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Supply Chain
"Why Can't Cooks Cook To Give Back?"
Time. It is elusive in the world of VolunTourism. To think that nearly eighteen months have passed since I first interviewed Christine Carroll, founder of Culinary Corps, it simply does not seem possible. Yet, here we are, beginning a new decade and Christine and her team are opening a new destination for their 'culanthropic' efforts - - Puerto Rico. What started in answer to a short, infinitely provocative question -"What is a chef's role in the community?" - has become the key ingredient for an expanding troupe of voluntourists who utilize their culinary skills in educating young people and operating 'kitchens-without-borders.'
Background & History Of Culinary Corps
Christine Carroll explained the origins of Culinary Corps in my interview with her on 29 July 2008:
"I came down to New Orleans for the first time in October of 2006. I was a culinary student at the time; I had been a chef previous to that. And in my locker room (editor's note: at the culinary school), I saw a flier and it had a question in bold, big font on it. It said:
'What is the chef's role in the community?'
The 'Culinary Corps' Epiphany
And so, kind of midway through this activity, I put down my paint brush, I put down my roller, looked around, and I saw all these chefs on ladders, paint splattered everywhere, just really not doing a great job painting this hallway. And I was like, 'Wow!' It was like the epiphany was like that light bulb going off, literally, 'Why can't we be cooking for the betterment of the community? That's where our strength lies. Why can't cooks cook to give back?' |
Christine Carroll, Founder, Culinary Corps |
"I thought that was a really interesting question to kind of wrap my mind around. And, if you wrote an essay, and they liked that essay, you would be selected to be a Henckels' Cutting Edge Student, which essentially gave you a scholarship to join the Share Our Strength Conference of Leaders that was taking place in New Orleans that year. And, Share Our Strength is a national organization working to end childhood hunger.
"I was one of the twenty students who was selected to go down to New Orleans. Like I said, it was my first time in the city; the (pause) the emotion, the devastation, the heartbreak, it was palpable the entire weekend I was there; it kind of knots your stomach up. But the silver-lining to all of this was that Share Our Strength was great about getting the culinary icons to interact with the group as well. So, I was able to speak with chefs, and restaurateurs, and culinary historians who were fighting so hard to preserve their food and their culinary heritage. And they were truly leaders of that community. And, I got really inspired by that.
"On the third day we were asked to do some volunteer work, and we were all very excited because we wanted to get out there and burn off a little bit of this angst that we had inside of us. And they ended up putting us at a high school who was hard hit by the storm (editor's note: Hurricane Katrina). And they said 'Okay,' and they plopped us down in the middle of the hallway, 'Okay, you guys are gonna paint this.' And we were like 'Oh, okay, alright, give us the paint brushes and we'll do our best.'
"And so, kind of midway through this activity, I put down my paint brush, I put down my roller, looked around, and I saw all these chefs on ladders, paint splattered everywhere, just really not doing a great job painting this hallway. And I was like, 'Wow!' It was like the epiphany was like that light bulb going off, literally, 'Why can't we be cooking for the betterment of the community? That's where our strength lies. Why can't cooks, cook to give back?'
"And so, that was the 'aha' moment. I went back and drew up the preliminary plans about getting a service corps together for cooks. And, of course, in these days you think, 'Well, someone's probably already doing that.' I did my due diligence and really no one was. And to back-track just a little bit, I was an Americorps-Vista volunteer in Anchorage, Alaska. So, I kind of already had this model in my head of mobilizing citizens for the betterment of a community through their strengths. So, it wasn't too far off from what I was doing in Alaska, although I wasn't cooking there, but one thing led to another, and really through the good graces and encouragement of the people in New Orleans who said, 'Yeah,' they were willing to experiment with me, they were willing to say, 'Sure, bring some chefs down, let's see what we can do together,' the Culinary Corps was formed.
And, our mission is to create a volunteer service corps for culinary professionals. And, this is really, this general why - - 'why do this?' - - and its to enrich lives, to fortify communities, and really we want to inspire civic leadership in cooks, in those in the culinary profession, for food and cooking."
