Chef Ricco DePasquale
Chef Ricco, Originally from New England, knew at age six while watching Julia Child’s The French Chef that he wanted to cook. After completing culinary arts training at a trade school he was headed to The Culinary Institute of America. Fate intervened and he instead headed to the Navy but not as a cook. After the Navy he toiled away in corporate America for twenty-years until he knew it was time to follow his heart back to cooking.
After several cooking gigs he found himself on Māui opening a bakery and later rebranding an existing restaurant for a popular farm on the Hāna Highway. A supposed six-month commitment turned into five-years. Leaving Māui he found himself in Portland, OR. After dozens of interviews and hours of conversations with prospective employers he was ready to return to his love: pizza.
While readying to take the helm of a downtown pizza restaurant he, on a whim, answered an ad for a soon to be opening breakfast café. There was some irony in that he was to open a breakfast café on Māui but it didn’t happen. Maplewood. On his first visit he thought he was lost because how can a restaurant be in the middle of a quaint neighborhood? Because it is a neighborhood and many of the customers of the Café come from this neighborhood.
The opportunity that Dan and Laura presented to him matched more closely to his personal goals than whatever he could accomplish at the pizza restaurant. It is not often that you get the opportunity to be in at the ground for two restaurants. In addition to knowing that he could trust these two owners, he also wanted the challenge of writing a new menu so he and Dan set out to do that. They knew that everything had to be made from scratch. Ricco knew that he didn’t want to serve wraps or breakfast burritos. While there are only so many ways to cook an egg, they believe that their seasonally changing menu is interesting and unique.
Watching the cafe evolve and grow has been rewarding, really rewarding. Ricco is led by owners that care about the food they serve even if the cost is higher because, in the end, you can’t fool a customer into believing they are getting the best if they are not. Surrounded by a team that understands what he is trying to create inspires him every day. Additional inspiration comes from the conversations that he has with Maplewood’s customers. Many of them love talking about food and so does Ricco. Ask him about his slow-roasted ketchup and he’ll pull up a chair and will happily explain the process. As an Italian, making food for others to eat is intrinsic to his “vibe” and for the past two and a half years he has enjoyed vibing with some of the greatest customers he has ever had the pleasure to serve.
More about the Owners
Dan has extensive culinary training and history with over 20 years experience in Portland and Kansas City (Farm-to-Table, Fine dining, European style bakery). He has been busy testing new menu items to round out your favorites. Laura has a business background and is an entrepreneur at heart. She’ll be managing the back office and taste testing.
A few years ago, Dan and Laura were exploring Portland neighborhoods and stumbled upon Maplewood Coffee & Tea. They instantly fell in love with the cafe, and felt inspired to buy a house and move to this area of Portland. They live in the neighborhood with their two lively kids and two dogs.
