Foodie Chap With Executive Chef Thomas Weibull of Clift San Francisco
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) - Born to a Swedish father, a Filipino mother, and originally from Philadelphia, Penn., Chef Thomas Weibull and his family never stayed in one place for long. Inspired to see the world and experience living abroad, Weibull's father moved the clan overseas to Stockholm, Sweden when Weibull was 15 years old.The son of two working parents and the eldest of four children, Weibull's favorite chore was to cook meals for his siblings.
Weibull enrolled in the Kristineberg Hotel and Restaurant School in Sweden, graduating with a degree in Hospitality. During his studies he began apprenticing at a small yet busy restaurant in downtown Sweden called ÖstermalmKalleren. Post-graduation he moved back to the States and lived in multiple cities before finally settling in Northern California. Quickly he began to make a name for himself with posts at some of San Francisco's most laudable eateries such as Executive Chef at the dearly departed Rubicon in the Financial District,and Executive Chef at Plouf, where he stayed on as a consulteven after moving forward to become co-owner and Executive Chef at Les Amis, it's there we first met some moons ago.
Initially drawn to the history and vision of Morgans Hotel Group, and specifically Clift San Francisco, Weibull felt uniquely suited to make the shift from restaurant service to a hotel food and beverage format.
When he isn't onsite at Clift, Chef can be found spending time with his wife and two dogs, often biking, fly fishing, or traveling for some time on the slopes.
We met at Clift San Francisco recently for our Foodie Chap chat. Chef made his Adobo Style Baby Back Ribs - "salty, sticky, sweet & tangy goodness". It's served with a red cabbage mango slaw. You'll find this and many other delish bites (all under $10) on the menu for Decompression Hour in the historic Redwood Room (if the walls could talk).
The crafted cocktails are beverages of beauty. I enjoyed the 49ER Tea Time (Cyrus whisky with black tea, lime juice & Clift honey syrup). The honey comes from the Clift San Francisco rooftop bees - yes an urban bee farm right here!!!
Redwood Room Hours:
Mon - Thurs 5:00pm - 7:00pm
The bar remains daily until 2:00am
Enjoy my tasty talk with a rock star chef and his ridiculously good ribs recipe featured below.
Cheers, Liam!
Executive Chef Thomas Weibull's
Baby Back Ribs Glazed Adobo Style
Adobo Marinade
- 2 full Racks of Baby Back Ribs
- 3/4 cup apple cider vinegar, preferably organic and unfiltered
- 1cup soy sauce
- 2 small bay leaves
- 1 birdseye chili, roughly chopped
- 2 teaspoons sea salt
- 5 ea garlic cloves, peeled and sliced
Adobo Glaze
- 1 cup soy sauce
- 1 cup hoisin sauce
- 1 cup honey
- 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
- 1 tsp crushed b pepper
- 3 cloves of garlic – minced
- 1 TBS. fresh grated ginger
- Garnish
- 2 Green Onions (green parts only) – chopped
Mango –Cabbage Slaw
- 1 Mango peeled and sliced into thin slices
- 2 cups shredded red cabbage
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
- 2 tablespoon Rice wine Vinegar
- 2 tablespoon Honey
- Toss all ingredients and season with salt & pepper
Adobo Glaze
Add all Adobo glaze ingredients in a large pot, bring to a boil then lower to a simmer until reduced by half about 1 1/2 hr.
Ribs & Adobo Marinade
In a bowl, combine garlic, vinegar, soy sauce, bay leaves and chili and set aside. Season the ribs with sea salt then marinade the ribs for 12 hrs with the Adobo marinade.
Transfer ribs with marinade into a hotel pan with perforated bottom, place ribs upright. Cover the whole pan with aluminum foil tightly and place ribs in oven for 2.5 hours at 250° F.
When ribs are done, remove and chill in refrigerator until cool.
Have a deep fryer setat 350° F and slowly drop portioned ribs for 5 -6 minutes until crisps. In a large bowl add warmed Adobo glaze toss with crispy ribs and top with sliced scallions.
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