Wanda (CJT Class 87), Ilya (CJT Class 73) and Robin (CJT Class 85)

Thiend (CJT Class 87)

Terrell (CJT Class 87)

Staff from the Institute of Medicine’s Food and Nutrition Board (FNB) lent their taste buds to judge each team on taste, appearance, and overall healthiness.

The first-time event was a huge success for the class, drawing nearly 100 people to the museum and increasing their knowledge of preparing healthy and balanced meals.

The Koshland Science Museum hosted this community event in partnership with the Cultural Programs of the National Academy of Sciences as part of the National Academies’ African American History Program. This program was established in 1985 to heighten awareness of the contributions of outstanding African Americans in science, engineering, medicine, and the nation’s welfare.

A special thanks to the Koshland Science Museum and the Institute of Medicine’s Food and Nutrition Board for making this event such a success!

Prior to the cook-off, teams learned about healthy meal planning from FNB staff.

Chef Skippy
Chef Instructor – Potomac Job Corp

Susan Callahan
Chef Instructor – UMES

Nancy Ware
Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency

Adrienne Poteat
Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency

Vicki Davis
TD Bank

Donna Grisby
TD Bank

Much of the work that is now based out of the Nutrition Lab, including bulk production and school food service started with and grew out of our relationship with this group of growers. The group of visitors from the auction included growers and their wives, the auction manager, our buyer at the auction and the auctioneer himself.

Working alongside cooks from our DCPS staff who were out for a teacher work day, the farmers helped process 30 bushels of sweet potatoes, before heading over to visit students and staff at Washington Jesuit Academy. Here are a few pictures from the morning:

Carol, a Culinary Job Training Program graduate and cook at DC Public Schools

Tashira, a Culinary Job Training Program graduate and cook at DC Public Schools, works with our visitors

The men from the Shenandoah Valley Produce Auction

The women from the Shenadoah Valley Produce Auction

The new volunteer calendar also allows you to view opportunities in several different formats. If you already have a volunteer login via the old system, you will need to create a new login to use this system. One benefit is you can now view opportunities without registering or logging in.

DC Central Kitchen sees tens of thousands of volunteers every year and they are crucial to producing over 5,000 meals each day at our 2^nd Street Main Kitchen. We’re now opening opportunities to volunteer at the Nutrition Lab on Evarts Street, where Fresh Start’s revenue generating programs need help generating thousands of additional meals.

As part of an effort to improve the volunteer program, we’re also asking you to fill out a quick survey about your experiences. Please pass this link onto your group.

Chef Frida Johnson from the Swedish Embassy prepared Stuffed Swedish Cabbage Rolls.

Chef Mikko Kosonen from the Finish Embassy prepared warm smoked salmon with finish style mushroom salad and dill pickled cucumber.

Chef Enrique Valazquez from The Borinquen Lunch Box prepared a Puerto Rican dish, stuffed green plantains with picadillo.

Chef Maziar Faviar from the Peacock Café prepared Naaz Katoon, a Persian roasted eggplant and pomegranate dip.

400 socially conscious foodies joined us all at the Newseum, where 15 restaurants and 10 artisans practiced their culinary crafts and dished out high-end eats. Local mixologists joined in with delicious cocktails and craft brews.  Together with great Jazz and a beautiful space, they entertained guests that chatted about the issues – Hunger, homelessness, nutrition education, urban farming, healthy school food meals, obesity and the like.

The following day, Sunday Suppers attracted close to 500 guests (20-40 per home) at 20 homes with meals prepared by top chefs from around the country and even the world!

DCCK CEO Mike Curtin: “The generosity of the Restaurant/Chef community is unmatched here in DC. This, coupled with the vendors that donated product, equipment, hotel rooms, etc., not only made these events amazing, but allow us to do what we do every day.”

It was a rare opportunity for all DC Central Kitchen staff to meet in one place and share a conversation about where the organization is headed.

Below is a copy of that presentation, which highlights our successes and goals for the next year. We also learned about CFoward, a new independent nonprofit advocacy organization created by DCCK founder Robert Egger.

Check out this photo of the room packed with DCCK staffers. DC Central Kitchen has grown over the past few years.

This morning at our seven DC Public Schools, students were treated to Chef Jamillah’s Banana Bread along with local apples from Kilmer’s Fruit Orchard in Inwood, West Virginia, low-fat cheese sticks and milk. Our cooks at the Nutrition Lab baked 50 sheet trays of banana bread from scratch to feed our 1700+ students. As you can see in this shot of Tarina and Shawndella caught in action, they had a pretty good time baking and put lots of love into this recipe’s debut at the schools.

