On a bitterly cold December day, Michael Lesser bounded from station to station in a Harlem kitchen, commanding a small army.
There were vegetables to prep, fish to season and a soup to simmer. In the dining room, glasses were polished until they gleamed, flowers were set and silverware was carefully tucked into the folds of embroidered napkins.
It would be easy to mistake this scene for a trendy restaurant, but this is Refettorio Harlem, a nonprofit restaurant and food pantry where, two nights a week, chefs like Mr. Lesser turn donated food that would otherwise go to waste into a multicourse dinner that is served to anyone who is hungry.
Found inside the Emanuel A.M.E. Church, Refettorio Harlem is run by Free Food Harlem, with the aim of giving anyone who walks through its doors a dining experience befitting a Michelin-starred restaurant — think three-course dinners with freshly baked desserts and aromatic coffee. Dinner service is held every Wednesday and Friday.
The Harlem operation is part of a global network founded by Lara Gilmore and her husband, Massimo Bottura, the Italian chef whose Osteria Francescana in Modena, Italy, is often ranked among the world’s best restaurants. Their Food for Soul program, which seeks to reduce food waste, insecurity and isolation, has established Refettorio operations in a dozen locations around the globe, including in Paris, London and Sydney, Australia.
Jill Conklin, a strategic director at Food for Soul, said that Refettorio, which opened in 2023 and is funded almost entirely by private donations, can make the overwhelming challenges of food insecurity, waste and loneliness “feel a little lighter,” as if “it’s possible to have change.”
Mr. Bottura, who is also a United Nations Environment Program good-will ambassador, said he wanted to “create places where food becomes a connector, celebrating culture, nurturing community and restoring dignity.”
That sentiment echoed for Shanel Hugee, 36, who sat at a banquet table last month with her 1-year-old daughter, Skye. Ms. Hugee had just finished an entree of pollock on a potato croquette with a beurre blanc sauce and soy honey-glazed brussels sprouts. The third course, an assortment of desserts that included a blueberry galette with fresh whipped cream, would be served next. Ms. Hugee, who was living in a shelter, said she ate a lot of her meals at churches, but none compared to the one she enjoyed at Refettorio.
“I love it because it’s like a restaurant setting,” she said. The volunteers welcome everyone and make them feel comfortable, she added, “and that’s what I love about being here.”
At Refettorio, “people love my baby, they love me,” Ms. Hugee said. “It has to do with respect.”
Bob Wilms, the director of Free Food Harlem, said the organization served 700 to 800 meals per week, including its two dinner services and its pantry day on Tuesday. In a period of rising inflation and economic anxiety, those numbers have recently spiked, he said.
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Much of the work is done by volunteers, but Refettorio has a small paid staff. When positions open, Mr. Wilms said, Free Food Harlem typically prioritizes volunteers who had been incarcerated.
Baldor Specialty Foods, a Bronx-based wholesale food distributor whose clients include about 3,000 Manhattan restaurants, has donated about 2,000 pounds of surplus food per week to Refettorio since it opened.
Margaret Magnarelli, Baldor’s vice president of marketing and communications, said the partnership was “kind of the perfect matchup for us.” Refettorio, she said, is “based around the same principles” as Baldor’s restaurant clients, “in that it’s about serving a meal, serving it with dignity, helping people eat well.”
“We really believe that eating well and the joy of eating should not be a privilege,” Ms. Magnarelli said.
For Beatrice Ughi, the founder and president of Gustiamo, an Italian food importer in the Bronx that also works with Refettorio, the nonprofit’s use of fresh, nutritious ingredients reinforces the ideals behind its mission.
Gustiamo also holds an annual fund-raiser for Refettorio by selling a specially made, limited-supply olive oil made from olives grown on two trees in Italy that are over 500 years old. The olive oil is flown to New York and pressed shortly after the olives are harvested, Ms. Ughi said.
Beyond a good meal, the Refettorio offers diners something less tangible: a sense of belonging.
James Parks, 76, said he attended both meal services each week. The people there, he said, were his “second family.”
“I can open to them and tell them my feelings,” he said.
Some of guests, like Marcus Townsend, 15, and his brother, Jaylen, 12, also volunteer, rolling up their sleeves before or after a meal to assist with the service. The Townsends started offering their help this year, Wendell Townsend, their father, said.
“Everybody’s like family here to us,” he said, echoing Mr. Parks. “Good atmosphere, good conversation. Everybody’s friendly.”
In the kitchen, Mr. Lesser, the chef, receives help from people who come through Exodus Transitional Community, which provides services for ex-offenders. Johnny Jara, an assistant program director at Exodus, described them as “justice impacted,” meaning they either used to be incarcerated or have a case pending in court.
Training at Refettorio teaches Exodus participants practical skills that they can use later to find work at a restaurant, as some who have completed the program have done.
“It’s an opportunity for our participants to learn something new and to open their mind to something positive that most likely they’ve never actually had in their lives,” Mr. Jara said.
For Matthew King II, a Marine veteran and venture capitalist who has volunteered at Refettorio for the last year, working there is a divine experience.
“This is because it’s coming from a place of ‘we want to do this,’ and it’s care and love, it’s not a job,” Mr. King said. “We’re not getting paid, but the interaction between the community and the service and the food — it’s better than going to a restaurant.”
Aimee Ortiz covers breaking news and other topics.
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