In this post, our Director of Nutrition Services, Lisa Zullig, writes about dining as a representative of God’s Love at the Friday Night Dinner at The Natural Gourmet Institute.

Last Friday night, February 15, I was invited to attend a Friday Night Dinner at The Natural Gourmet Institute as a representative of God’s Love. Each Friday, student chefs in the Institute’s Chef’s Training Program, along with their instructor, prepare and serve a three-course vegetarian dinner for the public. A portion of the proceeds from this are donated to various non-profit organizations. God’s Love We Deliver was generously chosen as the recipient for this meal.

Students prepared an amazing Ayurvedic winter dinner intended to be calming, grounding, comforting and warming. In Ayurveda, a complete meal consists of six tastes: sweet, sour, salty, bitter, astringent and pungent. As you can imagine, in balancing these tastes, the three courses were absolutely delicious and satisfying. The main course featured locally sourced braised greens in a Bengali spice mix, millet-black bean kofta (small cakes) in a tomato curry, and sautéed green beans with a coconut and urad dal. At the end of the meal, my tablemates and I discussed the various meal flavors and commented on how content we felt.

After the Chefs were introduced, I had the opportunity to speak about God’s Love and our mission, and to thank the Natural Gourmet Institute. Many of the diners were already familiar with the organization and some had even volunteered. Being a graduate of the Institute’s Chef’s Training Program myself, I was especially excited to be there, and had fond memories of preparing similar Friday night dinners with my classmates.

Overall, it was a wonderful evening with a graciously served and thoughtfully prepared meal.

Stay tuned for photos from the fantastic evening!