Chef Trevor’s Full Story
Before joining Food & Friends as Associate Executive Chef, Trevor Mullings worked for companies that catered elegant dinners and galas for high end, corporate clients. As his daughter grew up, graduated from school, and started her life, Trevor began to wonder what the next phase of his own life held. A former colleague recommended that Trevor look into a position at Food & Friends given his skillset and his aptitude at working with many different people on a rotating basis.
“I’d gotten to a place in my career where I had been doing large events and I felt like I wanted to give back. It wasn’t just about money for me. My daughter had graduated from college, so all the financial restrictions that come along with a child in college were lifted and I could do what I wanted to do instead of what I had to.”
Since joining Food & Friends, Trevor has adjusted to relying on volunteers to get much of the kitchen work done, as opposed to fellow chefs. However, Trevor says the transition has been relatively easy and that interacting with volunteers has become one of his favorite parts of his day-to-day responsibilities. “It’s a welcoming environment, there’s a lot of camaraderie — it was one of the main things that drew me here.”
Trevor describes the kitchen as “a family environment” and has made personal connections with many of the volunteers. “Some volunteers come not only to do the work, but because they’ve created friendships with other people they volunteer with — they go to drinks or dinner together.”
Rather than classifying the people around him as “clients”, “volunteers”, or “delivery staff”, Trevor tries to always remember that every individual is a person, above all else. And each person deserves to be treated with respect. Rather than seeing medical conditions or economic status, he focuses on the human element of each person he’s cooking for. He says this creates a connection and serves as a reminder that anyone could find themselves in a situation where they may need help from Food & Friends.
Despite the high-stress work and awareness of the importance of every meal leaving the kitchen, Trevor always tries to remain centered in the purpose of the work. He is always aware of the impact he and his team of volunteers have. Even though Trevor says the job itself can be more stressful than previous positions he’s had, he experiences more gratitude in his daily life. “Our job is to provide nourishment and to provide hope to others, but we’re getting nourishment from the work as well.”