30 People. 30 Days. Day 22: Danielle

Danielle rents the room we’re sleeping in. It’s in her contract. All the borders at my mother-in-law’s house are moved into new places for a week to accommodate the Thanksgiving turkeys who show up and disrupt everything.
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Danielle didn’t seem to mind. Since coming to San Francisco from Brooklyn, this native of Maine has found her place, in the city and in this house. And she’s finding her way into the family as well.


When I asked her why she moved to San Francisco, Danielle said it’s because “New York didn’t have the highest rent anymore!” Her humor already fits into my family. Well, I’d come to find our she got an opportunity of a life time and took it even if it meant she had to leave her boyfriend and dog behind. Coming from a small, farming community she’s used to taking opportunities when they are presented. This was no different.


As a teenager who had a love and passion for culinary arts, Danielle tried to break into the restaurant business the old fashion way - moving from dish washer up to chef. But she was stopped because “it’s a man’s place” they told her. Well that didn’t stop her from going to culinary school and down to New York where she eventually found an employer who shared her passion and ethos on cooking seasonal foods and being mindful of sustainability practices. They would be her ladder to open a new location in the Bay Area.


Danielle learned how to cook from her grandmother and mother. Three generations of creative and hard working women who did not survive by relying on men or their rules. Maybe that’s why she seems to be a natural in the kitchen of this house. No taller or any quieter than the other women who are packed in the tiny kitchen, Danielle is certainly right at home with this sisterhood. And having tasted her lobster roll and shrimp sandwich, I’d say she’s found her place in the professional kitchen as well. I’m glad to have shared a meal or two with her. Happy Thanksgiving.