Chef Swaps Juniper & Ivy for The Patio's Kitchen

As The Patio Restaurant Group preps to expand with a third restaurant, a new wood-fired concept slated for Liberty Station, they've added a new chef to the roster at their second restaurant, The Patio on Goldfinch.

San Diego native Sean McCart, who has been cooking professionally for a decade, is The Patio's new chef de cuisine in Mission Hills. After getting his culinary education at the Art Institute in San Diego, he worked at farm-to-table restaurants in Oregon and founded his own taco truck; most recently, he was a sous chef at Richard Blais' Juniper & Ivy in Little Italy.

He'll be working with the group's executive chef, John Medall, and using his experience with sustainable seafood and seasonal ingredients to bring fresh food options onto the menu; McCart's already contributed a new foie gras dish, which pairs a torchon of the fatty liver with candied kumquats, anjou pears, macron almond crumble and mustard frill.