It takes a rare personality to make Eggs Benedict for 125 people in a camp kitchen, with real hollandaise sauce, and just consider it routine. Yet that was typical of Dane Mechlin — Chef Dane, as he was known — who died in April of leukemia, surrounded by his family and many of the close friends he had made over the years.
For Mechlin, good food wasn’t just for epicures or people who could afford private chefs. It was for everyone.
That was the animating idea behind his meal prep business, Chef Dane’s, where folks could go to his professional kitchen, where recipes and ingredients were set up in workstations. Customers could enjoy a social evening and a glass of wine while preparing the kinds of meals he made for his private clients without any shopping, chopping, or clean up.
Calling Mechlin’s life “adventurous” is an understatement. Born in Lansing, Mich., Mechlin attended college in Ohio before embarking on lifelong travels, with a stop at the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco.
His travels took him to Yugoslavia, Key West — he opened the first kite shop there — Aspen — where he became interested in cooking — and San Diego and Cabo San Lucas — where he opened several restaurants. Chef Dane settled down in Santa Clara with his wife Karen Cornwell, who worked for a local tech company. Together, they traveled to Africa, Thailand, Australia, Portugal, Spain, Fiji and the Caribbean.
But as important as his career as a professional chef was, Mechlin’s life was as much about community engagement as it was about food.
The father of three Eagle Scouts, Dane was active in scouting and always ready to share his talents — including the famed Eggs Benedict breakfast for a Cub Scout family camp.
“We had an annual Boy Scout barbeque for our district, and he always cooked for it,” remembered former Santa Clara Senior Commissioner Grant McCauley. “When we started it, Dane said, ‘I know a little about this.’ And he handled all the food and the cooking, and it was a wonderful spread.”
One young chef who was inspired by Mechlin and worked with him for almost 10 years is Nerissa Maria Ward, a longtime Santa Clara resident who now runs Chutney Mary’s, a catering, event planning and food truck business in Alexandria, Va. Her aunt owned the Empress of India restaurant in Santa Clara.
“I was a student at San Jose State looking for a part-time job, and I found an ad on Craigslist,” recalled Ward. “I walked in there, handed him my resume and referral letter, and he just put it on the table, and showed me around the kitchen. Then he hands me an apron, takes out a yellow notepad and a Sharpie, and said, ‘Here’s a list.’ I had to cut up a whole filet for beef Wellington. And he left.
“After I did that, I took the scraps and made taco meat,” she continued. “He came back after an hour and a half, and asked, ‘Where did you find this meat?’ I told him it was all the scraps; I couldn’t throw it away.
“He put his fingers in the pan, as he did, because he hated using tools.” Ward continued, “and tasted the meat, and said, ‘This is good. Aren’t you a smart one.’”
That was the beginning of a friendship and sometimes business partnership that lasted two decades.
“He taught me that a piece of paper is just a piece of paper — especially when you’re in the kitchen. When I hire people now, I tell them, ‘I don’t want to read your resume. What am I going to do with a resume in the kitchen? It’s about hands-on experience. Show me what you can do.’ And I learned that from Dane,” said Ward.
Mechlin is survived by his wife, Karen; sons Zachary, Joshua, and Skylar; and his sister, Paige. Donations in Dane’s memory can be made to: World Central Kitchen, Scouts, or the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.
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