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Tragedy In Atlanta's Culinary Community Inspires Non-Profit, The Giving Kitchen

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In December of 2012, at the age of 35, Atlanta chef Ryan Hidinger was diagnosed with late-stage gallbladder cancer and told he had roughly six months to live. It was devastating news for Ryan and his wife Jennifer (Jen), but it became a surprising catalyst for a fundamental, and much needed, change in the Atlanta hospitality industry. What began as a friends and family sponsored fundraiser, called "Team Hidi",ultimately evolved into The Giving Kitchen, a non-profit organization designed to provide hardship grants to hospitality workers.

Spearheaded by Hidinger’s former employers, friends and co-restaurateurs Chris Hall, Todd Mussman and Ryan Turner, in its first year, “Team Hidi” raised more than $200,000 and, in its second year, upwards of $300,000. The money, Jen assures me during our interview, “granted Ryan peace of mind. This business is so paycheck to paycheck. I am convinced that Ryan enjoyed six extra months of life because of that peace of mind.” Indeed, with the strong sense of community support and extra funds, Hidinger and his wife were able to pursue the most aggressive treatments available.

Chef Ryan Hidinger passed away in early 2014, but his legacy enjoys a life of its own in the mission of The Giving Kitchen. The tremendous community effort that supported Chef Hidinger revealed a gaping need for financial crisis grants across the restaurant industry. In Chef Chris Hall’s more direct words, The Giving Kitchen offers “the ability to help in a business that trades time for money. If you can’t work, you don’t get paid.” Indeed, restaurant workers are some the most under-insured workers in the nation and suffer dramatic consequences when time is lost on the job from injury or illness.

Although Chef Hidinger is gone, the culinary community continues to host fundraisers and events, rallying around the concept of The Giving Kitchen. Atlanta-based Sweetwater Brewery stepped in with a custom brew created by Hidinger before his death, called Second Helping – all of the proceeds from this now sold-out beer go toward The Giving Kitchen. Woodford Reserve distilled a custom bourbon, “The Spirit of The Giving Kitchen”, for select Atlanta restaurants, and Richard Blais’ FLIP Burger restaurants have created “The Giving Burger”, with proceeds from sales of both going to benefit The Giving Kitchen.

To date, The Giving Kitchen has donated crisis funds several individuals including a bartender who needed hand surgery, a chef diagnosed with breast cancer, and a server traumatically injured in a hit and run accident. Notes Hall, “It’s part of a chef’s civic duty to help in the community, but it’s also important for us to take care of our own.” Hall and Jen don’t pretend to forecast beyond the present day, but both would like to see The Giving Kitchen become a nationwide support network for the hospitality industry. In the meantime, Jen, who is the spokesperson for The Giving Kitchen, is also working on bringing her late husband’s greatest dream to life: opening Staplehouse, a restaurant named after the supper club the couple ran from their home. The focus will be on fine wine and food as well as great service, but Staplehouse will exist solely as a for-profit subsidiary of The Giving Kitchen, with all after-tax profits paid to The Giving Kitchen. In essence, it’s American’s first non-profit fine dining restaurant.

The future is promising for both the restaurant and The Giving Kitchen. Her eyes bright, Jen sighs and acknowledges tasks ahead of her, “it’s torturous not to have my husband here with me any longer, but I know he’s still with me and it pushes me forward.”