Left to right: Sandy, me, Danielle, Christine, Courtney and Jeff during an earlier reunion in July.
Although my relief trip [1] to New Orleans was only a couple months ago, I didn’t want my team mates to fade into obscurity. A CulinaryCorps [2] update was in order, so we met for a gluttonous potluck a couple weeks ago.
Jeff graciously opened up his apartment and made Sullivan Street Bakery’s crusty no-knead bread (I make mine with 100% whole wheat flour [3]), chilled zucchini soup and about three other dishes. He also biked in the rain to get heirloom tomatoes for the tuna nicoise salad. Sandy donated kobe beef at $98 a pound, foie gras and aged balsamic vinegar. Everything was in such excess that the foie gras terrine, which is normally spread as sparingly as butter, was cut as if it were cake. The best balsamic vinegars can cost a couple bucks a drizzle, but we poured it like pancake syrup. Man, I felt cheap bringing in stewed chickpeas [4]. Kelli made her famous chocolate-peanut butter mousse cake with an Oreo cookie crust, two layers of crushed corn flakes (if it sounds weird, they’re similar to Rice Krispies) and ganache topping. Oops, I forgot to mention the cheese plate!
My favorite of the lot? The bread, tomatoes and cake. Go figure.
Besides enjoying the meal, there was another reason to celebrate. Christine, the founder of CulinaryCorps, reported that things were getting better in New Orleans. It seemed like a miracle, since some of the conditions seemed hopeless when I went in June. You might remember the Emergency Communities [5] relief kitchen, which had about 2,000 pounds of pre-Katrina chicken. Or how the Cafe Reconcile [6] restaurant was missing 73% of its teen workers and was arguably dirtier than Emergency Communities.
Look at this glowing e-mail from Christine:
1. Emergency Communities looks fantastic! Mark made it very clear that without our wake-up call the days we were there, EC was headed down a very slippery-slope. So thanks to all of you for stepping up to the challenge and getting things back on track. Looks like they will be serving meals through December and possibly into next year.
2. Cafe Reconcile is a sight to behold! Not only did Chef Jo keep the kitchen to the standard that we left it that day, he has improved upon a lot of the other issues we mentioned. He bought a power-washer for the floors, those gritty and gross storage shelves that Courtney scrubbed have been painted, the outdoor “storage” is being phased out and the students are learning how to plate starting with the desserts (the shortcake was very pretty).
3. The Edible Schoolyard garden is totally transformed! From the flat, packed dirt wasteland rises a beautiful arbored landscape. It’s still in its very first stages but things are looking up.
4. Holy Angels Market is still going strong! The vendors are happy, the community is coming out to shop and they even have a local chef (Chef Chris DeBarr of Delachaise) signed on to do execute the ongoing brunches.
However, much work still needs to be done in New Orleans. In June, about half of the hospitals remained closed. A school in the Ninth Ward was still closed despite being fully operable. The levees are so thin that Katrina could happen all over again.
The NY Times [7] and Time Inc. [8] have done a great job raising these issues. Unfortunately, I predict they will be forgotten in the next couple of months. Stories run in the media because of a news peg: an anniversary, a new study, a new book, etc. Since rebuilding has been slow, there isn’t much to report on, except during the obligatory anniversary.
I urge you not to forget about New Orleans. I’m guilty of wanting to shut it out, too. It’s so emotionally overwhelming that it’s easier to pretend that the problems don’t exist. Remember, you can help in these ways:
- Pray for hope, volunteers and leadership in New Orleans.
- Volunteer for organization like these…
- If you are a professional chef or culinary student, sign up for the next