For the third episode of the Put a Fork In It Podcast, I had the opportunity to talk with Nick Caturano, co-founder and head of operations of DineSafe Food Allergy and Dietary Preferences App.
Nick has over 20 years experience in the hospitality industry and has worked as a small business owner/operator from the time he was 16 yrs old. He has worked in small factories producing food and has run nightclubs and sports bars, working with the public, building menus, ordering and cooking food, hiring and managing employees. In family restaurants, Nick has helped manage, cook and be a great support system to help out wherever he there was a hole. Outside of food, Nick has been the MC and DJ at corporate events and weddings for a number of years. A tireless multi-tasker and generalist with many interests, he has managed to work for great brands, such as Marriott, Ritz, Hilton, Waldorf, Hyatt and Walt Disney Company as a server, bartender, coffee breaker, and in room service for years. And, even while doing all that, he still finds the time to create and run his own projects, such as his latest, the DineSafe App, with co-founder David Richard, drawing upon his wealth of experience in hospitality and working with the public, food and service. Nick was born in Brooklyn, NY and raised in Miami, FL. Nick currently Lives with his wife in Orlando, FL.
During this episode, we had a great conversation! In addition to discussing the app he’s working on, and how it can help lots of people, we also covered a several deeper topics and principles, as well as current issues facing people with food allergies.
Some of the topics we cover included:
-Food allergies and their effects on families, individuals and restaurants
-Explosion in food allergies in last 10 years
-Corporate and social responsibilities
-Passion for what you do versus the drive just to make money
-Jumping into the unknown and figuring it out as you go
-Why conventional wisdom to specialize, specialize, specialize may not work in every case or be the best advice
-The latest news (controversy) on Epipens
-Health, wellness and food
-and so much more!
We go over the 1 hour mark, but it’s so worth it to listen.
To get in touch with Nick, email him at nick@dinesafeapp.com.
To learn more about Dinesafe App, visit www.dinesafeapp.com, download in the App Store or on Google Play, or follow them on Twitter.