Other
Cassie Shortino
James Beard Award winner
- Discipline
- Other
i. Biography
Coming Up
Precision and pace defined the early kitchen years that shaped Cassie Shortino’s craft. At Crudo in Arizona, she worked as chef in an environment where those habits mattered on every shift. That ground-level experience carried into Tratto in Phoenix, Arizona, where she moved into the Head Chef role and held it until 2021, a stretch that marked the point where technical confidence and authority in the kitchen had clearly caught up with each other. Ownership arrived in 2021 with Shorty’s Char-Pit, which Cassie Shortino owns today. The shift from chef to owner put her in charge of the pace, tone, and direction of the work under her own name. As a Phoenix pop-up business, Shorty’s Char-Pit sits in the present tense of her career: immediate, mobile, and built from the discipline of the restaurant years that came before it.
Where They Are Now
Shorty’s Char-Pit is the Phoenix pop-up business Cassie Shortino owns today. In that format, the name functions as both brand and working shorthand for a career that moved from kitchen roles into independent ownership. The business reflects a maker’s control over rhythm and presence, with Shortino now directing the work herself.
Signature
Shorty’s Char-Pit is Cassie Shortino’s signature name in, and it does the work of a defining mark rather than a single plated dish. It identifies the current venture that carries her name forward and ties back to the progression that runs from chef at Crudo in Arizona to Head Chef at Tratto in Phoenix, Arizona until 2021, then into ownership in 2021. The signature here is the business itself: the point where her kitchen experience becomes a public-facing form.
Profile updated July 2026
FAQ
Asked of Cassie
What is Cassie Shortino's current role?
As of 2026, Cassie Shortino is Owner of the pop-up business Shorty's Char-Pit.
Where did Cassie Shortino work before?
Cassie Shortino's earlier career included Crudo and Tratto.
What recognition has Cassie Shortino received?
James Beard Award nomination for Rising Star Chef.
