We recently connected with Connor Cassidy and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Connor thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Looking back, do you think you started your business at the right time? Do you wish you had started sooner or later?

   Well thank you for having me! So I started working in the food industry when I was 15 years old, I immediately fell in love with the intensity and sense of urgency produced in a kitchen. I became a sponge and absorbed as much as I could every day and all day while on the job, then outside of work I fell in love with cooking shows and chef competition shows. Around the age of 17 I got a job as a sushi chef as a prep chef spending the entire day making rice, sushi roll mixes and sauces, learned how to hand sharpen knives to a razors edge and was addicted to the feeling of a blade just gliding right through anything and everything with ease. Worked my way up and became a full time sushi chef at the age of 20 and transferred to a location in California, where I ended up getting a second job at a private country club and learned the entire specialization and art of building flavor and contrasting textures. I became the Executive Chef of that country club at the age of 23 without any formal culinary training by Gods Grace and Strength. The Chef who trained me had left to start his own private chef and catering business, which I worked with for while running the kitchen at the country club and got all of the knowledge and training on being an In-Home Gourmet chef by executing all of the purchasing, prepping, cooking and serving 3-6 course meals in house then cleaning up as if I were never there. It took a little while after that and a traumatic nearly fatal accident, plus my beautiful wife Christina is a coach and suggested that I star my business and be my own boss since I had all the prior experience and knowledge of being a gourmet in home chef. She’s a consultant and coach helping people start their own ventures and readers can read about her services at christigivenconsulting.com to convince me to take all of that experience and knowledge to run my own business doing the same thing I was trained to do. Would have started much sooner if I would have had the courage and a solid list of clientele.

Connor, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I got started in the food industry as an expeditor at a restaurant/brewery in my city and was glued to watching the cooks behind the line creating dishes and how they cooked it all before I had to take the plates to the guests. I found My passion for keeping my work station completely spotless, well stocked and everything in its place at the sushi bar job. Getting all of the experience of menu development and being somewhat of a self taught international cuisine chef, I’d like future clients and or anyone interested in using my services to know that I am extremely passionate in providing the best flavored and most beautiful food they’ve ever come across because what I’ve learned is people eat with their eyes first! Everything I do, I do as unto The Lord and use His guidance to direct my choice in flavor pairings, textures etc. The problems I solve for my clients is I can create stunning and delicious food for any type of dietary restriction or allergy. As well as them knowing that when you hire Blessed Chef Catering, it’s not just some simple drop off disposable buffet type of event, it’s much more of an experience as I do everything from menu development with the customer, then I execute all of the shopping, prepping, cooking, serving and then cleaning up the event venue location as if myself or anyone was ever there, that way whoever is hiring me and whoever is hosting the event can just sit back, relax, and enjoy the experience with delicious, satisfying food in their stomach!

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

Honestly, I just want to continue my passion of blessing peoples bellies with delicious, creative, anointed and inspired food!

Have you ever had to pivot?

Yes, I almost died in nearly fatal motorcycle accident almost 8 years ago and had to learn how to walk, talk, eat and care for myself all over again due to a severe traumatic brain injury and have had to learn to pivot my life by not putting too much on my plate all at once and handle one inconvenience at a time, rather than trying to plan in my head how I would resolve them all at the same time.

Contact Info:

• Website: Blessedchef.catering
• Yelp: Blessed Chef Catering

Image Credits

Created and plated by Chef Connor Cassidy