It happened quickly. I heard about the James Beard volunteering program and 4 hours later I am scheduled to cook in their kitchen alongside James Oetting and Kim Heideman from Yia Yia's Eurocafe in Denver. Alain Ducasse it's not, but definitely a start.

Elliott and I were walking to Heathly Pleasures in Soho for lunch. It was cold, we needed warming up and soup would hit the spot perfectly. He started telling me that his partner Shaun loves cooking, so much so that he volunteers for the James Beard Foundation, a program that I had not heard about.

At that point I asked him if he knew that I had taken classes at the French Culinary Institute. The fact that he didn't, surprised me since most people at work are probably tired of hearing my French Culinary technique tidbits. Impressed by my credentials, Elliott put me in contact with Shaun, who directed me to the volunteer coordinator. Somehow the normally long application and scheduling process was truncated to about 5 minutes. The outcome? A shift with the chefs of Yia Yia's Eurocafe in Denver a few Fridays from now.

While not as noble a cause as volunteering at Gods Love We Deliver, I am excited about working in a professional kitchen again, hopefully doing more than dicing 30lbs of carrots.