Star Chefs Making a Difference: Art Smith on Childhood Obesity
The Chef: Art Smith
The Cause: Common Threads
After Oprah Winfrey asked my partner, artist Jesus Salgueiro, and me to cook in New York for families who had been affected by 9/11, we began to think about ways to bring people together. That's how we came to found Common Threads in a church basement in Chicago. Our chef-instructors teach kids basic kitchen skills, cooking techniques and the importance of fresh, healthy ingredients—to connect with their bodies, their neighbors and their world in a healthy way. We're now in 22 locations, including Miami, thanks to my angel, chef Michelle Bernstein (with me in the photo above). Philanthropist Charles Weingarten has given us more than $1 million.
As simplistic as it may sound, I believe that a little cooking class can cure a lot of ills. I don't believe there are angry people, just hungry people.
