Kitchen Chat® – Margaret McSweeney

Over 16 million children in the United States experience hunger. Common Threads is helping lead the way to empower and educate children across the country. Recently, Linda Novick O'Keefe, the founding CEO of Common Threads joined Chef Jaime Laurita and me for a Kitchen Chat in the Middleby Residential Showroom in Chicago's Merchandise Mart. Linda shared with us her passion for educating school age children on how to prepare healthy affordable meals. She also discussed how Chef Art Smith (Oprah's award-winning personal chef) experienced the power of bringing people to the table while cooking for families impacted after 9/11 in New York City. They felt the power of using food for change and education. Common Threads was born as a result of the experiences with these families in need.

Do you want more confidence at the grill? Today's guest, Chef Matthew Eads shares recipes and tips from his cookbook Grill Seeker: Basic Training for Everyday Grilling As a U.S. Marine for thirteen years, Chef Matt knows firsthand about basic training. He recently joined Chef Jaime Laurita and me in the Middleby Residential showroom at the Merchandise Mart for a Kitchen Chat.

"Hockey mimics life. It's important to stay mentally focused no matter if the momentum changes." Daniel Carcillo, two time Stanley Cup winner, formerly with Chicago Blackhawks Unexpected blows in life can happen to us all. However, unexpected blows in the hockey rink can change the course of one's life after the game.

Daniel Carcillo shares how he is helping athletes pave a new path to better assimilation in life after they stop playing. Chef Jaime Laurita and I spoke with Carcillo during the National Restaurant Show where he was signing hockey pucks and taking photos with fans at the Middleby booth.

Food is sport, especially at the IKA/Culinary Olympics. Chef Stafford DeCambra, President of the American Culinary Federation (ACF) has brought home 11 gold medals. Recently, Chef Jaime Laurita and I had a pop-up Kitchen Chat with Chef DeCambra at Middleby's booth at the National Restaurant Show.

ACF is celebrating its 90th birthday this year. Founded in 1929 by a group of chefs, ACF certifies the chefs at all levels, including Master Chefs. In addition, ACF provides culinary schools with accreditation. Having grown up in Oahu, Chef DeCambra's key life ingredients are Ohana and Mana.

Ohana is the special Hawaiian word for family and Mana means spiritual energy. He truly exemplifies the Spirit of Aloha, which is hospitality and graciousness.

You never know where my Kitchen Chat journey will bring me. Recently, I attended an incredible Mastermind Group in the South Florida TikiHut of Fred Fishback. What was extra special about this meeting is that Fred's father and my father were both stationed in Nuremberg post World War II after Fred's father valiantly served our country during that war. My brother sent a photo to me and it appears that Fred's father and my father are both in that picture! As you know, the reason I began my Kitchen Chat culinary journey is to honor my late father. Meeting Fred is truly a hug from heaven. And it was great to meet Fred's friend, Chris Gannon, founder of Bolay, who provided a delicious and most memorable meal to the Mastermind attendees.

During his visit to Chicago for National Restaurant Show, Chris Gannon filmed a Kitchen Chat with Chef Jaime and me at the Middleby booth. If you are an entrepreneur, you will learn some great insights into growing your own business and if you are a foodie, you will discover Bolay, a great fast casual restaurant group that Chris Gannon created to be a healthier option with nutrient rich foods.

On today's Kitchen Chat®, we will learn about the technology and commercial equipment in the restaurants and how that impacts the way we cook at home.

Chef Jaime Laurita and I did a pop-up Kitchen Chat in the Middleby Residential booth at the National Restaurant Show and interviewed Tim FitzGerald, CEO of Middleby Corporation and David Brewer, COO of Middleby Corporation. Middleby is one of the largest commercial and kitchen residential equipment manufacturers in the world.

It's kitchen confession time..... I grew up in the South and never actually made biscuits. My dear friend Chef Carla Hall along with Chadwick Boyd recently brought Biscuit Time to Kitchen Chat!

How fun to learn how to make biscuits alongside Chef Jaime Laurita in the beautiful Viking and La Cornue Middleby Residential showroom at the Merchandise Mart. Biting into a hot biscuit brought back tastes of my childhood and the delicious food that my father would make.

This is a Kitchen Chat you will want to keep as a tutorial on how to make the perfect biscuits every time. And of course you have the best teachers ever with Chef Carla and Chadwick. They are our biscuit buddies!

In 2012, Jen Hidinger-Kendrick's husband, Chef Ryan Hidinger was diagnosed with late stage terminal cancer of the gallbladder. Friends, family and the Atlanta community rallied behind her family and raised over $300,000. Jen said that this outpouring gave Ryan a peace of mind and that the community's overwhelming response to the Hidingers' crisis set the intent, beliefs and values for the Giving Kitchen. "Tragedy hit and crisis hit for us. But what happened after that really is what changed the trajectory we believe of the restaurant and food service industry of what we are seeing now with the work we are doing with Giving Kitchen."

Giving Kitchen is an Atlanta based non-profit that offers stability including financial aid to food service workers in times of crisis such as sickness, injury, death of immediate family member, and national disaster in addition to other programs. And, Giving Kitchen is the 2019 James Beard Foundation's Humanitarian of the Year.

Drew Nieporent, founder of Myriad Restaurant Group including Nobu and Tribeca Grill, is the perfect matchmaker for the pairing of food and film. Just hours before joining Chef Jaime Laurita and me for a Kitchen Chat in the Middleby Residential Showroom, he hosted lunch for opening day of 18th annual Tribeca Film Festival.

Many of his restaurants' partners are celebrities including Robert De Niro and Bill Murray. Service is a key ingredient to success, especially in the restaurant industry.

In 1982, Nieporent was general manager of 24 Fifth Avenue when James Beard walked into the restaurant and requested a Manhattan Neat. The next time Beard walked into the restaurant, Nieporent handed him a Manhattan Neat and will always remember the nod of approval from this culinary legend. Anticipating a guest's need before being asked is truly the heart and art of hospitality.