The culinary path taken by Korean-Irish chef Robert Cassidy was marked by a radical switch of direction from the get-go.
Almost immediately after earning a degree in fire science, the North Park resident ditched his intention of fighting flames in lieu of creating flavors and crafting sushi. The journey led him to become executive chef at the Asian-inspired Cloak & Petal in Little Italy.
Cassidy’s cooking skills beckon partly to his split ancestry, which from an early age afforded him celebratory Korean dishes made by his mother and hearty meat-and-potato meals perfected by his Irish father.
Then once he got a taste of commercial kitchen life while training under skillful chefs, he decided the hook and ladders could wait until later — or never.
We caught up with Cassidy when he was still developing a specialty sushi roll at Cloak & Petal in celebration of Asian-American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, observed from May 1-31.
He shared anecdotes about changing careers, his mixed heritage, and his favorite meals, and offered advice for aspiring chefs in a recent discussion with Times of San Diego.
TOSD: What made you veer from fire science to becoming an accomplished chef?
Cassidy: I graduated from firefighting school at Miramar College right after 9/11. I had been working in various kitchens to pay the bills. At the time, everyone wanted to be in the field of firefighting and saving lives. But I found it hard to get my foot in the door, at the same time, I started to love what I was doing in kitchens. I was kind of going down two roads at the same time.
TOSD: In what restaurants did you work?
Cassidy: My first job was as a dishwasher in a Los Angeles restaurant, where the owners said I was too tall to be washing dishes. So they taught us how to cut vegetables, make tempura, break down fish, and roll sushi. After moving to San Diego in 2000, I was a sushi chef at Junior Seau’s, Point Loma Seafood, and On Broadway (now Parq Nightclub). Then, before starting as executive chef at Cloak & Petal three years ago, I was a sushi chef at Lumi and executive chef at the former Sushi on the Rock.
TOSD: Have you ever applied your education in fire science to putting out actual fires in commercial kitchens?
Cassidy: Fires literally, no. But ‘putting out fires’ when getting everyone to work together, yes. The challenge sometimes is helping people connect from different age groups and different levels of experience. On the flip side, because it’s easy to be mundane, we start fires of inspiration when showing people how to learn something new.
TOSD: How did you embrace or celebrate the vast differences between your Korean-Irish background when growing up?
Cassidy: At an early age, I really didn’t think about what I was. My dad and mother cooked, and I realized around the beginning of high school that their cultures were different. He was very fond of corned beef and potatoes for St. Patrick’s Day. He was also big on all-American holidays, when he’d barbecue and make turkey, ham, and prime rib. Whenever he cooked, we always had Korean food on the table as well, so it was kind of “pick your adventure.”
TOSD: What are some heritage dishes that you enjoy cooking for family and friends?
Cassidy: I make good baby back ribs on my American side. From my Korean side, I make kalbi ribs and a soup that my mother makes for my birthday called kimchi jjigae. It has pork, tofu, vegetables and kimchi. Soups in Korean culture are born out of ‘struggle meals’ that were made in the wintertime with preserved ingredients. Some of the best foods are those made by necessity.
TOSD: Name some of your signature dishes at Cloak & Petal.
Cassidy: We have so many different sushi rolls, plus curry karaage shrimp, prime outside skirt steak, and kolbi short ribs that include some stolen information from my mother for the marinade, which has my addition of green apples in it.
For Asian-American Pacific Islander month in May, our special sushi will be “the zodiac roll” made with yellowtail, blackened shrimp, avocado, cucumber, asparagus, smoked paprika, and honey-wasabi crema. Also, in early summer, we’ll be opening Black Mizu, a cafe within the restaurant. It will have Japanese-inspired coffee drinks and brunch items.
TOSD: What is your top advice for aspiring chefs just cracking into the industry?
Cassidy: Put your head down, listen, watch, and learn as much as you can. There will be low points that will make you question your career path. But if you love doing this more than half of the time you’re doing it, then keep pushing.
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