Celebrity Chefs Deliver the Goods

By LORENA RAMIREZ

The bitterly cold weather takes its toll on the spirits of the homebound elderly.

So imagine the surprise and delight of some Harlem residents when the doorbells rang on Tuesday and it wasn’t the pizza delivery or Chinese takeout but two celebrity chefs bringing gourmet meals to chase the blues away.

Such was the case with chefs Daniel Boulud and this month’s guest chef Marcus Samuelsson who cooked the meals 100 persons as part of Chefs Deliver for Citymeals-on-Wheels, now in its second run.

Many of these homebound elderly have not left the house since the last wave of warm air, such as Maxime Walker, 91, who was overwhelmed when she saw the chefs and their entourage enter her snug apartment.

“I haven’t seen so many people in a long time,” said Walker, who has lived in Harlem for 60 years. “I enjoy Citymeals-on-Wheels because when I cook, I can’t eat [it all] and it goes to waste. I enjoy Citymeals-on-Wheels because I am getting what is appropriate.”

Another recipient, Nancy Kitchen, 66, greeted everybody and stood back to take a good look at the chefs. “I’ve seen your picture,” said the star-struck woman to Boulud.

Samuelsson prepared a menu of fried chicken, greens and grits, along with an apple and raspberry clafoutis for 100 Citymeals recipients, and Samuelsson and Boulud personally delivered the meals to three Harlem residents.

Samuelsson prepared a menu of fried chicken, greens and grits, along with an apple and raspberry clafoutis for 100 Citymeals recipients, and personally delivered the meals by foot, along with Boulud, to three Harlem residents.

I think, give them (recipients) a connection, which we don’t always have when we either raise money or participate in fundraising or gala,” said Boulud. “Here, it’s really engaging, not only preparing the meal, but also seeing a couple of houses and having a sense of where those meals go to.”

Citymeals-on-Wheels provides weekend, holiday, and emergency meals to 18,000 homebound elderly New Yorkers all across the five boroughs.

“In advance of Winter, in late fall October, November, we do a big box of 21 pounds – about 12 meals shelf stable food – into the homes exactly for this weather when it’s really just treacherous out,” said Beth Shapiro, executive director of Citymeals-on-Wheels. “And, most of us can’t take it. Let alone an older person whose body temperature doesn’t regulate as well as ours [does, and] these slippery streets can be just hazardous for them. So we make sure that there is food on the shelves for them to stay inside.”