It was just after 17:00 on a mid-September evening at a historical Church in Harlem, New York City. Mostly the low-income black neighborhood sat at dining tables. In front of them was a menu listing three courses, which they only saw on TV. Each dish was prepared with “leftover” ingredients(食材), offered free of charge and placed alongside a blue card that read “you are loved” in hand-written script.

This-is-one of 14 community centers created around the world in cities like Milan, Paris, Mérida, Lima, Sydney and now New York through three-Michelin starred chef Massimo Bottura’s Food for Soul project. He started the project in 2016 with his wife, Lara Gilmore, to help fight the global problem of food waste-by using ingredients that might otherwise be thrown away by suppliers and to give socially and economically vulnerable people access to high quality meals.

Partnering with architects, artists and community leaders, the project is transforming spaces, which are not fully taken advantage of, such as churches and even a historical home into intentionally designed cultural centers equipped with kitchens, dining rooms and other facilities that help create a sense of well-being, connection and inclusion.

When I asked Bottura why he created such thoughtful. meals within beautifully appointed spaces for the low-income, he told me that everyone deserves respect and beauty-and of course, healthy food. “They come in and are completely lost because they’re not used to coming into beautiful places, like this. But once they’re here, they realize that this place is their place. It’s not my place,” he said.

Bottura’s philosophy is one that comes from the heart. T-shirts worm by volunteers at his community centers say “cooking is an act of love”, and he approaches the food served there with as much care as he does at his restaurants — “probably even more”, he said since the diners are extremely stressed and need healthy food to feel better. Bottura insists that it’s important to change the language around the food served in his community centers.

People who love to spend time in their kitchen know that after having a rough day it helps them to relieve stress. Cooking up a favorite meal helps you forget about any of the issues you focused on during the day. 【小题1】 Spending time alone in the kitchen after a long day at work allows you to simply recharge and enjoy the solitude of your kitchen.

Cooking can be a great way to put off a daily task, and those who love to cook know this all too well. Putting all your effort into making an elaborate meal or your favorite dessert is a great way to avoid anything that you have been dreading.

【小题2】 Anyone who enjoys cooking knows that when you share a common interest like cooking with someone from a different culture, you can easily form a bond. They see this as an amazing opportunity to share recipes and dishes and learn from different cooking traditions and customs.

Eating out as a cook allows you to taste surprising ingredients in dishes. 【小题3】 Unusual flavors excite you and unique interpretations of dishes have you asking the waiter exactly what was added to make the food so flavorful. This might not excite your non-cook friends and family, but for you, it’s a great way to learn and improve. 【小题4】

【小题5】 As a cook, you have learned to add your own personal tastes to recipes through extensive trial and error. There are no limits for you when it comes to putting a new take on a traditional favorite, because, for you, cooking is all about creation.

There are many kinds of book clubs where members discuss a different book every month. What about dinner clubs, where people get together once a month or four times a year to make and eat dinner? In the dinner club that I joined, the hostess of the dinner club would prepare a big dinner first. Then the members would begin discussing the food. 【小题1】 .

There are two variations of a dinner club. One has a group of people who try a different restaurant once a month. 【小题2】 When they all meet, they order and share different dishes. This is a great idea, especially if you live in a big city where there are hundreds of different restaurants.

【小题3】 One way is to have the hostess for the month decide on a type of food. The hostess is responsible for cooking the entrees. The other members make different courses at home, like salad and dessert, and bring them to the dinner club. For an even more exciting and interactive type of dinner clubs, the entire group comes together in the hostess’ kitchen. 【小题4】 In this way the members of the group not only learn about different types of food, but also different methods of cooking.

The great thing about a dinner club is that it serves in many different ways. You can make the dinner club even more special one month by inviting partners. 【小题5】 A stay-at-home mother can get a couple of other stay-at-home mothers together and start a children’s lunch club. If you have a group of friends that love to get together and experiment with different types of food, the possibilities are endless!