Did you know that in addition to typical catering events such as breakfasts, luncheons and weddings, the Fresh Start Catering team also prepares 550 meals each day for the city’s emergency family shelters?

In August, shortly after moving into the new production space at the Nutrition Lab, Catering began preparing breakfast and lunch for the men, women and children seeking temporary shelter at the city’s emergency shelters. As with all of our meals, these breakfasts and lunches feature fresh, local produce on a regular basis.

Today’s lunch was a grilled chicken caesar salad with fresh croutons, warm breadsticks, melon salad and iced tea. The lettuce used in the salads (pictured above) came from Molehill Gardens in Dayton, Virginia. We currently order 40 cases of local lettuce each week from Molehill Gardens. Half of this lettuce is used by Catering and the rest is used for school meals.

The Champions of Change program was created as a part of President Obama’s Winning the Future initiative. Each week, a different issue is highlighted and groups of Champions, ranging from educators to entrepreneurs to community leaders, are recognized for the work they are doing to better their communities.

Maureen Roche serves as the director of The Campus Kitchens Project, the national program of DC Central Kitchen.  Since 2001, CKP has recovered more than 2 million pounds of food, engaged 45,000 student volunteers and has reinvested millions into the communities where they serve.  Under Maureen’s leadership, the Project has grown 200% since 2008 to 31 college and high school campuses in 20 states which serve 250,000 meals annually. The Campus Kitchens Project is using service as a tool to strengthen bodies, empower minds and build communities across the country.

To watch this event live, visit www.whitehouse.gov/live at 1:30 pm ET January 12^th.

In 2011, DCCK:

• Produced over 1.8 million meals
• Launched a second Kitchen, the 6,000 sq. ft. Nutrition Lab, to expand social enterprise
• Opened 3 new Campus Kitchens: Kent State University, Auburn University, and St. Andrews Episcopal
• Increased by 29% the number of nutritious, scratch cooked meals served to DC students
• Recovered over 242,000 pounds of fresh produce, a 67% increase over 2010
• Graduated 80 students from the Culinary Job Training program
• Placed over 87% of the 2011 Culinary Job Training graduates into jobs, over 54% with benefits
• Engaged over 12,000 volunteers
• Generated over half of its revenue by social enterprise
• Launched the Healthy Corners program to deliver fresh food to corner stores in DC food deserts

Thanks to all donors, sponsors, restaurant and hospitality partners, and volunteers that helped us shine last year!

Saturday Night Sips
January 21st, 2012
Newseum, 555 Pennsylvania Ave, 6:30-9:30 pm, $125
Purchase tickets here, http://2012sips.eventbrite.com
A cocktail reception celebrating the contribution young people are making to feeding their community.  Please join Jose Andres, Joan Nathan and Alice Waters for cocktails and tastings from DC hottest young chefs and mixologists.

Sunday Night Suppers
January 22nd, 2012
7pm, $550
Purchase tickets here, http://2012suppers.eventbrite.com
Jose Andres, Joan Nathan and Alice Waters invite you to dine at one of twenty intimate dinners.  Each dinner will host two renowned chefs to entertain 20 guests in Washington, DC homes, all to benefit Martha’s Table and DC Central Kitchen.  Savor the rich winter bounty of the East Coast from the Nation’s hottest chefs and discuss nourishing the health, economy and environment of our nation’s capital through a focus on food.

Just over the past week, the cooks at the Lab along with some of those based out of the public schools worked their way through 180 bushels of greens and 80 bushels of sweet potatoes from Kirby Farms in Mechanicsville, VA, as well as enough apples to produce 600 gallons of applesauce. Our kitchen staff processed, cooked, vacuum sealed and froze the produce for use throughout the winter months. The local greens, sweet potatoes and applesauce will all be featured on our January menus at our seven DC Public Schools, as well as at Washington Jesuit Academy.

Under the guidance of chefs from Marriott Inc., and DC Central Kitchen, the high school chefs from St. Andrews Episcopal High School, Gonzaga College High School, Archbishop Williams High School (Boston, MA), Atlantic City High School (N.J.) and Hospitality High School of Washington, D.C., will compete while producing 150 meals for Bethesda Cares, an organization dedicated to assisting and feeding the homeless in the DC Metro area. Students from the competing schools regularly prepare and distribute food to those in need in their communities through The Campus Kitchens Project.

An all-star line up of judges, including Top Chef Contestant and area restaurateur Spike Mendolsohn, Marriott, Inc. CEO Arne Sorenson, DC Central Kitchen’s President and Founder Robert Egger and DCCK CEO Mike Curtain, will determine the winner.