MEET THE CHEF: Sean Leone of Urban Tavern at Hilton Union Square in San Francisco, California

BY TRIPVEEL EDITORIAL STAFF | January 2020

Tripveel sat down with Executive Chef Sean Leone of Urban Tavern at Hilton Union Square in San Francisco, California.

Executive Chef Sean Leone of Urban Tavern at Hilton Union Square in San Francisco, California

Where did you grow up and where have you traveled to that has helped inspire and shape your cooking philosophy? 

I was born in St. Louis, Missouri and moved to Clearwater, Florida when I was 14, but the Midwest will always have a special sense of place for me. I started my career in Florida but then moved to Newport Beach, California. That was a big change: working so close to Los Angeles and San Diego, I was exposed to the cuisine culture you read about and was actually able to work in that larger-than-life environment. With every move, I take the food from my background and use new ingredients and techniques I’ve picked up to recreate the dishes from my past and develop entirely new dishes— often from mistakes that turn out better than what I intended. Using a concept, or the whole plant, animal, or technique to change flavors has made me a better cook and challenged me to be inventive.

Urban Tavern at Hilton Union Square in San Francisco, California

Tell our readers an interesting fact or two about yourself. 

I was originally going to college for music education and music theory and even made a demo while working in kitchens and markets in school. I’ve been playing guitar for 25 years and playing disc golf for 18 years, both competitive and noncompetitive.

Tell us about your absolute favorite food and why readers should try it if they haven’t already. 

Coffee crumb cake or peanut butter sandwiches. Leave me a loaf of bread and the best peanut butter and you will not be disappointed! You can pair most sweet and savory ingredients with peanut butter, but it’s just as good on its own.

Urban Tavern at Hilton Union Square in San Francisco, California

What are three ingredients that you simply couldn’t live without? 

Lemon, honey and pork.

We love the art behind plating. What do you love about designing the perfect dish?

I always look at a plate as a blank piece of paper or canvas, instead of a vessel to put food on. When plating a dish, the plate should signal to the guest how the chef wants the food to be eaten: whether they should try the different components or textures separately or eat everything together, for example. When you pair common ingredients with uncommon pairings, you have more options to design the plate around your vison and concept.

You always want to attract the eye, but things don’t have to be symmetrical to look good on the plate. I love offsetting the plate to have negative space, to trick how eye sees the finished dish. Manipulating the ingredients into different forms allows you be creative in your design, so the guest has to figure what it is before eating it. Once they do taste it, nostalgic or familiar flavors will tell them what they’re eating even if it doesn’t look like what they’re used to.

Urban Tavern at Hilton Union Square in San Francisco, California

Tell us about one of the most creative dishes you’ve created?

I have had a number of opportunities to use my creativity, including creating themed menus around music and cocktails, as well as turning salads in to hot dishes and vice versa. One of my favorites was a 6-course color themed menu, where every course was a color and every item in each course had to be the same color. I had the color black: I served a beef cheek with truffle cauliflower, olive, and fig with “charcoal potatoes.” The entire plate was black and came served on black slate.The beef cheeks were sous vide for 12 hours, then dusted with salt mixture that had sesame and black Urfa chilies, seared and basted in butter. I made a Kalamata olive shortbread with squid ink and rolled it into a sheet to bake; once it cooled, I fractured it into crumbs and large pieces and laid them on top of the braised cheek. The truffle cauliflower puree had shaved truffles and potatoes and dyed with squid ink, and the charcoal potatoes were roasted in charcoal salt and then rolled in whole butter and a little black sesame powder. Dried figs were rehydrated in warm water, and then pureed with dark balsamic vinegar and honey. This was the last course of the dinner, so it had to be bold!

Urban Tavern at Hilton Union Square in San Francisco, California

Share your most recent awards and accreditations with us! 

Urban Tavern received a 2019 Diner’s Choice award from OpenTable for the first time. In 2014 I won first in a regional L.A. Iron Chef competition, becoming the first to represent Hyatt Hotels in the series. After that, I competed nationally in Maui, at the Andaz resort in Chef Masaharu Morimoto’s restaurant. I took 4th out of 12 chefs.

What are some of the latest trends you’re seeing in top restaurants across the globe?

More vegan/vegetarian options and less meat on menus. Recently more and more known restaurants have taken meat off the menu but are keeping fish and seafood. Portion control is also becoming more central in restaurants, as are shared plates with rustic fare that chefs want to put on the menu in lieu of innovative and “upscale” fare. Named chefs are putting more time into small sandwich restaurants, doughnut shops, and markets than flagship restaurants: this movement is generating approachable food that people can afford, and speaking to these chefs’ roots and what they really want to cook as opposed to strictly what will sell. Chefs are doing what they want, on that scale, is the new trend!

What’s your favorite cocktail or liquor?

Gin & Tonic or a Manhattan.

What do you love about being the Executive Chef at Urban Tavern at Hilton Union Square in San Francisco?

To be in San Francisco, a city that welcomes whatever you want to do and has people who look for authenticity, is a great advantage. Urban Tavern is one of those restaurants where I can create menus for everyone, and try new things with the support of a loyal community that will back me up and experiment alongside me. You are only as strong as your team, so if the team is a success, then you will be too. I’ve been so fortunate in my career that I’ve had great cooks and continue to be their catalyst. Urban Tavern is no exception!