Late Night POV Cooking

Currently Playing: Late Night Crispy Pulled Pork Sauerbraten and Red Cabbage Slaw Sandwich

Hi. I know these first person videos are usually the opposite of serious, but we're in more serious times now. I have been spending several nights a week at my restaurant (Wursthall in San Mateo, CA) personally cooking large batches of meals for folks in need during the coronavirus epidemic. Tomorrow I'll be delivering 50 of these pulled pork sauerbraten sandwiches to the Samaritan House in San Mateo (https://samaritanhousesanmateo.org/). My restaurant, like many others, was forced to close most of our normal business, and contrary to what some may think, restaurants do not make much profit, no matter how popular they seem. As such, we have had to furlough many of our hourly employees. The goal with these free meals I've been producing is to form relationships with local programs working to get food to people who need it most - for instance, folks who were food-insecure before this started, or hospital workers and first responders who are risking their health and working overtime to keep us safe - as well as helping connect those who want to help (financially or otherwise) with businesses that are struggling through this crisis. I truly believe that especially when times are tough, doing good is the best thing you can do on all fronts: for the community, for your own mental well-being, and for the business and all the people you employ. Part of this plan is to start a meal kit program at my restaurant where customers will be able to order meal kits to pick up (contact-free) and take to cook at home that night, or on a future night. Some of the profit generated by these kits will go towards hiring back our staff as we increase production, while another chunk will go towards making more free meals for those in need. These pulled pork sauerbraten sandwiches will be part of the first set of meal kits available. We plan to make them available for pick up by the end of the week. If you live in the Bay Area, please check back on my social media feeds (@kenjilopezalt on both twitter and Instagram) for updates on when these meals will be available and where free meals that the revenue generates are going to. Believe me, they are SERIOUSLY appreciated. In the meantime, if you want to be a real rockstar, you can make a monthly donation on my Patreon page (https://www.patreon.com/kenjilopezalt) where 100% of the donation will go directly towards these free meals, or you can buy either my first book, The Food Lab, or my upcoming children's book, Every Night is Pizza Night, on bookshop.org (https://bookshop.org/shop/kenjilopezalt) where 100% of my sales commission will also go towards the free meal program, and an additional 10% will go towards independent book shops across the country. And if you want to give but cannot, don't worry - we're all in this together and we're all doing the best we can. I hope you are all healthy and safe.