José Andrés, Tom Colicchio, and Guy Fieri are some of the famous chefs, restaurant owners, and TV personalities. Nevertheless, most people likely do not know about them because they are activist chefs who help resolve hunger problems and make the food industry better.
Andrés, from Jaleo and Zaytinya restaurants in Washington DC, established World Central Kitchen. It is a nonprofit hunger relief and economic justice organization that was made because of the earthquake that happened in Haiti in 2010.
Since it was founded, it has worked with local restaurants to provide food to communities. Colicchio, the owner of Craft restaurant in New York City, has been an activist chef for a long time. He is one of the founders of organizations such as Food Policy Action, which aims to make better food and farming laws, and the Independent Restaurant Coalition, which works to save independent restaurants. Fieri, from the Food the Network, is famous for providing food to firefighters after the California wildfires and giving donations to help other causes.
Activist chefs and restaurant owners are not new. Many leaders have worked on global issues such as hunger, food waste, and climate change for the longest time. Nevertheless, these efforts were put on a halt because of the pandemic restrictions,which caused many industries to suffer, including the food industry.
The restaurant industry will become stronger if activist chefs can make the industry better for owners, employees, and communities. Put simply; they can rework the restaurant industry so that it will be a more important part of the economy and culture. Fortunately, chefs and restaurants are now more focused on making changes in the food industry and society.
