Guest Chef Night with Chef Bill Jeong

Guest Chef Night with Chef Bill Soo Jeong of Paju

Please join us as we welcome Chef Bill Jeong of Paju for a special evening as we celebrate our students, build community and enjoy an incredible meal. Guest Chef Night pairs premier local chefs with FareStart students to create a three-course meal served by volunteer community members. All revenue and donations from Guest Chef Night support FareStart’s job training and placement programs.

Chef Bill Soo Jeong was born in the countryside of South Korea, in a city called Paju. Throughout his childhood in the Seattle area, Bill spent many hours in the kitchen helping his mother prepare family dinner each night. This formative experience helped instill the foundation that led him to a dedicated career of cooking.

Bill took a more unconventional route to building Paju. Bill honed his craft working for some of the best chefs on both coasts of the United States. His kitchen experience includes several Michelin starred restaurants, such as Fifth Floor (San Francisco), Saison (San Francisco), Jungsik (New York) and Gunter Seeger (New York).

When Paju opened in 2019, The Seattle Times and The Infatuation announced it as “The Best New Restaurant in Town.” Paju also made the list of “50 most exciting places to eat in America” by The New York Times in 2021 and went on to “The 25 best restaurants in Seattle Right Now” by The New York Times in 2023 and 2024.

Bill’s continued vision for Paju resides in a creative take on the food he grew up eating and cooking. His departure from traditional Korean cuisine and flavors compels a modern approach that incorporates techniques from New American cuisine, imagining Asian, European and Latin American influences.

While Bill’s culinary journey has coursed through a variety of kitchens and talented, award-winning chefs, he always returns to his cornerstone of cooking – in his mother’s kitchen, where he still cooks with her every week. He credits his mother with showing him the importance of attention to detail, doing things right the first time and teaching him the cultural significance of kimchi, as well as her recipe, which he continues to use at Paju.

Handing down his love of food, the same way his parents did with him, is an important part of how he and his wife raise their two children. A true artist by nature, Bill also sings and plays classical guitar.