May 5, 2007 10:13 am US/Central
Oprah's Former Chef Brings Kids To The Kitchen
Culinary Class For Low-Income Children Has Brought Art Smith A Prestigious Award
by Vince Gerasole
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
When the Oscars of the food industry are handed out Monday in New York, the man who pleased Oprah Winfrey's palate for several years is getting his just desserts for his work outside the kitchen.
CBS 2's Vince Gerasole shared a Table for 2 with Art Smith, the James Beard Humanitarian of the Year.
Smith runs a non-profit culinary class for kids called Common Threads at Gallery 37 downtown and several other locations throughout the city. But it's not just one more diversion for the children of privilege.
In fact, most of the kids who participate in Common Threads are of modest means, and many are learning for the first time that food doesn't have to come from a box.
"I mean, how do you expect a child to know what fresh tastes like unless they've actually pulled it out of the ground and taken a bite out of it?" Smith said.
In the Common Thread sessions, more than 1,000 Chicago children each year learn that food shared at the table can also unite families and bridge cultural difference.
"If you really want to know something about someone, cook with them, because it's like truth serum," Smith said.
"We don't look at the goodness of food," he added. "The fact is food can mend relationships."
Smith is an award winning cook book author and for ten years served as personal chef to Oprah Winfrey. He credits Winfrey with helping him see he was capable of serving up more than just a meal.
"When I came to work for Oprah, I saw the world in a totally different picture, and how every act of kindness can make a difference."
Smith is being honored by the prestigious James Beard Foundation as humanitarian of the year. CBS 2 met up with him in his well-appointed Hyde Park neighborhood kitchen, which that even includes a televised demonstration area.
He is constantly using the space to host gatherings that have raised over 200 thousand dollars for charitable concerns.
"I knew if you cook for somebody they will come," he said.
His partner in life is artist and fellow philanthropist Jesus Salgueiro
"Wanting to do something for somebody -- that is the story of his life," Salgueiro said, "(It's) a life bringing young people to the table for a greater understanding of each other."
Smith will receive his honor at Lincoln Center.
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