Since her emancipation at age 16 – due to an unflinching need for independence – Danielle has been involved in the food service industry. She started her experience in the school cafeteria and waitressing at the local Denny’s, but she soon found an opportunity in the form of an internship at a 5-Star restaurant in Albuquerque, New Mexico under Head Chef Lincoln Tarantino.
She sold everything she owned, bought a van, and drove to the Land of Enchantment to start her career. She worked her way from dish washer to hostess, then from food preparation to line cook, up to Assistant Kitchen Manager in the span of a year and a half. While the Head Chef was away on business, she ran the kitchen for four months – providing her invaluable experience in the management field as well as contributing to her culinary skills.
She credits Tarantino’s “tactic” of “Feeding her to the wolves” for her success in his restaurant. She learned every facet of the food service industry, in ways that traditional schooling simply couldn’t compare. When she felt she had learned all she could from the esteemed Head Chef, Danielle decided to take – and pass – the New Mexico Proficiency Test, the equivalent to the final test you’d take to graduate culinary school.
Wanting to return to her roots, she returned to California and over the next 12 years worked in various restaurants around the Northern California area (including Shadowbrook in Santa Cruz, the Crow’s Nest in Capitola, and the Rusty Duck in Sacramento), before settling on a corporate job working for Strings. She managed 35 restaurants in California, but it took her away from her passion; cooking. She grew tired of the travel and the lack of in-kitchen experience, so returned to her hometown to work in a restaurant close to home.
Ludy’s was that restaurant.
Danielle serves as our Executive Sous Chef and attends many catering events personally to ensure that the our quality of food remains top-notch in both taste and aesthetic.
We just want to thank you for the amazing job you did for us at our wedding. We could not have been more thrilled with the service that you provided to us on our special day. Everything was absolutely dynamite; we still have friends and family calling us to say how much they loved the food. If we ever have catering needs in the future you will be our first and only choice.
