Zach Bell is the Executive Chef at Lost Tree Club in North Palm Beach, Florida. We caught up with him to learn about his work with No Kid Hungry. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
How did you first connect with No Kid Hungry?
The bulk of my career was with Daniel Boulud in New York and Palm Beach, and that’s where I connected with No Kid Hungry–I think it was 2005. In 2011, I had the opportunity to reignite Palm Beach's Taste of the Nation where I served as chef chair for the event. Each year, I enlisted a couple of my other chef friends to build up the committee there. Along the way, I had the opportunity to travel to Washington, DC to be part of Hill days and join meetings with lawmakers advocating for programs that feed kids.
Why this cause?
Hunger connects to restaurants naturally because we serve members of the community that have the ability to eat out every single day of their life. Especially in an area like Palm Beach where there’s such a disparity of wealth from one side of the intercoastal to the other. There’s a food desert literally a quarter of a mile west of an area where people have everything. It grates on you that that exists, and you want to do what you can to make sure people can get the resources that are needed. Everyone deserves access to having that start to the day that energizes you, especially children. That helps them concentrate in school.
How are you currently involved with No Kid Hungry?
No Kid Hungry reached out and offered an opportunity to work with Palm Beach County schools developing a recipe for Earth Day this past April. It’s something I’ve wanted to do, but there’s a whole other level of bureaucracy and red tape to get there. Schools have their own nutrition programs. They have their own chefs. So the opportunity to marry the two was something I thought was just too good to pass up. Mostly, I offered guidance from a chef’s perspective. It’s always helpful in any business to have a fresh set of eyes come in and offer some thoughts and ideas.
How was the meal you helped develop received by the kids?
We made a grain bowl. We were pleasantly surprised by the kids, especially the breakdown of the age groups who found it approachable. It was more of the younger kids– the second graders that were interested and willing to try it. So, that was a welcome surprise. That’s where you want to get them. You want to get them to eat well earlier, right? So, that was fun.
Tell me about working with the school.
We’re the largest county in Florida–it’s hundreds of thousands of kids. The impact of introducing a new dish is major, so they plan down to the ounce what they buy and how they spend. The flexibility and maneuverability in that space is a lot slower than smaller counties, but it was eye-opening. There is a dietician and an executive chef on staff that leads the execution of the purchasing and the planning.
The school we went to had a great staff of three people there—the lady in charge and a couple of cooks, one of which I knew. He used to work here, so that was pretty cool. And they were all jazzed about doing it, about being involved and just as excited as we were about seeing the kids’ reaction to the new items. It was fun because the higher-ups are easier to sell on an idea, but you need to have that line level buy-in in order for it to really work.
Why do you think it's important for people in the hospitality industry to be involved with No Kid Hungry?
It’s a basic human right to have access to proper and nutritious food, and because you’re the person that is often looked to as the leader in the community around food. If you’re at a higher-end restaurant, people think you must know a lot about food. I think it’s part of your public duty to represent not only what you put on the plate and do for yourself and for your restaurant, but you should translate that into taking care of your community as well. You’re in your best position to do that.
What is your favorite food and/or drink at the moment?
I’m just a barbeque guy. It’s a Southern thing. It’s just you’re good old “meat and three” kind of barbeque.
