“I’m doing what I was meant to be doing,” said Jeff Ansorge.
Last year, Ansorge was the executive chef at one of Minneapolis’ top restaurants, The Capital Grille.
He was pulling in $100,000 a year crafting $40 entrées.
Today, the chef still uses his culinary creativity to create healthy and delicious meals, but he’s relocated to the Salvation Army Eastside Corps Community Center in St. Paul, Minnesota.
According to local reporter Boyd Huppert, the meals Ansorge makes now – pan-seared lemon salmon and puff pastry chicken pot pie – cost only 63 cents per meal and are free to those who come to the community centre for a hot meal.
Capt. John Joyner posted the ad for a cook last summer. When Ansorge’s application came in “it was almost too good to be true,” said Joyner.
“His credentials are unbelievable. He could easily be making two, three times what he makes working for us. But he told us that he wanted to give back and he really wanted to do this,” Joyner said.
In the soup kitchen, Ansorge has swapped out canned produce for fresh fruits and vegetables. The kitchen now serves high quality meats and cheese and less processed food.
Wednesday’s Thanksgiving meal featured a traditional turkey dinner with stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, cranberry sauce and bread, served on tables covered with white tablecloths.
Ansorge’s decision to change his career came out of his personal struggle while going through a divorce.
“I was suffering from major depression. And my priorities were all wrong,” he said, adding that the fancy house and high-paying job, “none of that satisfied me.”
You can read more about Ansorge’s work here. H/T Boyd Huppert (KARE 11 News in St. Paul, Minnesota), Upworthy
With files from The Associated Press
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