On this week’s Industry Night! So if you pay attention to my insta feed - @NycciNellis - you know I have been out and about. And it has been a few weeks of incredible eats I am thinking of naming this part of the show — Nycci Knows, or Where is Nycci — think on it and give me your thoughts:
-Cafe Teresa — Chef Ruben Garcia "popped up" at Elli Benchimol's little gem, Apero, and took us on a gastronomic tour of Valencia through tastes of his forthcoming Casa Teresa —> opening soon in the highly-anticipated food hall, The Square in downtown DC. Some of the dishes we dined on: Jamón Ibérico, oysters with escabeche, do-it-yourself pan con tomate, traditional gazpacho with so much caviar and creamy, decadent flan. Loved Elli's fantastic pairings -- but cannot wait to dine in the real thing
-Philippe Chow - All kinds of yumminess. Fat dumplings Peking-style duck with pancakes so thin and perfect and the cotton candy baked Alaska provided all the flash & dash
-Salt Line Bethesda - Back at Kyle Bailey’s latest installation. It’s in my hood and I am going to be there a lot! The raw bar is where it is at for me. You will find me up at the bar here on out — slurping oysters, slathering spicy cocktail sauce on shrimp and pulling out long strands of meat from king crab legs. Pro tip — order the lobster roll in a lettuce leaf —
-Comus Inn - Back in the Spring I had Corey Van Horn from Visit Moco on the show talking about the wonder of Moco and he kindly invited me to the Mid-Atlantic Tourism Public Relations Alliance’s - MATPRA event. I met amazing people from counties all over the Mid-Atlantic who have incredible restaurants, hotels, experiences, museums and festivals — more of this is going to be featured on the site — but they had us out in the Agricultural Reserve and went to the Comus Inn — a gorgeous space, looking at the mountains with lots of outdoor seating. There’s a little barn that looks a little bit beat up — but inside it is so fabulous — super chic and they were pouring Windridge Vineyards rose so I kinda hung out there
BUT there was a ice cream window when we left and the soft serve was delish!
Okay! Now on to today’s show!
If you grew up in the 70’s your mother probably told you to clean your plate because there were children starving in Africa. What your mom should have said or better yet, what we know now, millions of pounds of food wind up in landfills every year. In 2019, in the U.S. 229 million tons of food went unsold or were uneaten. Here’s what’s scary about that statistic — this statistic - According to the USDA, more than 34 million people, including 9 million children, in the United States are food insecure. We have the food — its just not getting into peoples bellies. Enter Food Rescue. You may remember I brought Kate Urbank & Colleen Gillespie on Industry Night last year to talk about their web-based app that engages volunteers to transfer fresh food surpluses from local businesses to social service agencies serving the food insecure. Well they continue to do grow and do incredible work — so I brought both of them here with me today to reaquaint you with the program, talk about that growth, and to talk about all of that plus their new family meal for migrants program — Chef Matt Adler of Caruso’s and Alex Olivas, Migrant Solidarity Mutual Aid are here as well.
Guests Social Media Links:
Food Rescue DC
Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/foodrescueus.dc/
Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/FoodRescueUSDC/
Kate Urbank
Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/urbankate/
Colleen Gillespie:
Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/coll_gill/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/colleen.b.gillespie
Alex Olivas
Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/alexandchocolate1/
Matt Adler:
Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/adler81/
Featuring Nycci Nellis
https://www.instagram.com/nyccinellis/
https://www.thelistareyouonit.com/
Produced by Heartcast Media
http://www.heartcastmedia.com
Quotes
"Show up, work hard, and care about what you do. In a restaurant, you can quickly go from entry-level to excelling." - Matt Adler
"Our mission is to assist the food industry and to contribute to environmental sustainability by addressing food waste."- Kate Urbank
"Food is love. No matter what you make, it's crafted with love, driven by a mission we live every day." - Colleen Gillespie
Attitude matters. Chefs and managers who've worked shoulder-to-shoulder with immigrants for years won't overlook them. They value their history and their friendship”- Alex Olivas
Chapters
00:00 - Introduction
07:13 - The Intersection of Food Waste and Food Insecurity
12:17 - Proper Storage and Distribution of Rescued Food
16:43 - Bridging the City's Hunger Gap Through Events and Restaurants
17:42 - From Restaurant Management to Philanthropy: A Career Journey
23:11 - Culturally Considerate Pre-Shift Meals
24:25 - Seeking Expert Advice: Restaurant Partnerships
29:55 - Driving Change in New York Through Community Support
32:48 - More than Food: Community Upliftment Through Clothing Drives
36:33 - The Enduring Impact of a Chef's Passion for Feeding Others
38:45 - The Joy of Helping People Transcends Homemade Cuisine
43:58 - Loyalty and Friendships: The Heart of the Restaurant Industry
46:50 - Volunteer Networking: Building Relationships While Exploring the City
49:31 - Tech Solutions for Rescue Coordination: From Nightly Emails to Morning Strategies
52:18 - A Lesson in Creativity: Cooking Demos for Food Recycling
55:02 - Conclusion
Produced by Heartcast Media
www.heartcastmedia.com
