Chef dreams of 'White' Thanksgiving for homeless

Nation's Restaurant News, August 30, 1993 by Peter O. Keegan

In the kitchen of the Nantucket Island, Mass., Ship's Inn, a 12-room historical inn and restaurant on this island retreat, sous chef Otto G. Borisch II dreams of feeding hungry, homeless children sliced turkey, dressing and all the trimmings this Thanksgiving -- on the White House lawn.

And in the next two and one-half months, Borisch is determined to utilize all of his extra energy into making that dream become a reality. Meanwhile, he is looking for a little support from his friends and some influential types in the nation's capital.

Borisch, who works summers here and in winter as a garde manger at Restaurant 44 in the Royalton Hotel in Manhattan, organized a group called "Hail to the Chefs" late last year. The group's objective, according to Borisch, is to "bring chefs together to donate their time, talents and services to benefit specific organizations," most of all, those concerned with the plight of the homeless.

Those benefits have included a trip held last winter that brought homeless children from the Amboy Neighborhood Center in Brooklyn to the United Nation's on Martin Luther King Day as well as a trip for children from the Harriet Tubman Family Living Center on 143rd Street in Manhattan to the floating "Intrepid" battleship museum on the Hudson River.

Borisch also is organizing an upcoming benefit on Oct. 17 for which chefs from 25 area restaurants will cook to help raise money for the Nantucket Emergency Food Pantry.

The idea of a Thanksgiving for homeless children held on the White House lawn came to Borisch in the fall of 1990, and he subsequently wrote to former President Bush for times in two years but to no avail.

Borisch remained resolute, however, and decided to keep pushing the idea. Today, with a new administration occupying the White House, Borisch is hoping that this will be the year that America will show symbolic compassion for its poor -- on a day when most families give thanks for what they have.

"I'm working on making this thing happen this year; it's an idea whose times has come," Borisch noted. "I'd like to see 100 to 200 kids eating a traditional Thanksgiving dinner on the White House lawn on Thanksgiving Day. I'd like to see Clinton rolling his sleeves up, pitching in and talking to the kids."

Borisch said that last spring Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney of Manhattan took a liking to the "wonderful and creative" idea and threw her "total support" behind it. She felt strongly enough that she wrote a letter to President Clinton, asking for his support for the cause and use of the lawn.

"From that point I wrote 229 letters, to state senators, governors, congressmen, senators, former members of the now-defunct Committee on Hunger, people in the administration and prominent Americans," he said. "But the White House has to go along with it. I would think Clinton would accept an idea like this with open arms."

Borisch said that so far he has gotten positive responses from the governors of Kansas, North Dakota and Tennessee, who are enthusiastic about the program, as well as from some prominent U.S. senators, like Phil Gramm from Texas and Howell Heflin from Alabama.

He has also heard from Anne McCoy, the deputy social secretary at the White House, who said they were intrigued by the idea and wanted to place him with the right person. He has yet to hear their response but has high hopes.

Borisch recently returned from Washington, where he spoke to the Children's Defense Fund, the National Coalition of the Homeless, the Law Center on homelessness and Poverty and Save Our Strength -- all of which initially warmed to the idea.

"Hopefully, if all goes well, it will happen this year and will inspire and motivate Americans to help end this problem of hunger," Borisch said. "By raising awareness, I hope there will be a regeneration for volunteers who are dedicated to this problem -- that they will find new hope to fight it."

Borisch said that if he receives the stamp of approval, he will get food donated from restaurants, purveyors and distributors and that volunteers would prepare and serve the traditional Thanksgiving feast to dozens of children from Washington-area homeless shelters.

"I hope the outcome spawns a traditional event, like the lighting of the Christmas tree or the Easter egg roll," he said. "And not just at the White house. I hope it spawns a tradition at governor's mansions across the country as well."