Harrison Cheney wants to dine with Michael Caine

The Sons & Daughters executive chef on Michelin stars, fish & chips, and a dirty rotten scoundrel

1:30 PM PDT on May 28, 2025

Photo: Tina Yang

Welcome to The Industry, a new column that explores the backstories of people working in the back of houses in San Francisco restaurants. From farmers to purveyors, servers to sommeliers, chefs to chef-de-cuisines, we take you deep inside the city’s food scene. Next up: executive chef Harrison Cheney.

Sons & Daughters is my favorite fine-dining establishment in San Francisco at the moment. Located at 708 Bush Street just off Union Square in Nob Hill, the restaurant was opened in 2010 by chefs Teague Moriarty and Matt McNamara and soon earned a Michelin star for its contemporary Californian tasting menu. Sons & Daughter’s current style and food lean New Nordic, and it was awarded a second Michelin Star last year thanks largely in part to the team led by the talented executive chef Harrison Cheney.

Cheney was born in Dorset in South West England and raised in London. He attended culinary school when he was just 16 years old and went on to cook in Michelin-starred kitchens around Europe, including the now shuttered Gastrologik in Stockholm. This proved formative for Cheney and the development of his cuisine: At Gastrologik, he learned how to ferment, pickle and preserve — techniques central to New Nordic cuisine.

Cheney came to San Francisco at the end of 2018 as a 25-year-old sous chef at Quince. After a year, he moved back to Europe, before returning to San Francisco for good at the end of 2022 to join the team at Sons & Daughters.

The tasting menu contains almost 20 courses over the span of nearly three hours. Sons & Daughters’ food is light and bright, refined and precise, and contains surprising layers of depth and nuance. Every time I eat there, I find myself saying, This is the best meal I’ve had all year.

I sat down with Cheney to learn more, including where he likes to get fish & chips in London.

How did you manage to move the restaurant from one Michelin star to two stars?

I don’t see it as the restaurant was a one star and we got the second — the restaurant had one star for nearly 12 years prior to me, with a very different style of cooking under a few very talented chefs. When I came in, there was a risk that we could have lost the star. So I see it more as we won our first star for the change of concept instead of retaining, and then we continued to build and refine on the experience I had curated during the first 12 months. It felt like a very natural progression.

Has two stars changed the restaurant or clientele?

To an extent, yes, we definitely have more experienced diners coming through the door, but I think, mostly, people know what to expect. I feel like my first year at the restaurant, we had a lot of people come to the restaurant for what Sons & Daughters was, whereas now I think that the second star brought more exposure to where we are as a restaurant now.

You mentioned to me that you would love to take the restaurant to three stars. What, to you, is the difference? What will it take to get there?

It is definitely a goal of mine that I share passionately with the team. We don’t do what we do for accolades; we do it for the guests and for ourselves. But we strive for perfection and to be the best, and in my personal opinion, three stars is the biggest achievement you can receive as a chef.

We are just continuing to refine, not only our food but also our story, our vision, and the experience as a whole. I have only been cooking my own food for just over two years so I am excited to constantly evolve as a chef and to continue to show my personality throughout the menu. This I think is the most important part: to have a voice, an identity, and to be original.

Only Michelin knows what it takes to get the third star and I don’t think there is an exact blueprint for it. It is about individuality and confidence and they say themselves to cook for yourself and your guests and not for accolades.

Let’s get to the real important question: who makes the best fish & chips in London?

Fish & chips, for me, is something that is really different based on where you are. For example, if you are down by a beach in Cornwall then it comes traditionally wrapped in newspaper and the chips get slightly soggy from all of the malt vinegar — this is my favorite. But in London I love Ocean’s Fish Bar in Balham or Poppies Fish & Chips in Soho or for something a little more higher end The Mayfair Chippy is great.

In San Francisco, where do you like to eat when you’re not in the kitchen?

I love Kokkari. Everything feels very authentic. House of Prime Rib is very special to me and my wife Leah, and we always celebrate and take any family visiting there. I recently went to Che Fico for lunch and I thought it was super tasty and really can’t wait to go back.

I also love Taqueria Cancun, Panchita’s Pupuseria, Hot Sauce and Panko for their wings and House of Nanking is a really cool spot.

Is there anyone doing good British food?

To be completely honest, not really. I feel it is always inauthentic and slightly “Americanized.” I know that there is a very talented chef called George Dingle opening up a gastropub. Very excited for that.

Favorite dessert?

I love a melt-in-the-middle chocolate pudding with a good vanilla ice cream, or a good rhubarb crumble with custard.

Favorite drink?

Root beer. The first time I tasted it, I genuinely thought it was disgusting, but I tried it again at a Warriors game and now I absolutely love it, especially Dad’s Old Fashioned Root Beer.

What hobbies do you have?

I don’t have so much time nowadays for hobbies with a family and a restaurant, but I really try to play tennis once, if not twice, a week when I can, and not so much recently but before I played basketball a few times a week also.

If you can share a meal with anyone — dead or alive — who would it be?

Sir Michael Caine. He’s an old Londoner and has been in a lot of amazing movies. He was in Inception, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, The Italian Job.

What’s on the playlist at Sons & Daughters? Who puts it together?

We have a really varied mix, with a little bit of everything from rap to soul and rock to folk. We have a running joke of I added that, trying to claim the bangers.

It is a collaboration, with other input from staff. If and when they want to, we just try to create something that we will enjoy listening to throughout service and that fits the experience we have curated, and hope that the guests agree.

Favorite band and favorite song?

I love rap music. It’s such a hard question. I don’t know. Juice Wrld? My favorite song at the moment is “Khabib” by Central Cee. He’s a London rapper and just reminds me of home.

What makes you happy?

Being able to be creative day in, day out and to be able to work with a team that really believes in my vision and wants to achieve as a collective is extremely fulfilling.

But, most importantly, my girls. Spending time with them when I can means everything to me and being happy and supported in my personal life has been really powerful for me to be focused day in and day out at the restaurant.

What advice do you have for the people?

If you have goals, stay driven and focused, don’t try to change everything overnight, make small measurable steps so you can notice progress, and, most importantly, be thankful for yourself as well as others.

What’s next for you? Do you have ambitions to open up your own space eventually?

100%. It is definitely a goal of mine when the time is right in all aspects of my life. But for now, I am really committed to Sons & Daughters and seeing what can be achieved with what we are creating and constantly refining.