inthekitchen
A plan to enroll in carpentry school was
sidetracked when he began working
in kitchens to save up the money, and
followed his love of cooking to culinary
school instead. After graduation, he built
experience in a range of restaurants, from
corporate chains to family owned spots.
Kitchens can be tough environments,
but for this chef, tattoos and knife skills
work in tandem with gentleness and
humility. McKay is all skill and no swagger,
refreshingly warm and soft spoken. (Never
once during visits with Ciao! was the censor
button needed.)
However, beneath the laid back exterior
is rock solid ambition, proof that nice guys
don’t finish last. After all, it was this drive
to make his mark on the city’s dining scene
that led Sean to make the transition from
kitchen, and honed in on what he really
wanted to serve.
“When we first took over, an old school
Italian place wasn’t at all what I had in
mind,” McKay recalls. But he has been
won over by the process of classic cooking
techniques, and handmade pasta now plays
a starring role on the menu.
Like its name, pulled from building’s
original title, the food at The Mitchell
Block carries a sense of history and place.
Ingredients are rooted in local tastes that
change with the season. McKay puts his
considerable culinary prowess to bear in
scratch-made components that light up
dishes. Charcuterie boards are loaded with
meats, mousses, pâtés, and terrines made
and cured in house. During the photoshoot
with Ciao!, the lounge’s wine cooler was
“Simplicity is important in business”
head chef in someone else’s kitchen to
owner of his own business.
“When I heard that Tre Visi was being
sold, I jumped in without thinking too
much,” he recalls. “I just knew this was an
opportunity.”
Tre Visi, a small Italian restaurant settled
into a tight line of heritage buildings in the
east Exchange District, ha