FareStart Guest Chef Nights

Each Thursday night, the FareStart restaurant is the scene of one of those very Seattle-ish events. A guest chef commands the kitchen, donating their time, food product and experience to help train FareStart students the art of cooking. Guest chefs come from all over the Puget Sound from fine-dining establishments like Andaluca, Ponti, Ray's and Crush as well as more casual venues like Alligator Soul, Volunteer Park Café and Skillet. Community volunteers serve the meal. The cost of the meal, three courses for $24.95, beverage sales and tips all go back into the training program.

Photo: FareStart restaurant in downtown Seattle

Since 1994, Guest Chef Night has raised more than $2 million. It's fun, it's good and it helps a great program. So why is attendance down this year? As usual, much can be blamed on the economic slump. People started eating at home more and to some degree, the numbers just haven't come back. It's also easy to forget that Guest Chef Night is something that needs to be thought about and supported. The food is so good and the restaurant so nice, it's easy to forget it's a fundraiser.

FareStart is an amazing organization. Over 18 years, they've assisted more than 3,500 people in changing their lives in ways that have additionally helped other disadvantaged men, women and children. The FareStart kitchens provide nutritious meals to childcare centers, including Head Start programs, and homeless shelters around Seattle. It happens every single day of the year. Two million shelter meals have been served since 1992. FareStart has branched out into catering, handling business lunches, multi-course dinners, fundraisers, bar/bat mitzvahs, birthday parties, wedding rehearsal dinners and receptions. They do off-premise catering and even offer delivery and pick up of food from the catering menu. Monies earned provide critical funding for job training programs. All the while, FareStart students gain experience in creating elegant and personalized cuisine.

Photo: Contract kitchen at FareStart's Seattle location

Weekday lunches at the FareStart restaurant are another revenue stream for the training programs. The menu changes every few months and there are vegetarian options available as well as a kids menu, along with weekly specials.

Less familiar is the FareStart Café, an on-the-job training site for young students of the Barista Training and Education Program (a collaborative effort between YouthCare and FareStart). All income from the Café goes toward student training programs that help at-risk youth (ages 16-23) increase the chance of improving their situation. Like the adult program, the eight-week barista program provides job training and placement, life skills, employment counseling, classroom and on-the-job training.

FareStart has been an integral part of Seattle for a long time and it's easy to forget the important role it plays in the health of the community. Guest Chef Nights provide revenue and real-life training for students. Let's break that habit of staying home on Thursday evenings! Get out and support our local chefs and FareStart students in a way that tastes good and improves the community.

Connie Adams/June 2010