Our Editor’s Dish pieces are taken from our free newsletter, sent on Monday and Thursday each week.

by TM Petaccia

While the quest for Michelin stars and Beard medals is noteworthy and certainly well-deserved, I’m afraid it often overshadows what most of us forget to remember. Charlotte is already a victorious city, success-rich with chefs who cook with creativity and talent for sure, but also with heart, generosity of spirit, and a deep commitment to community.

This came home to me once again when I got the notice of the upcoming Charlotte Family Meal at Supperland on Monday, October 20.

This isn’t just another collab dinner. It’s a table set with purpose, where many of Charlotte’s most talented chefs join forces, not for awards or accolades, but to support the people who keep our dining rooms alive: food service workers. Proceeds from the evening will benefit Giving Kitchen, a nonprofit that steps in when industry members face crisis, offering emergency financial aid and connecting them to resources.

Since expanding into North Carolina in 2023, Giving Kitchen has awarded nearly $1 million in financial assistance and supported more than 5,300 workers across the state. For many in Charlotte, their help has meant the difference between losing everything and finding stability.

The evening’s lineup reads like a love letter to Charlotte’s dining public. Chefs Daryl Cooper and Oscar Johnson (Jimmy Pearls), Sam Diminich (Restaurant Constance / Your Farms Your Table), Lex Falardeau (Haberdish), Eric Ferguson and Samantha Ward (L’Ostrica), Sam Hart (Counter- / Spaghett), Joe Hutton (Supperland), Andres Kaifer (Customshop, Marina’s Tapas), Joe Kindred (Albertine / Kindred / Hello Sailor / Milkbread), and Sam Sheehan (Ever Andalo) will craft a dishes in harmonious concert with their mutual respect for each others elevated skills. Add to that cocktails by 2022 UPPY Mixologist of the Year Colleen Hughes (Tonidandel-Brown Restaurant Group) and curated wines, and the event, no doubt, will be a great evening and will help a lot of people. 

This isn’t an isolated instance. Charlotte’s culinary citizenry has always rallied around a cause and each other. Whether it’s annual fundraising events like Fork Cancer or Charlotte Wine + Food, community-building events like New Year’s Soup Day at Free Range Brewing, or making sure those affected by natural disasters simply have something to eat, like last year in Asheville or ten years ago in Columbia, Charlotte’s culinary community has always stepped up when needed.

They don’t get stars for that, nor medals, but they should.

They definitely should.