For Charlie Nguyen, becoming Peacemaker’s new executive chef is the next chapter in a story nearly a decade in the making. Nguyen has been part of the Benton Park seafood restaurant’s team since 2017, starting at the raw bar and learning the rhythm of the restaurant one oyster at a time. From there, he worked his way through the kitchen, taking on new responsibilities and growing alongside the restaurant.
Now, he’s stepping into the executive chef role—a position owner Kevin Nashan says Nguyen was already effectively filling before he had the title.
“We knew Charlie was our guy,” Nashan says. “He was already doing everything that a chef would do. We’re really proud of Charlie. It’s just been awesome watching him grow.”
For Nguyen, the transition has been an exciting new chapter stepping into a leadership role.
“It’s about learning new things, communicating with everybody and taking leadership,” he says. “I’m still learning how to be in this new position and be organized.”
While he was not classically trained as a chef, Nguyen took inspiration from parents, who both cooked, inspiring his love of cooking, and he’s continued developing his own approach in the years since.
Nguyen’s cooking leans toward the flavors he enjoys most: sweet, savory and a little tangy, with his love of Asian cuisine sometimes making its way onto the Peacemaker menu. He’s also been developing crudos, including a sriracha-mayo-based dish with hamachi, jalapeño, capers and radishes that he previously served at the restaurant and hopes to bring back.
As he settles into his new role, Nguyen will also help shape Peacemaker’s upcoming brunch program and continue developing new dishes alongside the kitchen team. For him, that collaborative process is part of the appeal of the position.
“Kevin taught me that I need to start putting new stuff out there, building new ideas and having the team around you,” Nguyen says.
And while his title may be new, his connection to Peacemaker is anything but. After nearly a decade spent behind the raw bar and throughout the kitchen, Nguyen knows the restaurant’s food, its people and the pace of service that has shaped him as a chef.