Sorry to all of those who wrote me upset that I included no recipes for passover, truth I have no set recipes – I play around a lot in hopes that things turn out OK – sometimes they do and sometimes they don’t. I finally wrote down several things that worked out well and will include it in the book, so you’re just gonna have to buy it – LOL. Seriously though, I will add them next year as they are no longer relevant.

Anyway, I will get back to the recipes and food stories in a bit, I just wanted to share this, which is somewhat related to food. I was reading the paper and saw this ad for a contest run by the Hyatt called The Big Welcome, in which you can win 365 nights worth of hotel stays in any Hyatt around the world plus 1 million air miles. To enter you need to write an essay about what you would do with your prize if you won the contest. I like my idea so I thought I would share it with you – please let me know what you think via email.

Question: What would you do if you won 365 stays in a hotel with 1 million airline miles?

Answer: Feed the world – literally.

Growing up in New York City I was exposed to many people who did not have a place to live, who relied on trash bins next to fast food restaurants for their daily meals, who could not afford the “comfort” or the “food” that I had. Not to say that I had it all – far from it in fact. But I had a roof over my head and I had a refrigerator and pantry that had the necessary ingredients to create a good meal – or a bad one for that matter. And if the meal was indeed not palatable enough, I had the luxury of choice that would enable me to ingest something more desirable.

As many of us “fortunate” ones do, I took the homeless for granted, as if they were a lamp post or a garbage heap on the corner, an obstacle blocking my route or a wretched eye sore from which unpleasant fumes emanated. I paid little attention to them and, am ashamed to admit this, even used them as the butt of jokes at times without sensitivity to their plight or sympathy for their struggles.

As a kid, we all fantasize what we would do if we were rich: Traveling the world, having a selection of cars we can choose to drive each day like underwear, buying a baseball team and so on. Yet all things are relative, and situations change. As you get older life hits you and your old dreams and hopes die and evolve to meet the needs of your reality. That kid who once dreamed of being a rock star may one day find him or herself on the streets, dreaming a new dream – a pair of shoes with no hole, a warm coat in the winter or a hot, tasty meal.

When I first became a chef years ago, I had the privilege to work in some of New York’s finest restaurants serving some of the world’s most creative and tasteful foods to the elite who could afford it. The life of a real chef is not as glamorous as those that you see on television. Hourly wages, long hours, small confining spaces highlight the job – but we do it because we love it. And through my work my awareness of the less fortunate grew, mostly on cigarette breaks in the back alley where I would regularly see those who were homeless sifting through the discarded appetizers and entrées – eating leftover garnishes, bone meat and whatever else the patron could not finish.

After opening my own restaurant in Manhattan, I made it my business to make sure I fed at least one needy person a day – and for the most part I was true to that. My dreams evolved too. Working sixteen hours a day, six days (sometimes seven) a week for years just to be able to support my family removed the fancy cars and partnership with George Steinbrenner from my fantasies. For four years I have had the same dream and I hope one day to be fortunate enough to realize it. It is my belief that everyone should know what it is like to eat well, my dream if I were rich enough, would be to open a soup kitchen that serves amazing food to those that have nothing.

So, as a catalyst to this dream and in preparation for it, if I were to win the Hyatt’s “The Big Welcome” contest, I would make it my mission to travel the world and cook for the homeless. In each country, in each city, there is a soup kitchen, or the equivalent in which the homeless can go and eat a hot meal. If I were to win, I would coordinate with local organizations to come in for a day and using the same ingredients they use each day, primarily from donated sources, and using my knowledge, skills and creativity, prepare a fine meal for their constituents. It might not be fillet mignon, but it will be unique, tasty, prepared well and served artistically with a touch of love. I am certain that based on the publicity this venture might get, it will be possible to have better ingredients donated by local restaurants and food distributors so as to truly make the meal special.

I would work hard to set a proper schedule that would enable me to control the frequent flier miles by using bus or train to get from one place to the next. I would work hard to garner public interest for the campaign through local media so as to maximize the exposure the venture will be given in hopes the donations to these facilities will be the most they can be. I will do this over a period of three years, cooking in about 120 soup kitchens a year. And after I have prepared food in 360 places, serving a gourmet meal to hundreds of thousands of people, I will take my wife away for a much deserved five day vacation to wherever she wants to go.

This is my dream – this is how I would use the Hyatt’s prize if I won.