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Meet the Maker: Keith Luce has cooked at the White House, but calls Tavernetta home

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Keith Luce has cooked in some of the world’s best restaurants, but it’s his time as White House sous-chef for Bill and Hillary Clinton that usually comes up in conversation.

From 1992 to 1996, he helped prepare thousands of meals for the Clintons and their guests: the Dalai Lama, Nelson Mandela, Queen Noor of Jordan, the Obamas, you name it. The youngest person to ever hold the position, Luce says he was lucky to have the experience. “They were a really important part of my development as a human being,” he says. “It helped me realize that people are just people, no matter how famous they are.”

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And they all appreciate a good meal. These days, Luce is the chef and co-owner of Tavernetta, a small restaurant that opened this past spring on Edmonton Trail. “Our intention is to make high-quality northern Italian food, with a few liberties here and there,” he says. “What I was hoping to create was that little place that you just wish was in your neighbourhood.”

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That little place has been a long time coming for Luce, who moved back to Calgary four years ago to work at Corbeaux on 17th Avenue S.W. When that bakery closed, he consulted for the Bonterra Group, helping with the updates at Lina’s Italian Market.

Still, you’d be forgiven if you didn’t know Luce’s name. He keeps a low profile in Calgary, but his career highlights include gigs at Alain Ducasse in France and other Michelin-starred restaurants across Europe, and Food & Wine magazine named him one of America’s best new chefs in 1997. In 1998, he was named the James Beard Rising Star Chef of the Year. His previous award-winning restaurants include New York’s Le Cirque, Chicago’s Spruce and San Francisco’s PlumpJack. “I’ve been lucky, but I’ve worked real hard, too,” he says. “I’m pretty tenacious. I achieve my goals.”

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Luce doesn’t miss the scrutiny that comes with a high profile. “I was never comfortable with it,” he says. “I don’t mind the pressure, it’s the attention. That’s not who I am.”

Who is the real Keith Luce? Chef, of course. Former athlete and musician, too. After high school, he was offered a wrestling scholarship to a university in Iowa and a music scholarship in New York. He chose the music scholarship, figuring he’d love life in the Big Apple. He was right. “I’m a drummer-percussionist, and my passion was esoteric jazz-fusion,” he says. “But as the grandson of an Italian chef and the son of a 16th-generation American farm family, I wasn’t getting a ton of support, especially monetary support.”

He went back into the kitchen. Then, during his time in San Francisco, some of his fellow chefs convinced him to join their band. “We were kindred spirits,” he says. “They became like brothers to me.” They also introduced him to his wife and, in August, the couple had their third child, their family’s first official Canadian.

But hopefully not the last. They love their life north of the 49th parallel, says Luce, and they have no intention to move back to the U.S. “Calgary is a good, wholesome place to raise my family,” he says. “And it has a good dining scene. There’s a lot of talent and not a lot of ego.”

1002 Edmonton Tr. N.E., 403-250-8894, tavernettayyc.ca.

A Chef At Rest Still Needs To Eat

One of Keith Luce’s favourite places to dine in Calgary is Mimo, a Portuguese restaurant in Forest Lawn (4909 17th Ave. S.E.). “I go there in the afternoon by myself sometimes. I’m a bit of a loner,” he says. “They peel my potatoes to order.”

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