Ask Chefs Anything x Rethink Food

The #AskChefsAnything campaign was launched in April of 2020 to raise awareness and funds for the community most impacted by the COVID crisis within the US restaurant world: the immigrant workers. The enterprise was so successful in New York City that satellite fundraisers have been held in Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Miami, St. Louis, Chicago, Dallas, San Francisco, Nashville and Houston cumulatively raising over $180,000, enabling us to deliver 165,000 meals. In September, #AskChefsAnything's first international edition was held to benefit those in desperate need in Beirut, Lebanon, which was roiled by an explosion that killed, injured and displaced hundreds of thousands of people and destroyed the city’s buildings and infrastructures.

Now, In celebration of National Philanthropy Day on November 15, we present #AskChefsAnything to #RethinkGiving (Nov 15 at 10am EST - Nov 18 at 6pm EST) together with Rethink Food, a not-for-profit focused on ending food insecurity. Launched in 2017 by chef Matt Jozwiak, who saw firsthand how much good food from restaurants goes underutilized, Rethink Food developed a process to transform excess food from restaurants and corporate kitchens into nutritious meals and distribute them to those impacted by food insecurity. With food insecurity escalating and restaurants facing widespread closures due to Covid, Rethink Food leveraged its experience as a food rescue and distribution model to launch Rethink Certified, a partnership program that provides grants to independent restaurants to prepare nourishing meals for local neighboring residents facing food insecurity. To date, Rethink Food has invested $10M into 40 independent restaurants across New York City, San Francisco, Chicago and Nashville, providing over 2 million nutritionally dense meals to local communities and economic revitalization to restaurants. Rethink Food is currently delivering 45,000+ meals per week to those in need.

The #RethinkGiving campaign is encouraging people across the United States to rethink the way we give during the Holiday Season and support a program that will have a lasting impact on their communities by providing meals for people impacted by food insecurity while also helping to stabilize restaurants.

The auction offers bidders the rare opportunity to enjoy a 30-minute, one-on-one conversation with Rethink Food’s acclaimed chef and restaurant partners, in addition to Rethink team leaders, friends and supporters. Ask them anything! What’s your favorite dish? How did you get to where you are today? Cooking tips? Business tips? Really...anything! Sky’s the limit.

The funds raised will directly support Rethink Food's goal of funding One Million Meals to our communities impacted by food insecurity.

* All one on one calls will take place over zoom between November 30th and January 8th and will be organized directly with winners and chefs at the close of the Auction.

For more information, visit rethinkfood.org. Follow Rethink Food on: Instagram, Facebook & Twitter.

The #AskChefsAnything campaign was launched in April of 2020 by Gaeleen Quinn, founder of Q&A Hospitality consulting and the Bogota Food & Wine Festival and Anna Polonsky of Polonsky & Friends to raise awareness and funds for the community most impacted by the COVID crisis within the US restaurant world: the immigrant workers. The enterprise was so successful in New York City that satellite fundraisers have been held in Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Miami, St. Louis, Chicago, Dallas, San Francisco, Nashville and Houston cumulatively raising over $180,000, enabling us to deliver 165,000 meals. In September, #AskChefsAnything's first international edition was held to benefit those in desperate need in Beirut, Lebanon, which was roiled by an explosion that killed, injured and displaced hundreds of thousands of people and destroyed the city’s buildings and infrastructures.