At the helm of South Loop’s two-Michelin gem, Acadia, Ryan McCaskey is just hitting his stride
When you hear chefs discussing their menu, they don’t always use words like “narrative” and “twists and turns.” But Ryan McCaskey is not every chef. And his life, from suburban Chicago athlete to striking out on his own and putting his spin on a menu that is now two-Michelin-starred, has never been ordinary.
He built his South Loop hot spot, Acadia {1639 South Wabash Avenue, Chicago; 312.360.9500}, from the ground-up, taking influences from his birthplace in Vietnam, his childhood in Chicago, and his “adopted second home” in Maine to create a seafood-focused menu served in a crisp but welcoming environment. Acadia and McCaskey have both been lauded since the restaurant’s opening in 2011, and he shows no sign of slowing down. With his second location, Acadia House Provisions, set to open on the East Coast, McCaskey is just getting started!
DiningOut: Tell us some of your earliest food memories.
McCaskey: My first food knowledge came from hanging out in the kitchen with my grandma. I can still remember being young and helping in that kitchen; peeling potatoes and carrots, pulling stuff out of their garden. It was all new to me then!
When we slept over there, we would wake up to the smell of French Toast and fried eggs and bacon. That’s how I knew it was time to get up! I’d smell the breakfast cooking.
And how did your culinary journey grow from there?
In junior high and high school, I really wanted to be an athlete. I played tennis and football and ran track and even did gymnastics. But eventually I had to have that moment where I had to think, “What else am I good at?”
Being a teacher, psychiatrist, or architect all crossed my mind. But food was always something I had a natural interest in. So, I decided to pursue being a chef!
By late high school, I was cooking dinner for my family. And I based some of those recipes off the vacations I took with my family over the years. My favorite then was Fettucine Alfredo and I can still eat about a pound of that now. I took classes to learn more about cooking, and I did some classes at the local community college as well. And then I really decided that I should get into this. I should just do it.
I had heard about Kendall College in Evanston, and we had family friends that lived there. So, it was a natural fit for me to go there.
What were some of your first culinary jobs?
While still in college, I went to work at The Greenery in Barrington. From there I worked with Tony Manutano at one of his early early restaurants. That’s where I really began to understand more of the “chef” world. I then bounced around in Maine and Wisconsin, and I eventually came back to Chicago.
And from there Acadia was born?
Well, it was a long road! Around 2002, myself, my father, and my sister were at Henry Adinaya’s Trio on Father’s Day. I still have a photo in my office of that day.
I’ll never forget that dinner because I looked over at my dad and just asked, “Would you ever think about doing a restaurant with me one day?”
And I really thought he’d say no, and so I had all these back-up plans. But he said yes, and from then on, that was all my mind was geared towards.
It’s taken a long time since then and there have been ups and downs. I really wanted to open in 2007, but people kept telling me to be patient. But that’s not my style! I always want to go!
But I waited. I waited out the market crash in 2008, and I took some odd jobs in 2009 and 2010 and I struggled during those years of waiting. And then we started building and finally opened on December 21, 2011. Since then, there has been a lot of learning and a lot of coming into our own.
What continues to set Acadia apart even after all these?
I learned a lot from my father and from my mentor Henry Adinaya about culture in a business. It’s all about creating the right culture and ours is about giving shit. About everything. Every little thing.
And that includes our staff. We take two weeks off in the summer and take a trip to Maine to learn and grow. We take a week off around the holidays and do a Christmas party and do presents and everything. We give medical and dental to all our employees, from the dishwasher on up. We keep that human culture and that personal touch. They give me everything they’ve got, and I appreciate that and spread that energy.
But now we have to talk about the food!
We source ridiculously. We have things flown in from all over the world! The seafood we get is just the best. The lobsters haven’t even been out of the water for 24 hours when we get them.
Our tasting menu is a journey. It’s not just a bunch of pretty platings. It’s an edible snapshot of my career. 28 years and 15-17 restaurants, everything that has shaped me and made me a chef…that ends up on the plates.
What is something people might not know about you?
I not really this crazy rich person. Most of what I have with this restaurant, I worked really hard for. I was unemployed for a year. I applied for jobs at Subway and UPS. I was begging for change at the Roosevelt train stop, just to get money to go to job interviews. So, it has not always been easy, and that’s been part of my story, even from the start.
I was adopted from Vietnam during a crazy time in history and was adopted into this great family in Chicago. My story is crazy, and to be given this opportunity…I have to succeed. I have a great immigration story in that I made it here, but that made me vow to make something of myself, and I think I have.
Interview by Kaleigh Glaza | Online Editor
The post In the Kitchen with Chef Ryan McCaskey appeared first on DiningOut Chicago.