Testimonials

Why should you connect with Chef’s Outreach? Check out what some of the people we’ve worked with have to say about us 🙂

Your vegan macaroni and cheese was such a delightful surprise at our Juneteenth celebration! As a vegetarian and committed healthy eater, delicious health-forward twists on a classic stand out to me.  Your dish didn’t leave me wishing for a single thing – except another serving.  Thank you for sharing your innovative culinary perspective with us and for your warm and inviting approach to food.  We’d love to have you back!

Katey

FHLBank Pittsburgh

Yes, Chefs! We are grateful to Chef Keith Butler (100 Black Men, National Health & Wellness Committee, Chef's Outreach Association), Chef Victor Schmidt, and Judy Dodd (Registered Dietitian/Nutritionist) for sharing their wisdom and tips on healthy cooking and eating with our TIP alumni. Here is what our participants had to say:

 
"Great Workshop tonight, they covered healthy food such as fruits and vegetables and how to use them to get the best benefits for your health."
 
"Great food, different recipes and combinations to try - health is wealth!"  

Kenya Alford

Trade Institute of Pittsburgh

Knowledge is Power! Many of us follow that and seek knowledge in our faith, career, and health. But when it comes to our food, what fuels these pursuits most of us leave it to chance or habit. What Chef Outreach does is give us the knowledge so we can take power to positively impact our health through the food we use to fuel everything we pursue. 

Al Valentine

100 Black Men of Western PA

We are incredibly grateful to Chef Keith Butler and nutrition expert Judy Dodd for their outstanding contributions to the Community Liver Alliance's MASH Challenge Pilot Program. This initiative is essential in addressing the growing epidemic of Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) and Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH), which are the leading causes of chronic liver disease in the United States.
Chef Keith and Judy brought their unparalleled expertise and passion for health to the forefront, creating a series of food-related educational videos that are both engaging and practical. Their approach to nutrition goes beyond simple instruction—they meet people where they are with their food, offering realistic and sustainable strategies to shift dietary habits away from processed foods and excessive sugars toward balanced, nutritious diets.

Understanding that food is deeply cultural, Chef Keith and Judy have masterfully shown individuals and families how to make their favorite dishes more healthful without sacrificing taste. Their easy-to-understand recipes and substitution strategies are empowering our liver patients to make small, steady changes in their daily diets—changes that we believe will lead to significant improvements in liver health markers, reduced symptoms of MASLD/MASH, and overall better health.

Their dynamic teamwork and dedication are making a real difference in how our community approaches healthy eating, and we are excited to continue this collaboration. We look forward to seeing the lasting impact their work will have on the lives of those affected by liver disease and their ongoing support in helping our audiences become health-smart in their food choices.

Suzanna

Community Liver Alliance

YES, has benefited from the expertise of the esteemed Chef, Keith Butler. Chef has donated his time and expertise to YES students for over 15 years in some capacity or other. More specifically, Chef Butler is an integral component of our Wellness Wednesdays. The contribution from him and his associate Judy Dodd, is creative, interesting, informative, and fun filled. Students are always out of their seats, taste testing, cooking, learning new recipes, and sharing with their peers. This is a favorite activity for the students.

We value and appreciate the dedication shown by Chef to give his very best to our students. We are so fortunate! 

Dr. Floyd Jones

Executive Director of The Youth Enrichment Services

Marvin Randall – CISP
 
A committee of CISP Staff came up with several innovative wellness ideas to help support the notion that “Health is Wealth” and the vitality of our industry largely relies upon the health and well-being of the Men and Women tasked to work with some of our most vulnerable and forgotten population.  Surviving the global pandemic took a toll on all of us and has forever changed how we go about our daily lives.  With so many lives lost, businesses folding up, industries decimated due to the lack of workers and supply chain being backlogged.  We all have come to a new perspective on this thing we call life and how to navigate this new reality. 
The CISP plans on implementing on a quarterly basis a health and wellness training.  These trainings will introduce a topic that will focus on the health and well-being of the staff.  In addition, the training will be paired with an activity that corresponds with the topic that will give staff practical suggestions they can begin to use in their daily lives to improve their overall health.  The very first health and wellness training centered on healthy eating.  Staff were introduced to the concept “You Are What You Eat”.  CISP invited a registered Dietician, Nutritionist and Chef Keith to spearhead the healthy eating campaign.  The staff were introduced to creating a plan on healthy eating patterns.  
 
The registered dietician reviewed which foods and the amount you should eat daily by using the MyPlate guide produced by our government.  Staff also had the opportunity to discuss their thoughts on food and eating healthy as they try to navigate today’s food environment.  It’s hard to eat healthy especially when you must deal with a busy life where you are constantly on the go, and it seems as if you never have the time to make and eat a meal that’s not fast food or is cooked in a microwave.  Other topics discussed were the 5 nutrition myths such as If you follow a gluten-free diet you will lose weight or Fresh produce is better than frozen produce or Avoid carbs if you want to lose weight. 

The staff were introduced to the dirty dozen and clean 15 foods.  The dirty dozen is a list of foods you must take extra precaution before eating.  The main precaution you should take is to wash these items off before consuming them.  Some of the dirty dozen are strawberries, spinach, apples, grapes, celery, tomatoes, bell peppers, kale, collard, and mustard greens.  The clean 15 consist of foods that are ready to be eaten without washing are taking extra steps to prepare them.  They include avocados, sweet corn, pineapple, onions, asparagus, honeydew melon, cabbage mushrooms, cantaloupe, mangoes, and watermelon.

The highlight of the day came when Chef Keith taught CISP staff how to make their own healthy stir fry.  Chef Keith introduced the parts of the knife and how to make proper cuts depending on the food being used. In addition, staff were taught the basic cutting techniques and how to properly hold and grip food items to ensure they did not cut a finger or two off.   For example, staff learned how to mince, chop, dice, slice, make cube and julienne cuts. The staff were broken up into teams with four members per group and were tasked with selecting items from the table.  Each team could only select a certain number of items from the “Counter” store and the breakdown included the following:  1 cup of stir fry sauce, select up to 4 garnishes and 2 cups of vegetables.  Staff were able to cook their stir fry items on one of 8 griddles stationed throughout the facility.  After gathering their items and preparing it each team was tasked with presenting their finished dish to our food critiques who would evaluate their dish on taste, creativity, and presentation.  The event was an overall success.  The staff were educated on the how to eat healthier and they had an opportunity to learn how to prepare a healthy meal. 

 
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