Danny Delcambre
Deaf/Blind "Ragin
Cajun" Restaurant 0wner-Chef
- By Brandi Bard
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This
handsome chef and owner of the fifties decor and Cajun trendy restaurant in
Seattle, Washington, the "Ragin Cajun", seemingly had everything
going against him |
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from
the start. |
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Born a Cajun in New Iberia, Louisiana (where Tobasco sauce is made), he had at least two strikes against him at birth. Danny was born with Usher Syndrome, a genetic birth anomaly causing varying degrees of blindness and deafness from birth. Cajun music, dialect and cooking are all very unique in the closely-knit communities of Louisiana. Unfortunately, so is Usher Syndrome. It caused Danny to be deaf at birth; and now he also has the onset of severe tunnel vision and night blindness that makes him legally blind. Eventually, he will lose all of his sight... especially since he already has at least one cataract causing further blurred vision, now (at 38 years old) he can only see what you might be able to see through a straw. He has no peripheral vision at all. He sees sort of white blurry edges due to that cataract. However, he can still cook spectacular Cajun meals by keeping each of his utensils, spices, foods, dishes etc. etc. etc. in exactly the same place ALL THE TIME. He is able to run his own very successful restaurant and communicate in American sign language with people who are deaf, as well as to go all over the country conducting seminars in positive independence and holding discussions for people who are blind. What an example he is, too! |
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Danny's
mother Mary Ann and his father Amadee Delcombre both cooked Cajun food in
their kitchen in Louisiana. As a result, Danny knew those wonderful special
Cajun tastes and the unique methods of making gumbo and Jambalaya etc., etc.
He also was a speed demon from early youth, when it came to peeling crayfish
and crabs, and learning the correct way to make a roux (which is the
beginning basis of most sauces) and specialties like Cajun Etouffee (a rice
dish, literal translation meaning "smothered in gravy"). |
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Cajun
cooking is full of flavor - not necessarily hot and spicy... simply very
flavorful. So this very young boy began developing his own Cajun recipes and
a lifelong love of cooking with a natural desire to own his own restaurant.
He graduated from a two-year culinary program at Seattle Central College and
a twice the normal length internship with Paul Prudhomme at his famous New
Orleans Restaurant, K-Pauls. Despite this solid background, restaurateurs
wouldn't hire Danny to cook, but would only offer part-time jobs as a
dishwasher or table cleaner. Undeterred, he decided he would open his own
restaurant! |
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Danny
said, "People saw me as a disabled person. It was an attitude thing that
I couldn't do anything about, so I decided that if I wanted to work in a
restaurant and cook, I'd have to open my own place." With the help of
the SBA (Small Business Administration) he found a small cafe for sale in the
market section of downtown Seattle, Washington. Then in order to prove to the
bank that he was worth a loan and could do the job, he worked alongside of
the previous owner for three months without pay preparing Cajun meals and
beginning to build his following of devoted diners. |
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Finally,
after single-handedly preparing a big banquet for many guests, he got his
loan and remodeled the room into a casual small cafe that Danny could handle
with ease. He hired a mostly deaf staff and chose the sign language sign for
'delicious' as his logo (it's the picture that you see with his two hands
with fingers curved). In Seattle there are over 2,200 places to eat and most
go broke in under two years. They've been going strong since April of 1993. |
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The
great place is not only for deaf diners or for those who need the help of
sign language interpreters at all. Everyone can enjoy this fun experience
from school children to the president, Bill Clinton. The President has been
there twice and has invited Danny to the White House to share his experiences
with other community leaders since Danny has become a professional speaker at
the international level, giving presentations to associations and
corporations on Customer Service, Overcoming Obstacles, Coping with Change
and Humor in the Workplace. |
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Danny
and his wife Holly certainly should know for themselves how tough it is for
some people to prove their worth and independence to others. He said, 'S got
tired of being turned down for jobs and just cleaning tables and doing dishes
or cooking hamburgers at fast food places. It had seemed so 'dead-end'."
That's why he listened to positive thinking friends who suggested that he go
back to school and get his degree to show others his positive belief in
himself. Please note the smiles on the faces of some of our well satisfied
staff members and their guests after sharing the gusto of a Ragin Cajun meal
recently, and we will be telling you more about their meal in an upcoming
Dining Out Capably column (206) 2239510, (206) 6242598 (TTY). |
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