Eight years ago, Tim Hammack was working as a chef at Napa Valley's prestigious Bouchon Bistro—but he traded in the high tips for a far more fulfilling job at a soup kitchen.
Most chefs would spend months sharpening their knives and practicing their sautéing skills for the chance to work in the kitchen of world-famous restauranteur Thomas Keller’s Bouchon Bistro, in California’s luxurious Napa Valley. Featuring the finest in French bistro cuisine, the restaurant has consistently won acclaim as one of the shining stars of America’s fine dining scene.
When Tim Hammack was hired as a chef at Bouchon, the opportunity seemed like a stepping stone on the path to culinary fame—but soon, he quit the job in favor of a much larger kitchen. Now, he serves up to 1,200 people a day at the Bay Area Rescue Mission.
You won’t find white sturgeon cavier on the menu, and there’s no exotic wine list to be found. But what working at the Rescue Mission lacks in luxury, it makes up for in compassion.
At Bouchon, Hammack told NPR’s Morning Edition, “I was cooking for very wealthy people and people of means, which there’s nothing wrong with that. But I just had a passion for people who didn’t have means.”
Eight years ago, he left Bouchon and committed to working for one year at the Rescue Mission. But when that year was complete, he decided there was no reason to look elsewhere: feeding the hungry was his passion.
Hammack is culinary director of the soup kitchen, and has the opportunity to oversee the menus, with an annual budget of just $10,000. Though the limitations can be challenging, he is able to introduce local homeless and low-income people to delicious and healthy foods, such as fresh artichoke. “We’ll prepare them, poach them, grill them and finish them with a little garlic sherry vinaigrette or something, and their eyes open up and they say, ‘Wow, this is something special,’” said Hammack.
In addition to planning meals, Hammack also supervises and trains the kitchen staff. Many of his workers are involved in a substance-abuse program, and are learning cooking skills as a way to leave their former lifestyles behind. Hammack believes their culinary training will make a huge difference in their lives to come.
“If you can just roll with the punches and make the best of a situation that seemingly is not looking so good here in the kitchen,” he said, “it really sets you up to start making those good decisions in life.”