Compiling daily menus for our guest, making delicious meals, and managing a team of volunteers, CHiPS chef Matthew Caban runs his kitchen thoroughly and effectively. Providing over 300 hot meals daily with tight produce supplies, he keeps meals nutritious and tasty and the kitchen’s atmosphere friendly and relaxed. How does he do this? Let’s find out.
| Where did you work before CHiPS? I am a professional chef. I’ve been cooking in New York City for twelve years. Before I came here, I worked at a popular vegan restaurant in Williamsburg, Modern Love. Before that, I ran a brunch service in Crown Heights at a place called Catfish. We did a southern-style breakfast there. And before that, I worked at a sports bar at Union Square. So, yes, I’ve been working in kitchens forever. Why did you decide to work at a non-profit? The whole reason I got into cooking was because I loved feeding people. Interestingly, it never occurred to me to work at a soup kitchen. I just wanted to cook! Working in the industry, I’ve found it to be a very thankless job. There’s no consideration and very low compassion. I almost gave up on my field if it wasn’t for CHiPS. This is my last stop as a cook. I am not going back to a restaurant because now I get to feed people who really need it and are grateful for it. And it’s not just the attitude; it’s also the process. I’ve worked in kitchens that were very wasteful. I understand cultivation and agriculture because I’ve been gardening since I was little in Puerto Rico. I know how many resources it takes to grow something, and it appalls me when the good produce is thrown away. I like that here, at CHiPS, we are more conscious. You work with volunteers, most of them have never worked in a kitchen. How do you find this experience? That’s true, most of my volunteers don’t know how to cut an onion. But this is what I am here for: to help and to educate. It helps to be very patient, which I am. My wife ensured I had a lot of patience! Now, I can use it in my work. I also get to meet a lot of different kinds of people. Nice, interesting people. Because it’s my kitchen, I get to control the environment, and I keep it very mellow and relaxed. I don’t want the tension to be high. We don’t need high stress to prepare good food. You work with a very tight supply. What do you lack most in the kitchen? What often makes you think, “Oh, I wish I had more of this”? Ovens! I wish I had more ovens. Every day we have more and more guests, so I have to put out more and more food. It’s challenging because you can only fit so much turkey in the oven. I’ve been here now for almost a year. When I started, we made between 150-200 meals per day. Now I do 325 minimum. We nearly doubled, and numbers keep on getting bigger. What do you do when you’re not cooking? As a chef, I try to observe the process of creating food before it gets to me. I have my own garden at home. Right now, we’re growing three different kinds of basil. I also like to play video games, and hang out with my wife and my dog. I try to keep my life very low-stress. As I said, it doesn’t have to be stressful to be good! If you want to volunteer at CHiPS, check out our Get Involved page If you are a corporate representative or business owner and your company would like to become a donor, please contact us via email at shanice@chipsonline.org |