In time for the holidays last year, R.J. Hartbeck and Mary von der Heydt launched a series of short cookbooks titled “Small Circle,” each showcasing about 10 recipes from noted chefs around St. Louis.
Watching the coronavirus pandemic dwindle the local restaurant scene this past month left the duo brainstorming ways to quickly help the chefs that were greatly impacted. While they had an idea, they needed a collaborator that had reach. Enter Feast Magazine — one of the two local food publications highlighting the region’s culinary scene.
The two entities came up with a new community-sourced cookbook, "Extra Helping." It’s a digital PDF cookbook and donation platform to benefit hospitality industry employees affected by the COVID-19 outbreak.
On Thursday’s St. Louis on the Air, host Sarah Fenske learned more about the collaboration with Hartbeck. Also joining the conversation was Heather Riske, editor-in-chief of Feast Magazine.
More than 90 recipes from chefs across the state will be featured in the cookbook, and more than $6,000 has been raised so far. Some recipes are dishes you’ll find in your favorite area restaurants, while others are fun family recipes.
“We have a lot of different main [dishes] from a wide array of different types of culinary styles and cooking. We have sides and sauces and a great list of desserts,” Hartbeck explained. “One thing that we were really surprised about is that we got a ton of cocktail recipes from local bartenders and mixologists from around the region.”
“We were excited about that obviously, just because it seems that, hopefully, people are staying in good spirits.”
The recommended donation is $25, all of which will go to the Gateway Resilience Fund in St. Louis and Crossroads Community Kitchen in Kansas City. Each individual who donates will receive a digital copy of the cookbook, once compiled, via email.
Link to donation portal here.
“St. Louis on the Air” brings you the stories of St. Louis and the people who live, work and create in our region. The show is hosted by Sarah Fenske and produced by Alex Heuer, Emily Woodbury, Evie Hemphill, Lara Hamdan and Joshua Phelps. The audio engineer is Aaron Doerr.
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