Born in Taiwan and raised in Los Angeles, Chef Pete has been surrounded by culinary experiences his whole life, as seen through his globally influenced cuisine. Chef Pete’s parents owned many restaurants, including Abacus in West Los Angeles, which inspired Chef Pete’s growing interest in food.   After graduating from California Culinary Academy in San Francisco, Chef Pete landed his first job at Rubicon in San Francisco, where he started as a line cook under the tutelage of Chef Scott Neuman. Rubicon’s California cuisine based in French cooking techniques gave Chef Pete the foundation that would go on to inspire his cooking style. Later, Chef Pete worked at Restaurant Elizabeth Daniel. Under the mentorship of Chef Daniel Patterson, Chef Pete obtained his first chef position as the Chef de Partie on the meat station.   In the summer of 2000 Pete was offered a position as executive chef at Momo's Bistro in Los Angeles. Here, Chef Pete created a French-Californian menu that Irene Verbula, a food critic from the Los Angeles Times, described as sublime. After several years honing his craft in LA, Chef Pete moved to Orange County to take an executive chef position at Maki Maki in Irvine, California. Chef Pete updated the traditional Japanese menu with California flare and French techniques, earning rave reviews from local food magazines.   Chef Pete has always been fascinated with the culture, history and food and Hawaii and he wanting to expand his cooking repertoire, he moved to the island of Maui. In Maui, he worked at Spago in the Four Seasons in Wailea and later, the Grand Wailea. Here, he worked with the banquet team to produce large volumes of regional Hawaiian cuisine for guests and locals alike.   After returning from Hawaii, Chef Pete continued his culinary journey in the Orange County area. It was then he received shocking and devastating news: he was diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer and had a 57% chance of survival. Surrounded by family, friends and a guardian angel, Chef Pete bravely set out to fight his battle with cancer. After demanding treatment and extensive physical therapy, he came out a lucky survivor and won.   With a renewed vitality for life, Chef Peter competed on the Food Network’s hit show, Chopped in 2013. In an extremely close competition, he made it to the final dessert round and lost by just one point. Nonetheless, Chef Pete found cooking for a Food Network competition to be a once-in-a-life-time experience.   Now, Chef Peter runs Chef Pete’s Catering Company with gratitude for every day and an enduring passion for creativity in the kitchen. Please join Chef Pete on this grand culinary journey.