We are all facing challenges unlike anything we’ve ever seen including the sacrifices of our healthcare workers and first responders, who put their lives on the line for our safety and well-being every day. Many of our Chefs are also putting their lives at risk during this time of crisis.
Three-Star Chefs Allison Fasano and John Brill, both who have cooked with celebrity chef Bobby Flay and Long Island favorites, along with Justin Aronoff, Owner of Center Cuts and Blvd25, have heard the call to support our community. “We believe it is our duty to feed the frontline workers the best way we know, and that’s to cook and provide healthful breakfast, lunch and dinner seven days a week,” says Fasano.
These chefs begin working at 3:30 a.m., fueled by Dunkin Donuts coffee and rock and roll music, prepping, cooking, individually wrapping, labeling, and plating each meal for healthcare and military workers at testing sites on Long Island, Brooklyn and Bronx. They have been working 85-90-hours a week, are assisted by a staff of six, making over 4,600 meals a week. The Chefs are wearing masks, gloves and practicing social distancing.
Chef Fasano is a television celebrity chef from her appearance on Food Network’s Beat Bobby Flay, Chopped, Restaurant Hunter on Fios and recently appeared on Dishmantled on the new streaming network on Quibi. She was Chef Flay’s sous chef at Gato in Manhattan. She brought the old-school New York steak house vibe to Harley’s American Grill in Farmingdale and most recently helmed the kitchen at the Salt and Sea Bistro at The Bay Breeze Inn in Jamesport. She was named one of the 2020 Total Food Service Top Women in Metro New York Foodservice and Hospitality.
“John and I have previously worked together and have become friends throughout the years. So, it’s a lot easier to wake up at 2:30 in the morning and work with someone you respect and can share lots of laughs with,” Fasano says. “At the end of the day Chefs do what they do, they cook. During a crisis, food is the one thing people need the most. With the trying times we are in, restaurants are closed and we are limited on our outlets to feed people. It’s the hospitality mentality to serve and that’s what we’re doing. Food brings people together and now more than ever that’s what we need.”
Chef Brill is a familiar face in Long Island restaurants including Ayhan’s Fish on Main in Port Washington, Jack Halyards in Oyster Bay and Red Fish in Plainview, a consulting chef with Chef Aronoff for Blvd25 in Manhasset and most recently opened 7 Gerard in Huntington.
“While we navigate through these unprecedented and uncertain times together, I am honored that I have been chosen to help feed all of our frontline workers. Day in and day out they lay their lives on the line for us! Whether it’s a Roast Chicken or Filet Mignon, I know that I am providing a nutritious meal made with both love and respect. Together in unity we will combat this vicious virus. I am thankful that I am able to do my part for our true heroes!” adds Chef Brill.
The Chefs turned to US Foods as a partner to secure the ingredients necessary for the healthy meals that includes a vegetable, starch and protein. Aronoff brought back an old-world style of butchering to Roslyn, where he provides a valuable service to the community that also includes a full-service catering company. He expanded into the restaurant business with Blvd25, a new American kitchen in Manhasset, shuttered until the crisis is over.
Aronoff explained, “It’s our honor to help feed the frontline during these trying times. Our team has stepped up to the plate working around the clock, doing our part and what we can do to help. We will continue being a safety net for everyone working at the test sites, no worker hungry for as long as we are needed.”
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