is a family affair, and also employs Maureen’s husband, Dave, and
stepson, Michael.

ODC has become a popular spot for diners with food allergies, and
allows some to eat dishes they would otherwise never be able to try.

Thus the restaurant’s tag line, “Welcome Back to the Table,” which
Maureen notes, “is something anyone with Celiac Disease or food
allergies can relate to.”
The restaurant was recently awarded “The Most Allergy Friendly
Restaurant in America” by Allergy Eats, which ranks and reviews
dining establishments. To top it off, plans are underway to open a
second location in Montgomery County, MD.

Maureen measures her success in different terms, though. “I feel
like the luckiest person in the world because I get to do what I love,”
she says. “The icing on the cake is that I meet wonderful people
— from all over the country and the world — who come here to
eat, and are so appreciative of what we do. At the same time, my
husband, my incredible staff and I, are truly making a difference
in peoples’ lives.”
Q&A WITH MAUREEN BURKE
How would you describe your restaurant?
Our cafe, deli and bakery is free of gluten (wheat, rye, barley),
oats, soy, egg, fish, shellfish, sesame, peanut and tree-nuts and we
have a separate kitchen/cooking line that is also free of milk and
dairy products. The “Green Kitchen” will utilize real cheese on
a sandwich or pizza and the “Blue Kitchen” will use non-dairy
cheeses. This system means we make pretty much everything from
scratch, and many items are vegan by default.

What do you want people to know about food
allergies/sensitivities? Celiac Disease and food allergies are serious. Don’t confuse them
with non-life threatening food sensitivities. For example, we gladly
accommodate those with food sensitivities, but what we have to
do in our kitchen in order to safely serve someone with a serious
legume allergy is completely different than what we need to do for
someone who doesn’t like legumes or has a sensitivity to them.

How do you decide what to feature on the menu?
I created the menu based on things those of us with Celiac Disease,
food allergies or children on a special diet for autism really crave —
meals that kids and adults want to eat, but can’t, because they aren’t
safe. I wanted people like me to be able to eat pizza and sandwiches
instead of just watching others eat them.

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Who taste tests the food?
thing for me was putting my recipes on paper and giving an actual
In the beginning, family and friends without dietary restrictions
measurement. I never used to measure, now I have to.

taste tested the meals and said, “You can sell this stuff.” Now, we
let staff members taste test the meals. Sometimes regular customers
come in for taste testings when we develop new meals or desserts.

What are the most popular menu items?
The most popular items are pizza, cheese steak sub, grilled Reuben,
meatball sub, chicken Parmesan, eggplant Parmesan, spaghetti and
garlic toast, Italian cold cut sub and all soups. Oh, and our breads
and anything in the dessert case.

What’s been your favorite customer reaction to being
able to eat out at a restaurant?
Wow, where do I begin? I have seen some very interesting “happy
dances” as well as hugs, tears and the shock and awe of a child
staring at me with his mouth open when I tell him he can eat
anything on our menu and in our bakery case! Probably the one that
hits home and made me cry the most is the 5-year-old boy whose
Have you always liked to cook?
mom told me that in the car on the way home he said, “Mom, that
Yes, I have family that has been in the restaurant business for 50
was the best thing that is ever going to happen to me.”
years on my mom’s side, so I guess it’s in my blood. I loved to cook
with my Aunt Kathleen as a child and adult. She was a gourmet
cook by hobby, and once I graduated from my Easy Bake Oven, I
would spend a whole weekend with her in Washington, D.C. just
cooking. She had every issue of Gourmet and Bon Appétit magazine,
and I could pick some items and we would have so much fun
cooking them up! She taught me it’s not about each ingredient
that goes into a recipe, it’s about how all of the flavors from those
ingredients work together and make the food taste great.

What’s been the most satisfying part of your
restaurant’s success?
The most satisfying thing for me and my husband is being able to
welcome families back to the table where they can relax and feel
the difference while eating top-notch food that is safe for them. Our
success proves there is a need for what we do, when many said it
would never work.

Do you prefer cooking or baking ?
Definitely cooking. Baking is not very forgiving. Baking is a science;
Debbie Williams is a freelance writer and editor based in Northern
it has to be exact. Cooking is an art. You can freely change flavors
Virginia and managing editor of Washington FAMILY Magazine.

and measurements. When I opened the company, the hardest
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