Table Talk: Chef Sean Marzan

Chef Sean Marzan’s love of the kitchen took him from business school to the culinary world. The kitchen is his school, he says.

SEAN MARZAN WAS APPOINTED EXECUTIVE CHEF OF THE WHARF AT SUNSET WALK AND LIZZIE’S BBQ IN EARLY 2025. He made his foray into the restaurant world after a stint as a food runner while still in business school but changed his focus and enrolled in a culinary arts school, where he graduated from its advanced pastry arts program with honors. Here, he shares his journey.

What drew you to cooking?

My brother was 18 years older than me. Literally all my life, I would see him in the kitchen. He would put ingredients together that you wouldn’t expect. That creativity was mind-blowing to me as a child.

Do you remember the first dish you made that you were proud of?

It was a lobster-and-egg-yolk-filled ravioli. At the time, I was a food runner in a restaurant and wasn’t allowed to cook yet. But we were playing with ideas and making fresh pastas. I was learning about flavor profiles. When you cut into that ravioli, the egg yolk oozed out and made the sauce for the dish. That was definitely the one.

When did you realize cooking was something you could make a career out of?

I was in business school and got a job at a restaurant (mentioned previously). I started expediting the kitchen. The chefs didn’t have tickets, they had to go based off what I was telling them. I learned not only to coordinate the kitchen, but every recipe. My goal was to learn something new every day. I discovered the kitchen was my school.

Please elaborate on the “kitchen as school” concept.

People all have different perceptions, their different take on food. I learned that there’s no right or wrong way. What we do in a restaurant doesn’t just feed people. When I create a dish and I go out into the dining room and I see somebody take that first bite, and nod their head, that’s what I’m looking for. That hospitality that creates some kind of memory and triggers happiness is what motivates, I believe, anyone in this industry.

What, to you, makes a great dish?

Balance. When I’m creating a dish, I’m not only thinking about the flavors, but also the textures, the temperatures— playing with hot and cold at the same time. Everything is balance. One restaurant that changed my mentality is C. Bar Kitchen in Style (in Humacao, Puerto Rico). From this restaurant’s 16-course tasting menu, one course stands out to me. They brought a wooden block, and there was one fork sticking out of it. The fork had a piece of fish, and a gel paper with seaweed and sticky-rice foam. All the flavor profiles of your average sushi. Here it is, 20 years later, and that plate is still in mind. I had one bite of it.

What is your cooking philosophy?

Don’t be confined to a box. There are no rules. Not being confined to a box and being able to create and pull something out of your imagination, something new, for a guest, or even if you’re cooking for friends and family, to have that wow factor is something I always look for.

Could you talk about planning the dishes for two different restaurants? Is there a different creative process involved in doing that?

They’re literally completely different. One is based off fresh seafood, seasonal ingredients and more refined palates while the other is strictly based off old-school techniques and long hours of smoking the meats. It’s almost more emotional, there’s a connection when it comes to that product (BBQ). At Lizzie’s, you want to bring them home when they’re there—every flavor profile that’s there is very homey.

The Wharf is different. We want to take you somewhere else. You’re on vacation, I want you to forget about your home. You’re in the middle of the Caribbean eating the freshest fish possible. So those two mindsets and having to balance that out, it has its opportunities and its challenges. But it’s the best of both worlds.

The Wharf at Sunset Walk

3274 Margaritaville Blvd., Kissimmee, FL | 407-954-7290 | wharfatsunsetwalk.com | @thewharfatsunsetwalk

Lizzie’s Memphis Style BBQ

3270 Margaritaville Blvd., Kissimmee, FL | 407-954-7282 | lizziesbbq.com | @lizziesbbq