GIVING FOOD, DIGNITY, GRACE & THANKS

Giving back is a beautiful way of giving thanks. And giving beautiful food adds even more gratitude to the mix. Last year, award-winning chef Mike Solomonov and Steve Cook, founded Rooster Soup Company, a restaurant which gives away 100% of its profits to help feed thousands of people in dire need in Philadelphia, one of the poorest big cities in the US.

And while there are numerous food pantries, soup kitchens and missions that offer special Thanksgiving meals to the homeless and poor during the holiday, Rooster Soup helps bring wonderful meals people in need at the Broad Street Ministry (BSM) every day of the year via the Broad Street Ministry's Hospitality Collaborative. It served more than 80,000 meals in 2016.

The Collaborative offers 7 free warm nutritious meals a week to homeless, addicts, and people living in deep poverty -- people BSM considers to be its “guests.” All meals are eaten at tables outfitted with linen and china, served by volunteer waiters and waitresses, many of whom work for CookNSolo, Solomonov and Cook’s restaurant group.

People don't feel like they are going to a soup kitchen when they come to BSM. Instead, they feel like they are in a restaurant -- they are able to experience dignity, respect, and care.

Cook was first inspired to create a restaurant that could give back when he first volunteered at BSM about 4 years ago and saw the difference it made, both in the lives of the people they served and in the lives of the volunteers. He immediately wanted to get their restaurant group’s staff involved in serving the city’s most vulnerable citizens.  

Solomonov was happy to help. He has a particularly sensitive spot in his heart for people who are at a low point in their lives. After his younger brother was killed in action in the Israeli army, Solomonov went off the rails, becoming a crack and heroin addict. His resurrection and redemption began when Cook staged an intervention. Paying it forward, Solomonov feels honored and privileged to support other people who are at their bottom, living on the street.

The social impact concept that became Rooster Soup began as a way to solve a problem -- Federal Donuts, CookNSolo’s donut and fried chicken franchise had an ever-growing volume of food waste -- they had tons of chicken scraps that just ended up in the garbage. Cook and Solomonov realized that the scraps could be used to make a low cost but delicious broth, which could be sold and profits could then be donated to the mission.

Solomonov and Cook launched a Kickstarter campaign that inspired more than 1,500 people to donate nearly $180,000 to turn the idea of Rooster Soup into a reality. Each of their names is memorialized in the restaurant’s wall mosaics. Now, Rooster Soup’s partners include Tito’s Handmade Vodka, San Pellegrino, and Chipotle Foundation, among others.

The food at Rooster Soup is far from 2nd rate. It has been named one of America's "top ten new restaurants" by both Food & Wine and GQ magazines.

The restaurant serves updated comfort comfort food, including its beloved signature soups and biscuits and gravy. Desserts include coconut cream pie, Dutch apple pie, and shakes. Chef Erin O'Shea presides over the kitchen.

Rooster Soup is changing and saving lives at Broad Street. It's a model that we hope others will follow.

Beyond Rooster Soup, check out all of the CookNSolo restaurants, including FEDERAL DONUTS,  for coffee, donuts, and fried chicken all under one roof;  ZAHAV: Solomonov cooks at this flagship restaurant, featuring modern Israeli cuisine; DIZENGOFF: an Israeli hummusiya; ABE FISHER: American-Jewish “tapas;” GOLDIE: 100% vegan restaurant serving falafel, fries and tehina shakes.

Learn more about the Broad Street Ministry and its unique programs, and learn how you can get involved here. And check out the cookbooks: Federal Donuts: The (Partially) True Spectacular Story, and Zahav: A World of Israeli Cooking.

Read more about Beautiful Thank-Yous in  Beautiful Places to Say Thank You, Amazing Flowers For Amazing Thank-Yous, We’re Grateful for WIld Turkeys, Beautiful Native American Thank-Yous, and We’re Thankful for Bears & Bison Now.

And check out more beautiful things happening now in BN Mind/Body, Soul/Impact, Nature/Science, Food/Drink, Arts/Design, and Place/Time, Daily Fix posts.

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IMAGE CREDITS:

1. Image: by Spencer Platt. Broad Street Ministry exterior. Courtesy of Broad Street Ministry.
2. Image: by Jeff Fusco. “Dining Room at Broad Street Ministry.” Courtesy of Broad Street Ministry
3. Image: by Spencer Platt. Serving a meal at the Broad Street Ministry. Courtesy of Broad Street Ministry.
4. Image: by Spencer Platt. “Clothing Closet at Broad Street Ministry.” Courtesy of Broad Street Ministry.
5. Image: by Spencer Platt. Prepping meals for service at Broad Street Ministry. Courtesy of Broad Street Ministry.
6. Image: by Michael Persico. Soups at Rooster Soup Company. Courtesy of CookNSolo.
7. Image: by Michael Persico. “Brunch at Rooster Soup.” Courtesy of CookNSolo.
8. Image: Courtesy of CookNSolo. Tomato Soup at Rooster Soup Company.
9. Image: by Michael Persico. A tray of Federal Donuts. Courtesy of CookNSolo.
10. Image: by Jeff Fusco. Exterior of Rooster Soup Company restaurant. Courtesy of CookNSolo.
11. Image: by Tommy Baboon. Interior of Rooster Soup Company. Courtesy of CookNSolo.
12. Image: by Michael Persico. Coconut Custard Pie at Rooster Soup Company. Courtesy of CookNSolo.
13. Image: by Michael Persico. Pot Pie at Rooster Soup Company. Courtesy of CookNSolo.
14. Image: “People Pair.” Courtesy of Broad Street Ministry.