Whitt

As a former line cook at the Tabard Inn, I believe that President-Elect Obama would be a great fan of Chef Paul Pelt's cooking. A proud native of the South Side of Chicago and a DC resident for most of his life, Chef Paul is also a true-blue fan of the incoming president. Besides, the Tabard is a progressive establishment a and quick motorcade-ride from the White House. For the President-Elect, I would suggest the charcuterie plate with an arugula salad.

I'm Whitt Masters, evening chef and manager of the Co-Op shift at the DC Central Kitchen. I just returned from vacation and reading this thread was an excellent way to come back to work. I want to express my gratitude to Pax for the donation of lamb to the kitchen. You are helping to feed Washington DC's most marginalized people. Each of the agencies that we serve provides a significant service to its clients, such as adult education, drug treatment, emergency shelter, etc. In this way, we strengthen bodies, empower minds, and build communities. Donations like yours help us to expand our other programs: culinary job training, street outreach, and nutrition education. I also want to thank everyone who has expressed interest in volunteering with us at the DC Central Kitchen. We provide educational and meaningful volunteer opportunities for individuals and groups. We also have fun, particularly on the evening shift, when we get to play music (usually Motown hits) while we work. As other posters have mentioned, the tasks during this shift involve a lot of washing and chopping vegetables. However, we also make chicken stock, grain and bean salads, and granola bars at least once a week. Also, with the addition of a new vacuum sealer, we can put away this summer's harvest for use in the winter. For instance, tonight volunteers will be washing and slicing peaches, then vac-sealing them to put away for a meal down the road. I think that members of the DR community would have an excellent time seeing how our community kitchen runs. I hope to see you here!