The Houston Spirit
On a wildfires mission: Chris Shepherd has food trucks, a commandeered party bus& a foodie army rolling to help
Everyone lends a helping hand to fill one of the trucks headed to Waller andMontgomery Counties with donated food and goods in the Central Market parkinglot.Photo by Fayza A. Elmostehi
Co-coordinators of the impromptu relief efforts, Lyle Bento and Chris Shepherd,hash out a few of the last minute details.Photo by Fayza A. Elmostehi
There's so much to go around, and there's so much needed.Photo by David Leftwich
Diana's was one of the three food trucks that headed up to Waller and MontgomeryCounties.Photo by Chris Shepherd
There's plenty of room for more — and more where that came from.Photo by Fayza A. Elmostehi
Does it matter where you're headed when you're headed to do good work?
Not to a smattering of Houston restaurant industry folk. On Friday morning, a motley gang of about 20 foodies and their brethren gathered at Central Market to lend a hand in wildfire-ravaged communities and to the first responders servicing them . . . somewhere in Montgomery and Waller Counties.
A quick poll of those milling about revealed that no one was quite sure exactly where everyone was headed.
But it didn't matter. The volunteer crew knew the task at hand. They slathered on the sunscreen, rolled up their shirt sleeves and got ready for a full day of work ahead.
"We've gotten so much food, water, and support donated in the past 48 hours," chef Lyle Bento of popular food trucks Party Fowl and The Modular breathlessly explained. "We got a 24-seat party bus donated to take us up there, too."
The caravan began with three food trucks heading up earlier in the day — Diana's Food Service, Phamily Bites, and The Modular. "They can only go up to 45 mph, so we sent them up first," Bento said.
You'll recall that it was only Thursday afternoon that Bento and fellow chef collaborator Chris Shepherd of the yet-to-open Underbelly rallied the troops at 13 Celsius to discuss the logistics for Friday's Good Samaritan outreach. Most heard the word through Twitter or Facebook and scrambled to get involved.
But, like Cyclone Anaya's Jason Gould pointed out, some couldn't resist the urge to help out a friend. "Chris is very well-connected," Gould said.
Convening on behalf of our fire-stricken neighbors to the north wasn't about semantics, though. It was about action. "We thought the Houston restaurant community should have a face, so we wanted to donate our time," Bento said. "You can donate money, too, but we'll take care of the food. That's what we do."
Bright and early on Friday morning, the epicurean gang started readying to roll.
"I worked all night to in order to make it here today," said sweet treat sensation Jody Stevens of Jodycakes.
The caravan began with three food trucks heading up earlier in the day — Diana's Food Service, Phamily Bites, and The Modular. "They can only go up to 45 mph, so we sent them up first," Bento said.
The rest of the bunch made themselves useful in the Central Market parking lot before departure.
The scene was nothing but a constant stream of perishable and non-perishable foods, toys, toiletries, and supplies — all donated. "My boyfriend [Michael O'Connor of Vic & Anthony's] and I woke up this morning to make cold pasta salads," said engineer and culinary student Kelsey Hughes. "I don't ever see him up this early."
We couldn't do the outpouring of support from local organizations justice, even if we tried. But we can guarantee you that the back of the donated Sysco trailer truck was filling up by the second.
"We knew we needed to jump on this," said Bob Schiller of Oak Farms Dairy. "We brought our refrigerated vehicle and created packages for the displaced families, but it's grown."
"I have a soft spot in my heart for Blue Heron Farm," said Schiller. Located in Waller County, "they're taking in people and families and animals, but the goats still need to get milked."
"The cow milk man is recommending that you buy some goat cheese and help the farmers up at Blue Heron Farm," Schiller said. Locations like Revival Market, Urban Harvest and other farmers markets should get you to that goat cheese goodness.
Support local, grow together, especially in our region's extreme time of need? Sounds like a refrain we already know — and we're watching the Houston restaurant community live by it as we speak.
Each water was chilled overnight prior to tasting.Photo by 