Who We Are
Chef Danie has been a chef in this area for the past twenty years. She started her first restaurant in the small town of Vancleave,MS with one thousand dollars and the dream to have the best Italian restaurant in the area. Pappa Roni’s was the name of the restaurant and it enjoyed great success in the same location for fourteen years drawing a following from across the coast. People drove from as far as Diamonhead to enjoy fresh made Italian food. Chef Danie has a passion for fresh local seasonal ingredients and has always made everything in house. From the salad dressings to the fresh made pasta everything has been a labor of love.
In 2009 Chef Danie opened her second restaurant in Ocean Springs,MS called Capone’s Italian Ristorante. This restaurant was in Ocean Springs for two years before making the move to D’Iberville,Ms to be in a higher traffic location.
In 2012 Chef Danie reopened Capone’s in D’Iberville,MS. The restaurant has enjoyed great success in this location but was closed in 2014 for Chef Danie to persue other avenues such as catering and teaching.
In 2014 Chef Danie opened LUNCH in Biloxi which is her first quick service restaurant serving fresh local food .
Chef Danie has built a strong culinary team around her, some of whom have been there for many years including her son Chef Ferrill who has worked alongside Chef Danie for most of his life becoming her right hand and managing most aspects of the restaurant along with her.
Chef Danie continues to bring great Italian food to the Gulf Coast. She remains passionate about educating people about the benefits of eating whole fresh foods and enjoying one of the great gifts in life which is a great meal with family and friends.
Along with her many hours at the restaurant Chef Danie also owns Pink Soap Productions which is a small production company that produces her cooking show – Chef Danie Cooks where she shares recipes and cooking ideas. The cooking show has been on the air for 4 seasons now on Fox 25. Thursdays at 11:30 am.
There is also a full line of products that are produced at the restaurant –sauces, dressings, fresh pasta, and twenty different flavors of cheesecakes which are sold at Capone’s as well as the local Fresh Farmers Market where she has been a member for the past three years.
Chef Danie also taught various cooking classes at Capone’s and worked as The Culinary Arts Director for The Mary C Cultural Arts Center where she taught to adults as well as children. She also has worked with local schools teaching children about fresh whole foods as well as working with local culinary programs as an advisor.
Chef Danie is a member of the Ocean Spring Fresh Market, Long Beach Fresh Market and Gulfport Fresh Market here on the coast where her team shows up weekly to sample the great products from the restaurant.
Chef Danie is a proud member of Slow Food, USA, an honorary member of Culinary Corps, A member of Real Food Gulf Coast, the Ocean Springs Chamber, The D’Iberville /St. Martin Chamber, The Gulf Coast Italian American Society, she sits on The Board of Directors for the Mississippi Restaurant Association and worked as Culinary Director for the Mary C Culinary Café in Ocean Springs, MS.
Chef Danie now works as a personal Culinary Advisor for her own company called Chef Danie Cooks and teaches classes in her new culinary classroom in Biloxi. She also travels and does demo classes for various conventions teaching the importance of fresh food.
Chef Danie was nominated in 2013 by Best Chefs
Chef Danie won 2nd place in the 2014 Great Seafood Cook-off on the Gulf Coast and was the first female chef to ever compete for the title.
She was recognized by the Department of Marine Resources for the State of Mississippi as one of the top seafood chefs in the state.