Chef Sean Weyhmiller
A Bay Area native, Chef Sean’s interest in food/cooking and the joy it brings began as a child watching his grandfather who expressed love for his family by crafting delicious southern meals and barbecuing in the backyard. After graduating from the CCA in 2001, he spent the next 6 years honing his skills at Seattle icons, including The Pink Door, and working with world-class chefs like Marcus Samuelson, Maria Hines of Tilth, and Judy Rogers of Zuni. Since returning to Oakland in 2007, he has provided leadership at establishments such as Garibaldi’s, Marzano on Park Blvd, and Bocanova. Sean has developed a cooking style that ranges from casual fun to fine dining. He is an expert in Pan-American, Mediterranean, and Californian; however, Rustic Italian resonates with him, as it brings him back to the straight-forward and love-filled style that he grew up with.
Since becoming parents to Mathias (7 years old) and Paloma (5 years old), Sean and his wife Marcela have been developing ways to have more family time and flexibility. Together, they have opened Oak and Olive Kitchen with a mission of teaching techniques honed from years working in restaurants to help busy families bring wholesome, home-cooked meals to our most picky critics- our children!
See Sean’s Culinary Resume.
Learn More About What We Do at Oak and Olive.
Q & A With the Chef
What is your signature dish?
My first thought is a simple pizza with kale pesto, delicate squash, and pancetta. But then I go to the braises, like a braised pork shoulder with three-cheese (Fontina, Parmigiano-Reggiano, Asiago), white polenta, sautéed savoy spinach, and caramelized quince. But then I’ve received a fair amount of praise over the years from my instructors in culinary school and other chefs for the flavors of my risottos. A favorite is my black risotto with brown-buttery, aged goat’s milk cheese, scallops, and squash. The black risotto is a special cross between Arborio and Chinese black rice, a short grain that is grown seasonally in Italy.
Where can you be found/what are you doing on your days off?
Tinkering in the kitchen or in the garage. Recently, I built my own pizza oven and a playhouse for my kids. No matter how big or small, the process is the same: to visualize, create, then experience.
What is the one kitchen tool (other than a good chef’s knife) that you can’t live without?
My tongs. They are by my side at all times.
Describe your most memorable meal:
While working in my first fine-dining restaurant, a hunter friend of the chef brought in a fresh elk roast. I cut a steak off and grilled it, seasoned only with salt, as I wanted to try it in its most basic form. I was completely amazed at the flavor; I’d never had a piece of meat that tasted like that without any enhancements. While I was eating, it was like I could see the wild sage brushes and rosemary. Everything you can imagine on the trail you could taste. There was zero fat on it, and yet it was as tender as it could possibly be. It was a wild piece of meat. That’s not something you can get every day.
My favorite person/people to cook for is/are:
My family. Especially my two kids who hum when the food is good and tell you right away if they don’t like it.
My ideal guest is adventurous – like my four-year-old. She’s always asking, “What’s that? Can I try it?” But also with a really attuned palate, like my 6-year-old: he picks out the nuances, and he’ll tell you exactly what he thinks of it.
My beverage of choice is:
Sparkling water. To be exact, Lauretana.
I love sparkling water. While I’m working, it always gives my mouth a clean feeling, so when I’m tasting food, I get a good sense of the flavors. And I like the bubbles, the effervescence — as a person who likes texture, I like that feeling on my palate.
My favorite cookbook is:
Charcuterie, by Michael Ruhlman. I love the art of cured meat.
My “guilty pleasure” food is:
Snickers. I don’t need to have a lot of them. What it says on the package is totally true. It is satisfying. It covers all the bases- texture, the nuts, caramel, it’s creamy yet firm; it’s got a little bit of everything going on, and it’s wrapped in chocolate, so you can’t say no to that. And I don’t share. I always tell people if you want a bite, get your own.
What is the one food or food group you couldn’t live without?
Bread, particularly a good rustic loaf with olive oil.
My favorite food city is:
Oakland, for the food scene that is on the upswing. It just has so much potential. And Bologna, Italy, where I went on my honeymoon. It’s the birthplace of Bolognese sauce and Mortadela (what we call “bologna”), an artisan cured meat, bound together with milk powder and meat paste, and simmered. The local cuisine is decadent. Egg yolks in the pasta dough, European butter and cream just give the food fuller, richer flavors. Veal covered in prosciutto, covered in a cream sauce… That’s where I first tried Lambrusco — an effervescent red wine which matches so well with the rich food. Bologna for the pastas and cured meats, braised dishes and pizzas, an entire bottle of Limoncello (for you to drink as much as you want of) and a simple sliced wedge of pineapple for dessert.
My favorite local artisan food product is:
Oakland’s Scarlett City Coffee. Each bag has a touch of craftsmanship with a handwritten note and excellent coffee. My wife and I found it and then later showcased it along with other artisan food products from Oakland in our underground restaurant; our clients loved the smooth flavor.
My favorite local produce item is:
A ripe fig or avocado off my neighbor’s trees.
The dish that my mother/grandmother will always make best is:
My grandfather’s barbeque; he was actually the one who inspired me to become a chef. He was an amazing Southern Cook. Cooking was how he expressed love for his family. As a young boy, I remember watching him make his own sauce — it was all store bought stuff mixed together- Crystal hot sauce, Kraft barbecue sauce… I kick myself for not paying more attention. He had his own ratio. It was always thin, not thick. There were gallon jugs of it with plastic wrap on the tops, all over the house. He made a spicy version and the “lily” pot especially for me because at that time I could not handle the spice. I remember him working three pits at the same time, all of them charcoal or wood fire, tinfoil all over the place, as his insulator to get better seals on the lids.
The first dish I ever learned to cook was:
Baked spaghetti – a tomato-based ground beef and mushroom sauce covered with cheddar cheese. I still make a variation of it today for my kids. I love the crispy noodles on the edges. Sometimes, when I was a kid, we’d put leftover slices in a sandwich.
I knew that I wanted to be a chef when:
I was in my mid-20s, and honestly, I was trying to impress this young lady I’d met who was really intelligent and going to college, and at the time, I was working in a plumbing warehouse. I knew I had to do something that was more brainy and cool.
I love to work with my hands, I love making things; I’ve always been a tinkerer. I could totally see the translation of that working into food.
The first day of culinary school, it clicked. By the end of the first week, I meet 3 other guys. We were serious – we’d had a few careers already and were focused on getting as much out of this as we could. We started and finished together at CCA in San Francisco in 2001.
(And the young lady became my wife.)
What do you love most about being a chef?
I love how cuisine is a blend of culture and history. And I love to combine foods in ways that buck convention. I love creating with food, not thinking about what it has to be- Italian or French- but instead what do I think would be best with this?