Danny McCubbin’s dream cheap house in Sicily led to a social enterprise project which has brought new life to a town in bad shape.
By Ara Jansen
When Danny McCubbin decided to buy a home for one euro in a dying town in Italy, he couldn’t have dreamed what would come from it.
Originally from the Gold Coast, Danny had been living in the UK and working with celebrity chef Jamie Oliver in his Fifteen restaurant and as culture manager for many years.
Danny decided it was time for a change, so he took up the one-euro home offer with the idea that he would turn it into a community space. Through a series of twists and turns he made it to Italy in 2020, landing in Mussomeli, a remote town in the middle of Sicily, population 10,000. He didn’t know a soul, couldn’t speak the language and had no job.
He went up to the attic of the house he had bought and discovered boxes of cooking equipment, beautiful wooden chopping blocks and handsewn shopping bags. People started stopping by to ask him who he was and what he was doing – and they were so kind in offering help.
Danny walked everywhere and got to know the town. As a connector and natural social enterprise builder, often using food as his vehicle, it wasn’t long before Danny’s brain was whirring with ideas.
Once again, through a series of twists and good turns, Danny found a kitchen space to rent and started his new social enterprise: The Good Kitchen. It started as a meals-on-wheels for anyone who needed it in the economically depleted town and offered meals for the elderly or those who were alone. They received donated fresh food and dry goods from local supermarkets. People young and old began to volunteer.
With a lot of work, it became a hub for local activities. Kids cooking classes started with kids from a local orphanage, which drew the local nonnas out of their homes to pass on traditional recipes and forge new inter-generational relationships.
Saturday is English lessons. Sunday is a long table lunch stretching out into the square and welcoming anyone to join the meal, even tourists passing through. The kitchen sends meals to five Ukrainian refugee families who speak no Italian and have little. Danny also welcomed a young man to do six months community service to work in the kitchen who proved to be one of his best volunteers.
Danny started documenting the journey on a blog, which five years on led to his first book, The Good Kitchen – Love and connection through food. The book is a mix of Danny’s journey plus vegetarian recipes which they serve in the kitchen, using simple, everyday ingredients. There are also recipes if you find yourself needing to cook for a large group of people and information on how to swap out ingredients if you don’t have everything. Danny’s celery leaf pesto is a favourite, made when getting creative.
Danny turns 60 this month and has now moved out of town to a new home. The property has olive trees on it and Danny has been making his own oil. A local friend brings his goat herd around to mow the grass and the goat milk goes to his sister to make cheese, which Danny buys. A gloriously simple circular economy, which Danny loves.
He continues to donate his time to The Good Kitchen three days a week and is all monies from the book go to the kitchen. Danny’s goal is to make sure the enterprise is sustainable for many years to come and create work opportunities for locals.