Misstropolis

Wednesday, April 25, 2007

Simply Caring, Simply Helping, Simply Ming

by Ming Tsai

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I’m looking at my chef coat, which I basically live in, and it has morphed into something sexy, fitted, sparkly, and most definitely not masculine. It’s the most creative chef coat I’ve ever seen - I’m so glad I don’t have to wear it. I’ll do a lot for charity, but I haven’t worn a girdle yet. Besides, the female model did it more justice than I ever could.

The auctioning off of re-imagined chef coats for charity is just one of the many non-traditional fundraisers Chefs For Humanity helps organize. I’m proud to say I’m not only a founding member of this young charity but also “Charter Chef Council Chair,” which means I get a good seat at meetings. Those beautiful jackets, designed by Fashion Indie , helped raise money for Action Against Hunger, one of the charities that CFH partners with. That’s one of the ways CFH is unique and also how they make a huge difference; we’re configured to be a lean organization that quickly and efficiently generates support, whether it’s for areas in need of help after a disaster or for other charities.

Chefs For Humanity was formed after the tsunami of 2005. The destruction was horrifying; I don’t think anyone in the States could see photos or footage of the devastation and not wonder how people would ever rebuild. (Little did we know, in a few months’ time we’d be faced with a similar situation). My good friend Cat Cora wanted to help, so she started calling her friends, and since chefs tend to spend most of their time in kitchens, her friends were other chefs.

I think you see a lot of chefs involved in charity work because it’s a natural extension of what we do every day. When we go to work, we cook meals for people, we feed them, and, for chefs who have restaurants, we invite them into our “homes” to be fed. Our profession, at its most basic, helps people. So when we see people in need, that basic thing we do every day goes into overdrive. So many people will say, “I want to help, but what can I do?” which may sound like an excuse but is a legitimate question. For chefs, the “what can I do” part has an easy answer: feed them.

When Katrina hit, it was like the tsunami all over again; and I think we saw that. Unfortunately, when disaster strikes, we can be just as at just as much of a loss as less-developed nations. Our original plan was to go to the Gulf Coast and just feed people and help in any way we could. How many times has anyone seen a disaster in some far-removed part of the world, sighed that they couldn’t do more, and then changed the channel? I really felt, as a US citizen and as a chef, it was my responsibility to get down there. CFH secured food donations, arranging for everything from cranberry juice to ramen noodles to be trucked down. When I finally arrived in Gulfport, MS, to join up with Cat, I was stunned. It looked like a bomb had gone off - the landscape was leveled, buildings were in ruins, all that remained was the suggestion of civilization.

Cat and I were placed at a school that was housing the displaced victims of the hurricane. We thought we’d go in and start cooking up comfort food—rice, noodles, stews. What we didn’t plan on was the food from the casinos. I was pointed to cases of king crab legs, lobes of foie gras, and other gourmet ingredients and told to please use them before they went bad. So, there I was, in a school cafeteria kitchen, preparing king crab legs for thousands. It was slightly absurd to everyone, and I could see how it momentarily lightened people’s despair when they took note of what was on their plate. Something small and almost silly like that sticks with me: an unexpected light-hearted moment in such a bleak time.

In addition to the evacuees, there were volunteers, police, fire fighters… I think we fed about 4 thousand people a day. It is by far the best thing I’ve ever done, and not just because it was good for my ego to feel so appreciated. All the thanks I got, from the displaced, shell-shocked victims and hard working volunteers helped me to understand just how much help was needed. I’m so grateful that I could be a part of the relief effort.

My time in Gulfport after Hurricane Katrina is still what I talk about the most when I think of charities, not because it’s more important than the work I’ve done before or since, but because it was a singular, life-altering event for me. Living and working among the displaced victims of our nation’s worst national disaster, at a time when it was just becoming clear that we would need legions of people and years to recover, I saw that every little bit each of us can contribute, really does make a difference; I try to remind myself of that each day. No matter how large the problem, or how small I may feel in comparison to it, I know that if I make an effort, it matters.