Chef Peter Daniel has been cooking since he attended high school in West Orange, New Jersey where he flipped burgers at Pal's Cabin. A self-taught chef, he has worked in Boston, New York, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey kitchens learning and absorbing a love of food and flavors through those experiences. After college at Franklin and Marshall in Lancaster PA, he worked at the Bentley's chain of restaurants and helped establish the Alfalfa's chain. He also worked for Restaurant Associates and Stouffers in the seventies and eighties, managing such properties as the Ford Foundation, the Museum of Modern Art, the Princeton University Faculty Club, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Faculty Club. In 1983, Peter left the "front of the house" to pursue his true calling as a cook at the Wursthaus in Harvard Square and from there went to work as the Banquet Chef at the Hilton Hotel in Natick, Massachusetts.
At the same time, Peter met Sharon Berliner, a fellow "Grateful Dead Head" who was an Occupational Therapist in Boston. Warned by friends that the food business would "get into her blood," they married in 1984 and moved to New Jersey to manage the Lake Hopatcong Yacht Club - the oldest private inland sailing club in the United States. After two seasons at the Club and transforming the level of dining from burgers and fried chicken to Steak au Poivre and rare tuna, the Daniels found Le Gorille, a small restaurant in northeast Pennsylvania. They bought the restaurant and house on four acres of land across from the beautiful Twin Lakes and have been running it for 21 years.
The history of Twin Lakes and Le Gorille begins in the silent film era when actors and other tourists traveled by rail to Shohola to relax at the many hotels and boarding houses, and to dance at the local roadhouse. In the thirties the roadhouse grew to become a post office, gas station, and ice cream parlor. In the seventies, the building became a bar and was purchased by a couple who had owned a "gourmet restaurant" in nearby Milford. In 1979, in a an unusual chain of circumstances, the restaurant became a highly publicized destination after John McPhee published a short story about the owners in New Yorker Magazine. They decided to move on and after two subsequent ownerships the unsuspecting Daniels bought the now famous restaurant in 1986.
Today, Twin Lakes and Le Gorille are still a destination for many urbanites seeking to escape the city on weekends and in the summer. Peter and Sharon Daniel present a casual fine dining atmosphere and weekly blackboard menu. Peter travels to the New York Hunt's Point Fish, Produce and Meat Markets to select the freshest and highest quality ingredients. He writes menus based on his purchases and is a one man kitchen. Sharon travels to New Jersey and to local farms for other supplies and serves as pastry chef, bartender and hostess. They host beer tastings with local breweries, wine tastings, and sushi dinners on a regular basis.
In March of 2005, the Daniels were honored to host a luncheon at the prestigious James Beard House in New York City. They served a five course meal featuring foods and wines of their state, working closely with the PA Department of Agriculture's "Pennsylvania Preferred" Program to select the highest quality ingredients. Chef Daniel has since appeared at the Pennsylvania Farm Show in Harrisburg to demonstrate his cooking skills utilizing local products.
After 19 years of customer urging, Peter and Sharon launched the sale of their "Little Gorilla Salad Sauces" in 2005 - the same salad dressings they serve at the restaurant. These all natural, refrigerated sauces are available at the restaurant and at local food outlets.
The abundance of Pennsylvania has enhanced the Daniels' way of life in their small corner of the woods. Their two sons have grown up in the house next door to the restaurant and many neighbors and customers are like family. It is a life less complex and harried than urban restaurants; it is well suited to a couple who value family, the land, and a love of fine food.