Glendale, CA
BIO
Born and raised in California, Chef Danielle Duran Zecca was passionate about food from a young age. After high school, Chef Danielle attended Le Cordon Bleu where she focused on classic French Cuisine. Immediately after graduating, she set out to work in kitchens that would allow her to expand her culinary repertoire.
Danielle went to work in the kitchens of some of California’s best chefs including Walter Manzke, Neal Fraser, and Sang Yoon and then moved to New York to do the same, spending time at Le Bernadin and The Modern. While at the Modern, Chef Danielle was offered a chance to take over the kitchen at Vespa, an Upper East Side restaurant well known for it’s Italian Cuisine. Drawing upon her time studying in Italy under classically trained Italian Chefs, including her own mother-in law, Danielle made Vespa her own, incorporating her own techniques and styles into modern Italian dishes. During her tenure there Vespa was regularly named one of the neighborhood’s favorite.
In 2017, Danielle made a return to cooking classic French cuisine becoming the Sous Chef at the acclaimed Le CouCou restaurant, which would go on to win Best New Restaurant that same year at the annual James Beard Awards.
Danielle's food is a unique combination of her heritage and passions. Subtle influences of rich Mexican cuisine are paired with French technique and a California fresh food approach, to create what she calls “New Age' Italian.
After many years in New York, Danielle is now back in California, and eager to share her love of cooking with a new audience. Currently, Danielle is running her own catering company “Eat Your Heart Out” as well as doing menu consulting for large restaurant groups while exploring opportunities to open a new restaurant of her own.
When not running her own culinary empire, Chef Danielle can be seen on The Food Network competing in Beat Bobby Flay and Kitchen Casino as well as planning an upcoming Pop-Up which will highlight seasonal, fresh ingredients and showcase many of her favorite made from scratch, Mexitalian dishes .
Danielle went to work in the kitchens of some of California’s best chefs including Walter Manzke, Neal Fraser, and Sang Yoon and then moved to New York to do the same, spending time at Le Bernadin and The Modern. While at the Modern, Chef Danielle was offered a chance to take over the kitchen at Vespa, an Upper East Side restaurant well known for it’s Italian Cuisine. Drawing upon her time studying in Italy under classically trained Italian Chefs, including her own mother-in law, Danielle made Vespa her own, incorporating her own techniques and styles into modern Italian dishes. During her tenure there Vespa was regularly named one of the neighborhood’s favorite.
In 2017, Danielle made a return to cooking classic French cuisine becoming the Sous Chef at the acclaimed Le CouCou restaurant, which would go on to win Best New Restaurant that same year at the annual James Beard Awards.
Danielle's food is a unique combination of her heritage and passions. Subtle influences of rich Mexican cuisine are paired with French technique and a California fresh food approach, to create what she calls “New Age' Italian.
After many years in New York, Danielle is now back in California, and eager to share her love of cooking with a new audience. Currently, Danielle is running her own catering company “Eat Your Heart Out” as well as doing menu consulting for large restaurant groups while exploring opportunities to open a new restaurant of her own.
When not running her own culinary empire, Chef Danielle can be seen on The Food Network competing in Beat Bobby Flay and Kitchen Casino as well as planning an upcoming Pop-Up which will highlight seasonal, fresh ingredients and showcase many of her favorite made from scratch, Mexitalian dishes .