Some big news over at 18-year-old BLUE PLATE: after holding it down for seven-plus years with Cory Obenour and Jeff Trenam, chef Sean Thomas is moving on. He doesn’t have anything lined up at the moment except a well-deserved vacation in Mexico for a couple of weeks. He looks forward to taking a break and working on some “fun shit” when he returns. (And knowing how he cooks, I look forward to seeing how that manifests.) In the meantime, he’s very grateful for all the memories and the experience working there. He will be missed by many in the Blue Plate kitchen!
Meanwhile, The Absinthe Group has some changes under way. First, chef Ryan McIlwraith of Bellota has been promoted to executive chef for The Absinthe Group (Absinthe, Arlequin Café, Bellota, Boxing Room, and Comstock Saloon). Chef de cuisine Joel Ehrlich will now be overseeing the Bellota kitchen. McIlwraith will be busy leading the transformation of ~BOXING ROOM~ into BARCINO, a Catalan-inspired restaurant later this year. They will also be hiring a chef de cuisine for Absinthe, since chef Adam Keough will be leaving San Francisco this summer after seven years at the restaurant.
Over in the Castro, Steve Dustin is replacing Ryan Scott as the executive chef of FINN TOWN on June 1st—Scott is just too busy with other commitments and the restaurant needed culinary leadership. Dustin was previously culinary director for Big Night Restaurant Group (Marlowe, The Cavalier, Marianne’s, and Leo’s Oyster Bar). He will be introducing some new summer dishes at dinner, late night, and weekend brunch in early July.
The blue room at Blue Plate. Photo courtesy Blue Plate.
