GRAND RAPIDS — There's nothing like a good meal to bring people together. No one understands that more than one local chef. But even as the coronavirus pandemic forces us away from each other at the moment, he is still finding a way to serve his community.
Chef Nick Robinson is a natural in the kitchen. Before the coronavirus outbreak changed life as we know it, Robinson brought his passion for cooking to aspiring chefs at Sur la Table.
These days, you'll find Robinson in front of the camera In his own kitchen on the Facebook page he recently created, called Chef Nick Quarantine Food
With his resident sous chefs, daughters Raylei and Kylie, by his side, they whip up delicious dishes suggested by his Facebook followers.
"You've probably got enough stuff in your refrigerator and freezer that you don't have to go shopping right now," Robinson explained. "Jump on there. Make a comment of what you want to learn, and let's enjoy this time and build a new skill set."
Robinson encourages supporting local restaurants and taking advantage of the leftovers. And every dish is demonstrated and made as simply as possible.
"If you watch the videos, there's no measuring," Robinson said. "We just want you guys to have fun so if we, if we keep giving measurements, you know, you're thinking too much."
The way Robinson sees it, cooking allows us to put our worries aside, get out of our own heads, and tap into that creative part of our minds.
There's no better way of doing that, than with a friendly face.
"I spent seven years in the U.S. Army in the infantry," Robinson recalled. "One of the ways that I came out of dealing with a lot of that stuff was finding a way to cope, and cooking is definitely my medium. As long as you understand how to prep well and keep yourself clean, cooking is not difficult, and it's really fun."
