And in the beginning was a dream......
This photograph is my most precious professionally related photo.
My great uncle Gennaro (seated with trophy) and my great grandfather Antonio, immigrated (via Ellis Island) around the turn of the century and within a few years were able to continue a de Luca family tradition by opening up a restaurant in Glen Cove, New York (Long Island). This picture was taken in 1936, and by the time this frame was snapped, my great grandfather had already returned to Italy. His taste for America had soured so he left his brother to run the tavern on Long Island. I love this picture because it proves that hospitality has run through my family for generations and becoming a chef was just an extension of what my family had started years earlier. Incidentally this tavern is still being operated by an arm of my family, through the descendants of my great uncle Gennaro.
welcome to the e portfolio website of Tony de luca.
I am a chef. That means I lead a team of cooks in the the multi-faceted profession of cook. Actually, I don't even do that anymore. Today I teach others to be "chefs" at a leading culinary school in Niagara on the Lake. This doesn't seem to matter. The die has been cast. I am what I am.
I am a man defined by my profession. Not that I chose it to be that way. But it seems that whenever I meet anyone or whenever I'm introduced by others, it is always "chef" Tony de Luca. Never just Tony de Luca, a really nice guy, or Tony de Luca, a really good hockey player. Always "chef" Tony de Luca. I'm not complaining about this circumstance either, I'm more amused than annoyed. Apart from being a Doctor, is any other person introduced by their profession? Meet "plumber" john, or "auto-mechanic" Peter.
Over the years, people have often enquired about my professional life, so intrigued and genuinely interested, as they are in knowing the path I've taken in learning my craft. Indeed, I have spied a very personal romanticism associated with what I do. My theory is that as a culture, we all have very personal and intimate relationship with our food and often with the ones preparing it.
The creation of this e portfolio is in many ways the answer to those enquiries. The timing is right. In my know role as professor, I have an opportunity to think about these things. That's the first thing you might like to know about me. I think. I like to think. Often I think alot. I am not good at quick responses, actions. Invariably, those get me into one form of trouble or another. Then there is the technological issues. I've had to wait until my own knowledge of technology was at a level where i could comfortably work within it. In doing so, it has enabled me the confidence that i could use it in this way, to get the word out so to speak.
So I welcome you again. Please be patient with me. I will in the following pages endeavour to lay out my professional soul for the whole world to mull over, chew on, swallow and spit out (where necessary). I will try not to bore you, but I can't promise I will entertain you. I can't promise that I won't piss you off either as I'm approaching this as a very personal endeavour. Like it? Hate it? I couldn't care less.
P.S. that is the next thing you might like to know about me. I have a strange sense of humour!!