NoVA Chefs Heed White House’s Call

Posted by The Editorial Desk / Friday, June 4th, 2010

(Image: James Beard Foundation)

The South Lawn was flooded with a sea of toques this afternoon as chefs from every state descended on the White House to show their solidarity for Michelle Obama’s “Chefs Move to Schools” campaign.

The program aims to enrich school lunch programs by encouraging trained chefs/food service professionals to “adopt” a public learning institution and then work towards improving the quality of meals served to students.

“You can teach kids to cook something that tastes good and is good for them; and share your passion for food in a way that’s truly contagious,” Mrs. Obama told the assembled chefs. She also stressed that participating chefs would hardly be going it alone.

“When you go into the schools … work closely with our food service professionals to support the work that they do every day. They’re looking forward to getting some extra help–they need it–doing everything from teaching basic cooking skills in the cafeteria to encouraging healthy choices in the lunch line. But it’s got to be a collaboration,” Obama counseled.

Early reports from the White House suggest that roughly 1,000 chefs and 500 schools have signed on to the nascent program.

A quick scan of chefs who had signed on to “Chefs Move” through Share Our Strength showed approaching 40 hospitality vets from all around Virginia, including several do-gooders that should be very familiar to our readers:

* Cathal Armstrong/Restaurant Eve

* Will Artley/Evening Star Cafe

* Chris Ford and Clayton Miller/Trummer’s on Main

* Justus Frank and Miles Vaden/Eventide

* David Guas/DamGoodSweet

* Steve Mannino/Rustico

* Dennis Marron/Grille at Morrison House, Jackson 20

* James Watson and Robert Wiedmaier/BRABO

Most of the chefs we spoke to were still in the process of selecting their adoptive school. But all seemed enthused about the possibility of giving back in a whole new way.

–Warren

Tags: BRABO, Cathal Armstrong, Chefs Move to Schools, Chris Ford, Clayton Miller, Dam Good Sweet, david guas, Dennis Marron, Evening Star Cafe, Eventide, Gut Check, hospitality industry, Jackson 20, James Watson, Justus Frank, Let's Move, Michelle Obama, Miles Vaden, Northern Virginia Magazine, Restaurant Eve, restuarants, Robert Wiedmaier, Rustico, school lunch, Steve Mannino, Trummer's on Main, Warren Rojas, White House, Will Artley