William Cao
The Progress | San Francisco
november 2022
Born and raised in San Francisco, William Cao worked as a server at a local mom and pop sushi restaurant for eight years before deciding he needed a change. In 2014, he landed at a fine-dining Italian restaurant in Burlingame, CA, and when a bartender serendipitously quit, Cao was presented with the opportunity to try his hand behind the stick. He was hooked—bartending scratched Cao’s creative itch, and seeing the results of his hard work in real time encouraged him to embrace his newfound passion.
Cao moved back to San Francisco in 2016 to join the team at Chaya Brasserie on the Embarcadero. As lead mixologist, he was given the freedom to hone his craft and develop his own style. He also learned to hand-cut ice, a process that reminded him of his first cocktail breakthrough: sipping an Old Fashioned at Rickhouse years ago. It was a life changing experience that reshaped the way Cao looked at and appreciated cocktails.
In 2017, Cao moved on to The Prospect, first as a bartender, then bar manager for two years, before accepting a position at the Michelin-starred, Chinese-American restaurant, Mister Jiu’s. It was there Cao learned to find his voice and experiment with global flavor profiles, focusing in particular on Asian ingredients. Wanting to bring his perspective to a new bar program, Cao joined the team at The Progress in 2021. As bar manager, Cao puts forward approachable, dynamic cocktails that pay homage to his Chinese and Vietnamese backgrounds, featuring components like sesame oil-washed rum and winter melon sugar.
2022 StarChefs San Francisco-Oakland Rising Stars Award Winner
