Happy 20th birthday, D.C. Central Kitchen! As we hear in this NPR report, the food rescue group got its start recovering lobster bisque from inaugural balls of George H.W. Bush. That was Jan. 20, 1989.
These days, the group trains disadvantaged residents of our nation’s capital to be chefs and hopes these culinary students will cook for our next president, Barack Obama.The group recently prepared for that possibility by helping the Ritz-Carlton pastry chef prepare Michelle Obama’s favorite shortbread cookie recipe.
While D.C. Central Kitchen founder Robert Egger says there are fewer leftovers from catered events these days than there were in the Wall Street 80’s, I’m guessing there will be plenty of remains from inaugural balls. After all, there’s plenty to celebrate. And this time around, there’s a well-oiled mechanism for recovering this nourishing food.
Yet, on a daily basis we recover only a “thimble full” of the food available, Egger told me in a recent phone interview.
Here’s to a new administration, a new era, a better use of our resources and, today, staying warm in the cold!
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