Rachel Sillcocks ’99 is co-owner and co-founder of the San Francisco restaurant Hilda and Jesse. While at Northwestern, Sillcocks majored in art history and minored in French and studied abroad in Europe, where she took cooking classes. She went on to attend the French Culinary Institute (now the International Culinary Center) in New York City and has worked in the restaurant industry for over 20 years. Hilda and Jesse opened in November 2021 and is known for its whimsically styled interior and eclectic dinner and brunch menus. With a Michelin star under its belt, the restaurant has become a standout in San Francisco’s North Beach neighborhood. Sillcocks spoke with Northwestern Magazine about her success.
Rachel Sillcocks
Where did the idea to start this restaurant come from?
We started as a pop up about five years ago in 2019. We started out doing brunch for dinner, and our idea for the restaurant was to elevate daytime dining.
We opened the restaurant in November 2021, which we hoped would be the end of the COVID-19 pandemic but turned out to be the beginning of the omicron variant. So, our hopes to do a solid daytime business didn’t really work out, because people weren’t dining out for lunch. We ended up pivoting to dinner on weekdays and brunch on the weekends.
How did you decide on the name of your restaurant?
My business partner and our chef is Ollie Liedags. Ollie’s grandmother’s name was Hilda, and my grandfather’s name was Jesse. They both lived with us for long periods of time while we were growing up, and we liked the way their names sounded together. It’s fun to honor them.
What was the inspiration behind Hilda and Jesse’s aesthetic?
We wanted there to be sort of this retro diner vibe to the space, and we wanted it to be colorful and playful and very different from other restaurants that were being built in the Bay Area. We really wanted the space to be vibrant and lively.
Credit: Nicole Morrison Photography
What are some of your customers’ favorite dishes?
Ollie is really remarkable when it comes to thinking about food. I’ve never met anybody who puts ideas, flavors and textures together the way they do.
A really good example is our Pancakes Without Boundaries. The pancakes are crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, and Ollie tops them with whipped buttermilk and a syrup that has grilled fruit in it, so they have this sweet and savory balance to them. Another example is our avocado toast. Instead of it being on a piece of bread, it’s on tempura-fried sweet potato.
Hilda and Jesse earned a Michelin star in August 2024. How did it feel?
It changed everything for us.
We were invited to the ceremony, to do an appetizer for the reception that preceded it. We went to the ceremony and found out that we had not only been awarded a Michelin star but also the Outstanding Service Award in California for 2024. It was a really special night for us, because essentially the entire restaurant got recognized — not only the talents of our chef and their kitchen but also the front of house. It did wonderful things as far as visibility for us. I think we sold out six or eight weeks of reservations within 24 to 48 hours.
Credit: Nicole Morrison Photography
The restaurant has been praised as a supportive space for queer folk. How did you create that environment?
Well, both Ollie and I are queer, so that’s a starting point. As we started building the business, it turned out that a lot of people we hired were also queer … and so were many of our customers. … It wasn’t necessarily something we started out to do, but it is who we are, and I think it’s one of the things that makes us unique. Our authenticity is the foundation of our style of hospitality.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
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