How Daniele Kucera Of Etcetera Etcetera & Charlie’s Table Is Helping To Promote Healthy Eating

An Interview With Martita Mestey

Make people more aware of the challenges facing gluten-free food insecure individuals. As awful as food insecurity is for too many Americans, imagine the additional stress placed on those who must eat gluten-free.

In this interview series, called “Chefs and Restaurateurs Helping To Promote Healthy Eating” we are talking to chefs and restaurateurs who are helping to promote and raise awareness about healthy eating. The purpose of the series is to amplify their message and share insights about healthy eating with our readers. As a part of this series, we had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Daniele Kucera.

Daniele Kucera owns Etcetera Etcetera Restaurant in Hell’s Kitchen. Kucera is also a brand advocate for Charlie’s Table Gluten-Free Pasta and supports Charlie’s Table Oasis -an information-based non-profit, with the goals of creating a community of people who have celiac disease or gluten sensitivity, their families and friends, and creating solutions to perceived unmet needs of the gluten-free community at large.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Our readers would love to ‘get to know’ you a bit. Can you share with our readers a story about what inspired you to become a restauranteur or chef?

I spent my childhood in the kitchen with mom and grandma cooking various homemade dishes on a wood burning stove.

Do you have a specific type of food that you focus on? What was it that first drew you to cooking that type of food? Can you share a story about that with us?

Italian food from northern Italian regions mixed with influences from Austria, Slovenia, Croatia.

Can you share the funniest or most interesting story that has happened to you since you started? What was the lesson or take away you took out of that story?

When I first moved to NYC, I was asked if I desired a cappuccino at 10 pm. I was completely taken off guard since in Italy, the cappuccino is a morning drink. Also, I was very surprised that some people were drinking soda or coffee with their food.

None of us can be successful without some help along the way. Did you have mentors or cheerleaders who helped you to succeed? Can you tell us a story about their influence?

I started at San Domenico NY. The owner, Tony May, was my mentor and I learned a lot. After that, I moved to Jean Georges restaurant, where I learned the French way of running a restaurant. It was very interesting and inspiring.

In your experience, what is the key to creating a dish that customers are crazy about?

A simple dish with few fresh ingredients

Personally, what is the ‘perfect meal’ for you?

Eggs in the morning, pasta for lunch, fish for dinner

Where does your inspiration for creating come from? Is there something that you turn to for a daily creativity boost?

From my mom and grandma’s All-Italian cookbooks.

Are you working on any new or exciting projects now? What impact do you think this will have?

Working on making the homemade gluten-free pasta taste like pasta in the region I grew up in. While my restaurant guests can’t tell the difference between my gluten-free and wheat-based flour, I am always looking for ways to improve it even further.

Ok super. Let’s now jump to the main part of our interview. You are currently leading an initiative to help promote healthy eating. Can you tell us a bit about what you and your organization are trying to change in our world today?

The food and eating culture in the USA continues to evolve, along with a rise in knowledge and concerns about food allergens. I feel like a food ambassador, including recognizing food allergens and how to make dining safer for all of my restaurant guests.

Can you tell us the backstory about what inspired you to originally feel passionate about this cause?

I was diagnosed with gluten intolerance so I started to brainstorm how to improve my lifestyle and eating. Think about it….I’m an Italian restaurateur who grew up in the mountains in Northern Italy with a grandmother who cooked pasta on a wood-burning stove most of the week — then found out in middle age that I can no longer eat a staple of my diet. My thoughts immediately went to my restaurant guests facing the same challenges.

Without saying specific names, can you tell us a story about a particular individual who was helped by your cause?

Several years after I developed the fresh gluten-free pasta served today at Etcetera Etcetera Restaurant in New York City, I became a member of a group of individuals helping care for a mutual friend facing end-of-life health challenges. I brought up to one of the members of the group my desire to bring my fresh gluten-free pasta to all gluten-free people seeking a great-tasting pasta. That individual, David Landay, actually established a company — Charlie’s Table — that is now making my pasta available all over the country.

Are there three things the community/society/politicians can do to help you address the root of the problem you are trying to solve?

Three activities that immediately come to mind:

• I would like to see all restaurants formalize their commitment to taking care of celiac and gluten sensitive guests. While Etcetera Etcetera has been very aggressive in this area, we recently became a participant in the Charlie’s Table Oasis Gluten-Free Food Safety Restaurant Program. This FREE restaurant program provides a comprehensive range of best practices materials to provide gluten-free dining guests with a safe restaurant experience.
• Make people more aware of the challenges facing gluten-free food insecure individuals. As awful as food insecurity is for too many Americans, imagine the additional stress placed on those who must eat gluten-free.
• Require pharmaceutical firms to list gluten on their list of drug ingredients. We need our politicians in Washington to finally push through common-sense legislation to inform the public if there is gluten in drugs, prescribed just like with food labels.

What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me When I First Started as a Chef or Restaurateur” and why? Please share a story or an example for each.

• How much work there is running a restaurant
• Hours
• Dealing with the staff
• Dealing with the public
• No family/friend’s time

What’s the one dish people have to try if they visit your establishment?

There are many. All created equally with passion at www.etcetcnyc.com

Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would like to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. :-)

Right now, Volodymyr Zelensky and Barack Obama

How can our readers further follow your work online?

Instagram: @etcetcnyc

Instagram: @charliestableglutenfree

This was very meaningful, thank you so much. We wish you only continued success on your great work!