold Asian flavors and incorporating them into classical European techniques. This ultimately led Chef Kwon to his first opportunity as Executive Chef of The Far East Cafe in Little Tokyo where he helmed a small kitchen of 3 cooks, creating an Asian inspired menu for a new and modern customer with more sophisticated palates. In 2007 Chef Kwon was given an opportunity to be an Executive Chef for The Compass Group in Los Angeles where he deepened his knowledge and experience in catering and offsite events.

In 2011 he began his teaching career at the Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Pasadena. He later began teaching at Long Beach City College in the summer of 2016. He lives with his wife, Traci, and their 2 boys, Moses and Jaxon, living the dream and thankful for the countless blessings in their lives.