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NEWS BRIEFS
Huntington's Kitchen may serve as a model
Christopher Styler, a chef who worked with Central City Elementary cooks during and after the filming of ÒJamie OliverÕs Food Revolutions,Ó joined registered dietitian Elizabeth Fassberg at HuntingtonÕs Kitchen this week. They were assessing its qualities in hopes of opening more throughout the country.
Purchase this photoA chef and a registered dietitian were in town Thursday and Friday evaluating the success of Huntington's Kitchen.
Chris Styler, a chef who assisted Jamie Oliver during the filming of "Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution" last fall, said the British food connoisseur and representatives from the show asked him and Elizabeth Fassberg to figure out how to plant more community kitchens throughout the U.S.
"They heard really wonderful things and wanted us to come down and see what's going on," said Styler, who hadn't been to the kitchen since it was called "Jamie's Kitchen."
"Jamie's people said this is working, people really love it," he said. "Let's see how we can raise money and get more. They are very much looking to expand these to other places."
"Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution" was a reality television show filmed in and around Huntington last fall and aired on ABC in March and April. Oliver's goal was to show that cooking from scratch was neither difficult nor expensive.
He spent a lot of time in the schon an effort to get away from processed foods. And he also set up the downtown kitchen so the community could take free cooking classes and gain a better understanding of what his mission was.
That's where Styler and Fassberg were Thursday and Friday. They attended cooking classes so they could listen to the people who were taking and teaching the courses. They wanted to know why it is working and how to make it an even more valuable asset to the community.
"I think this is unique, certainly in how it started," Styler said, adding that the kitchen's mission is different than that of a kitchen within a community center. "You're learning basic cooking skills so you can eat healthy."
But it's more than that. During a class Thursday, they met two sisters who had met two complete strangers at a prior cooking class. Now they are friends and often take classes together.
"We are learning how involved the community is," he said. "It affects the community in ways that go beyond learning how to cook."
The challenge, obviously, is finding cash and selling the idea in places that may only be vaguely familiar with the show.
"There are a lot of cities where Jamie's show won't be, and we have to figure out how to do it," Styler said.
Styler said Huntington's Kitchen can expect some changes later this fall, as he and Fassberg develop new recipes and class ideas to be used in concert with the current schedules.
Styler and Fassberg also met Thursday with Doug Sheils, the director of Marketing and Public Relations at Cabell Huntington Hospital. The hospital gave $150,000 to help support Huntington's Kitchen and the training of cooks in Cabell County's public schools.
In an e-mail from Sheils, he said the two spoke with him about how to get other corporate sponsors across the country to step up and help, by learning about the experience here.
"All Doug said was when it came up, there was no discussion. (The hospital) truly recognized the importance (in giving the donation)," Styler said of the conversation.
Jill Moore, manager of Huntington's Kitchen, said she is excited to know that their success may be used to help other communities get kitchens.
"Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution" was picked up for a second season this week. It will take place in Los Angeles.
A free cooking demonstration will be held at Huntington's Kitchen, 911 3rd Ave., at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 7.
