Tucker’s Diner
I have written before to tell you about Kurt Oechsle. He is a Chef here in Rochester, my boyfriend, and is desperately trying to open a diner for people in recovery from drug and alcohol dependency can have a safe place to work. He wants to set up a program where addicts in recovery can gain experience or get a foot in the door towards getting their career back on track. Either way he wants the diner to be a place where they not only feel safe but can talk openly to another addict. Kurt himself has 16 months of continuous recovery and works a program that allows him to be a part of society, one day at a time. His love for food and helping others is humble and beyond creative. He has helped to open several restaurants in his career but now knows how he can open his and still give back at the same time. This is the only way he says it will happen. Sobriety wasn’t easy for him but he made it by never giving up and holding on to some principles he had learned. He wants to pass this down by working side by side with some others that need to see that it does work and can watch it first hand. Kurt works full time and lives with me, Holly and our 3 month old son, Tucker. He is a great father and has 3 other children that live in California with their mothers. He has made mistakes but now lives a honest spiritual life, free of alcohol. Money is holding this dream back. He is an amazing person that needs some help putting his dream together. Thank you, God Bless. Holly Guppy
My name is Chef Kurt. I’m over 16 months clean and sober after many years of alcoholism. I am also a Kendell Culinary College trained chef with over 30 years of experience in the restaurant business and the father of 4 incredible children. My dream is to open a restaurant that will be part of the Rochester
community, help addicts and those in recovery get back on their feet, and provide inspired food made with local ingredients to all of Rochester. That’s what Tucker’s will be, a safe place for addicts and recovering addicts to work, while at the same time remain a culinary experience for all Rochesterians to enjoy. I know what it’s like to need an understanding boss who knows what you’re going through. I know people in recovery are hard working folks that need either a place to restart or someone to trust them. I know because I’ve been there. I just want to give back what was so freely given to me when I needed it most. The main focus will be to make sure Tucker’s is a workplace where the issue of staying sober will always come first. The steps we take along the journey of sobriety are outlined and displayed in my own life and in those also near to me and working with me. Working all over the US and under some very well known chefs, my passion for food has grown. My approach is to serve the best in local ingredients, teach others and share my knowledge. What will make Tucker’s different, in addition to helping those working on sobriety, will be the opportunity for people in the area to submit recipe ideas for a chance to be on the menu. I will cook it with them and see if it can be a star on our menu. Food is healing. Food is love. I need your help to make my dreams come true. Please consider supporting Tucker’s. Consider it for my 4 amazing children. Consider it for Rocheeter. Consider it for those who are down on their luck and need someone who understands what they’re going through.
I will begin a diner that will resource any vendor that is willing to sell or donate me food they deem unusable or unmarketable. I will create safe wonderful menu items that will show how we can all make a difference in how we recycle edible food. I will offer the free food challenge where if you can tell me all the items on your plate that was bought as “shrink” I will buy your order. I know how to do this because I work at a grocery store where I use “shrink”(the word used to describe such unusable/unmaretable food) to create some amazing items. This may seem bizarre and a bit unorthodox but I know it works and is absolutley needed to help people view food differently. Check out “Just Eat It: A Food Waste Story” on WNBC it shows the viewer how much food is thrown away and why food labels are misleading and false. Help me change the world through giving not only people a second chance but food also.