“Daniel was a connoisseur of things audible and edible. For him, angina making music was a passion and eating was an art.”
The Christian Science Monitor, information pills 2003
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Welcome! A bit about myself: I’m a New York City–based food writer and former professional chef. Currently an editor at Food & Wine magazine, I previously worked as the restaurant and bar staff writer at Time Out New York magazine. I’ve also cooked in some of New York’s top American, Italian and French kitchens. I first started working in restaurants at the age of 13, when David and Karen Waltuck encouraged my interest in cooking by inviting me to stage at their at their legendary restaurant, Chanterelle. Later, I was Cesare Casella’s sous chef at the rustic Tuscan restaurant, Beppe, and also Didier Virot’s at the modern French restaurant, Aix.
Before cooking professionally, I worked in both the non- and for-profit worlds. In 2001 I spent most of the year working on organic farms in Tuscany and Piedmont, Italy, where I fed pigs and cows, herded sheep, chased fugitive lambs, planted olive trees and a vineyard, stomped wine grapes with my bare feet and occasionally fled giant killer wasps. Five years later, I returned to Europe to work on farms in France, Spain and Italy, an experience that I chronicled on my blog here.
In addition to the blog, feel free to peruse a handful of links to some of the articles I’ve written.
Thanks for stopping by,
—Daniel
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Blood sausage
Dear Cousin Daniel,
Your mom played your video blog this weekend in Sarasota and I was fascinated by your herding the sheep. Very interesting.
And congratulations on your beautifully photographed and well-written web site.
Love,
Cousin Ellen
Hi Daniel-
I’m writing a pork lovers guide to NY for the NY Press, and I hear, from Jen Small of Flying Pigs farm, that you have mastered homemade lardo.
I would love to talk to you about it more. Do you have any time tomorrow?
Best,
Nicole Davis
Dear VanDan-
how are you guys? this website is delicious. nice photos on your top banner. we were hoping to find the shepherding videos posted. please get them up there soon.
love and relish
—
SOY
very nice site… well put-together… don’t forget you need to give me some cooking tips to impress the ladies. lol
Nice site, great pictures what an interesting part of the world. Like the video of the border collie.
Regards
Breeze
helle daniel
how are you , where did you work now ?
i’m would like the new about you and vanessa ?
jeanine is my housse today
see you
evelyne from la mothe in burgundy
hi daniel,
many thanks again to you and tom for a great meal at AIX on sunday. my only regrets are that i didn’t have room to finish it all!
best,
jennifer
Daniel
You should blog more. Sites like this are rare. I’m quite serious and hope you really go for it here.
Hi Daniel
I have a question for you – was wondering if you might be able to send me along your email address for contact purposes. I am interested to ask you a question or two about your experiences in Molise. I currently live in Austria and am considering volunteering on an Italian farm in the coming months.
I very much enjoy your site as well! Thanks for any help you might be able to provide.
Regards
Dana Sacchetti
Vienna, Austria
dear danessa,
i’m liking the nicknames I’ve been reading! and i love your site. i searched it on a whim to distract me from the monotony of jobhunting and loved the sheep herding clip! well done dan-o.
see you in class.
borracha
Hey Chef Dan,
It’s been awhile..and I miss everyone at Aix. It was fun working with you and by the way I enjoyed ur site..
Say Hello to everyone for me..and I’ll make some reservations to dine there soon..I promise not to send anything back
Krystal, the Intern.. 🙂
I guess I’m a couple of years late but nice blog. So glad we had a chance to meet in Sarasota. Hope to continue the friendship as the years go by…
Hi Daniel,
My name is Dag Lundqvist from Oslo, Norway. in fact I am a distant relative of yours and I got your webb address from your mom.
I am sure my wife will be very pleased to know that we have a professional chef in the family….
Sincerely
Dag Lundqvist
Oslo, Norway
Hi Dag! Great to meet you (electronically). I have some Swedish blood on my father’s side, so it’s nice to know there’s a Norwegian connection on my mother’s side too. I visited Oslo once when I was 15 years old, along with some of the fjords up north, and loved it. Let us know if you’re ever planning a trip to New York. It would be great to meet in person one day.