Bo Kozak spent 16 years as co-owner of Lufrano's Italian Restaurant, a neighborhood eatery on the corner of 43rd Street and Nicollet Avenue in Minneapolis roundly praised for its thin-crust pizza and affable servers.
For that long of a run, Kozak feels he owes someone something. That's why he's been cooking holiday meals for needy families almost as long as he's been a chef.
He reprised that role Saturday as part of Parents in Community Action's sixth annual holiday dinner at the McKnight Early Childhood Family Development Center in Minneapolis. The event brought chefs from all over the Twin Cities to serve more than 1,000 children and their families from local homeless shelters.
"It's work and it's fun," Kozak said. "Some of us look at it as a payback for successful careers."
Kozak was in charge of a team of chefs from the American Culinary Federation's Minneapolis chapter on Saturday. Ranging from restaurateurs to caterers to teachers, the chefs prepared a meal of carved roast beef, roast chicken, corn souffle, roasted potatoes and a vegetable medley.
It's such a big effort that chefs start preparing Friday night, cooking a combined 80 pans of beef and chicken at the Minneapolis Convention Center. It's probably the most lavish spread the children will see throughout the holidays.
"People think of the homeless and they think of panhandlers on the street," McKnight Early Childhood Family Development Center Director Mary Annette Quinnell said. "They don't realize 50 percent of homeless are children. This is the face of our community, but a lot of people don't see this face."
Next to dining, entertainment was the biggest part of the day. A team of martial artists performed in the center's gymnasium, children decorated cookies and chef Chris Sturzl introduced kids to his puppet Chef Gouda -- complete with matching uniform.