Philosophy & Vision
Recruiting chefs, cooks, food educators and culinary students, Culinary Corps launches transformational short-term volunteer experiences that address a community’s most critical food challenges: emergency hunger relief, cooking and nutrition education, healthy food access, childhood wellness, and culinary heritage preservation.
The Culinary Corps vision is to enrich lives, fortify communities, and advance civic engagement through culanthropy: food-focused frontline humanitarian aid built upon a community’s own culinary heritage and nonprofit network.
At its core, each Culinary Corps experience is launched to provide necessary support and solidarity to the community served. But beyond the service objectives, it is hoped that every team member departs with a unique connection to the community and a profound realization of their leadership potential outside of the kitchen.
Connecting With Communities
Currently, our efforts have centered on the rebuilding efforts and culinary renaissance of New Orleans, LA and the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Since March 2007, Culinary Corps has executed six, week-long service trips to New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, connecting over 75 chefs with an intense portfolio of projects including farmers markets, edible schoolyards and emergency feeding centers.
"We have had two of our volunteers move to New Orleans after participating on a trip," Christine wrote in an email. "They have weaved themselves into the community and have been helping to rebuild from within for over two years. Ruminating on that, we decided to focus on recruiting at least one chef based in San Juan to join us for our upcoming trip. We selected Brenda Aviles, a chef-instructor at the InterAmerican University Culinary Arts program in San Juan. A wonderful woman who is highly motivated not only to volunteer her time but afterwards, teach her culinary students how important it is to get involved in their own community."
The chefs who have joined Culinary Corps thus far have created over 6,000 meals for the residents of the communities served; mentored 400 local students on the importance of eating healthy, well-sourced food; launched the First Annual Ocean Springs Fresh Food Festival; designed and spearheaded the after-school cooking club “Grow.Cook.Dine” for the Ocean Springs School District; and taught AmeriCorps members how to cook for Habitat for Humanity volunteers.
Puerto Rico Itinerary
"Having seen the impact Culinary Corps and other volunteer efforts had in New Orleans, I am more than elated to work in the Puerto Rican community. We share a lot in common with the people of New Orleans in our spirit, culture and food ways. I think perhaps because we are an island, hospitality has always been an important way of connecting to the world outside. And we do this through our traditions at the table. We live by the motto, “donde comen dos, comen tres” - - 'where two can eat, a third can eat.'
"Our community might not be in an immediate state of emergency like New Orleans post-Katrina, but there are eminent social threats that we face on a daily basis that may negatively alter the course of our future. Easing those problems by bringing people together around a communal table helps to nourish both the community and the volunteers. Ultimately, Culinary Corps will use their skills in the kitchen as a tool for change." (Viviana Acosta-Padial, San Jaun, Puerto Rico)
Tentative Service Projects
• Habitat for Humanity PR: Catering major fundraising event for the fledgling organization complete with interactive cooking demonstrations to entertain the crowd.
• Bill’s Kitchen: Re-designing healthy menu items for HIV clinic kitchen and hands-on cooking class for resident with HIV/AIDS.
• Sapientis: Cooking and nutrition enrichment activity for at-risk youth.
• Hogar Ruth: Work with the leadership and residents of this women and children’s shelter to create a cookbook of family recipes for their fundraising efforts. Activities will include recipe capture, testing and serving a sit-down dinner
for all the residents.
• Iniciativa Comunitaria: Work with at-risk teens to create a meal for HIV/AIDS patients for distribution throughout San Juan. Meals will be delivered by chefs in a mobile “kitchen bus” in the evening.
• VIDAS: Working as kitchen mentors to underprivileged youth in San Juan.
Tentative Culinary Education Events
• Farm Tour (Hydroponic Lettuce Operation “Arbola”) and Traditional Lunch in Cayey
• Cooking Demonstration by “TOP CHEF MASTER” Chef Wilo Benet and dinner at Varita
• Tour of Central Market in San Juan (Plaza del Mercado de Santurce y Rio Piedras) with Slow Food Puerto Rico.
• Guavate Roast Pig Route Road Trip
• Day Trip to Explore the Flavors of Piñones and Loiza
Contact information
Email: culinarycorps@gmail.com
Phone: +1.917.843.8466
Web: www.culinarycorps.org
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