"Every Wednesday during the month of February, Belong Kitchen (Belong), a neighborhood non-profit grab-n-go kitchen that employs adults with intellectual and developmental differences, is featuring a menu item created by Guest Chef, Aaron Bludorn and Alexandra Peña. Chefs Aaron and Alexandra visited Belong on January 12th and worked alongside employees to train them to prepare the Shepherd’s Pie recipe that elevates a classic comfort food dish to a next-level culinary delight by using only the highest quality ingredients. A layer of ground beef blended with spices, red wine, Worcestershire, garlic, onions, peas and carrots is topped with a layer of fluffy mashed potatoes, browned to perfection and topped with white cheddar cheese. Side salads and garlic bread are also available to complete a hearty dinner that everyone in the family will love.
Belong’s Guest Chef series kicked off in August 2022 with Chef Kate McLean, Executive Chef and Partner at Tony’s, one of Houston’s most iconic fine dining establishments. Other Houston-area chefs including Chef José Arévalo of Brennan’s, Jonathan Levine of Jonathan’s the Rub, Marcia Smart of Smart in the Kitchen, Shipley’s Donuts, Raffi Nasr of Craft Pita and more have collaborated with Belong to make their amazing food available to Belong’s customers. The entire Belong team feels honored to have these Guest Chefs come up with fabulous menu items, visit the restaurant, train the team, and work side-by-side with our staff.
“Belong was built to create dignified work for adults with intellectual and developmental differences”, says Kim Brown, founder and Executive Director of Belong Kitchen. “I cannot think of anything more dignified that having some of Houston’s most prominent and talented Chefs take time out of their busy schedules to create recipes for our non-profit Kitchen and work alongside our staff to train us on how to prepare these meals. We are blessed to be part of the Houston community and proud and honored to have such incredible Chefs prove that this is a place where we all belong."
