‘Most fun I’ve had’: Montreal shelter chefs hailed as unsung heroes of the culinary world

A Montreal charity is honouring chefs in homeless shelters, calling them heroes who nourish with creativity and care -- often with the bare minimum.

A Montreal-based charity is shining a spotlight on a group of chefs whose work is often overlooked — those who cook in shelters for the unhoused.

On International Chef’s Day, Bread and Beyond held an event Monday to recognize what it calls the “unsung heroes” of the culinary world — the cooks who provide daily meals in community shelters, often working with limited resources and tight budgets.

Steve Townsend has been a chef for 35 years. For the past five, he’s been cooking at the Hadley Community Shelter.

“I used to own a restaurant. I’d go home and complain every day,” Townsend told Global News in an interview. “Now I go home with feel-good stories. This is probably the most fun I’ve had as a chef in my entire life.”

Townsend said that while the work comes with challenges — from limited ingredients to unpredictable menus — the creative problem-solving and direct impact on people’s lives make it deeply rewarding.

“It’s a challenge every day, instead of the monotony of doing the same menu over and over again,” he said.

Bread and Beyond, which supplies sandwiches to eight homeless shelters across the city, used the day to bring together 80 volunteers. In one afternoon, they produced 3,000 sandwiches, the equivalent of a week’s worth of food, for shelters in need.

“This is probably going to be the one meal this person will have in a long time,” said volunteer Sushmeet Sunger. “So when you make that sandwich, keep that in mind.”