Giving Back

Stories behind the food we love.
three men making dumplings

Big Trouble Little Dumplings: How One Chef Kept Cooking During Covid

By AnnMarie Mattila

With his Fort Collins, Colorado restaurant closed due to the pandemic, chef Sam Graf started cooking dumplings and other Asian dishes and giving them away to hungry neighbors in his driveway. Read on for the story of how Big Trouble Little Dumpling was born.

RED DOOR desserts: Changing Women’s Lives One Cookie at a Time

By Kate Eplboim

Out of a Covid shutdown, comes renewal and inspiration for formerly homeless women in Sacramento, through baking and the ingenuity of one impassioned CEO.

Boston’s Chef Ming Tsai Spreads Kindness Through Vegan Pop-Up Meals

By Nicolette Degrassi

Boston Chef Ming Tsai has been a pioneer in the culinary world for years. A former James Beard award winner, he’s also a prolific cookbook author, restaurant owner and host…

A Story in Every Tuk Tuk Box

By Kate Eplboim

As the saying goes, necessity is the mother of invention. So when the pandemic shut down day-to-day operations at California-based charity Courageous Kitchen, a food education organization serving asylum seekers…

Feeding the Soul with Chicken and Potatoes

By Mr. Joe Walker

It’s no secret among those who appreciate food that some of the best dishes include love as the main ingredient. Chef Andre Murphy of Atlantic City, New Jersey puts heaping…

A Foster Son of Orlando Gives Back with Comfort Food

By Samantha Slankard

Twelve years. That’s how long California native Doug Miller spent bouncing from home to home, kitchen to kitchen and school to school in the foster care system. Despite growing up…