Bonnie Carroll's Life Bites

Although  he modestly insists that he is just “a simple boy from Kansas,” Bill  Bracken is a nationally renowned chef who has accrued numerous awards  and critical acclaim during his 35-year culinary career.

Bracken  developed a love of food at a very young age while cooking with his  mother and grandmothers in Wathena, Kansas (population 1,200). As a  child, he was drawn to the kitchen because “I loved to eat, and was  motivated to cook the things I like.” I really believe that in many  cases you don’t choose a career, it chooses you – and that I was born to  be a chef.” During that time, he also cultivated a particular fondness  for classic American staples. Indeed, one of his most popular dishes is  his inventive take on traditional macaroni and cheese, made with elbow  pasta, Taleggio cheese and crushed truffles.”

Bracken  landed his first restaurant job as a dishwasher in a local diner – and  by the age 13 he was where he was meant to be: in the kitchen cooking.  After high school, he attended a small vocational school where he won a  scholarship through a national cooking competition to the Culinary  Institute of America (CIA) in Hyde Park, New York. Following his  graduation from CIA with honors in the top 10 of his class, Bracken took  a job at the Mandalay Four Seasons Hotel in Dallas, Texas. He later  moved with the company to its Newport Beach property, now the Island  Hotel, working his way up to Executive Sous Chef.

In  1994, he joined The Peninsula Beverly Hills as Executive Chef –  overseeing all of the hotel’s culinary divisions, including the  nationally acclaimed The Belvedere Restaurant. During Bracken’s tenure,  The Belvedere was awarded the coveted AAA Five Diamond Award for 12  consecutive years. Additionally, he was voted “Chef of the Year” by the  California Restaurant Writers Association, and received rave reviews in  publications such as Condé Nast Traveler, Bon Appétit, Food & Wine  and Travel + Leisure.

Through  Bracken’s passion and creativity he built a variety of successful food  and beverage projects and programs. From being one of the first to  introduce small plates in the form of his “Small Bites Offerings” to the  LA dining scene or his signature “Macaroni and Cheese,” elbow pasta  with Taleggio cheese, crushed truffles and a parmesan tuile, Bracken was  on the forefront of the culinary movement.

After  10 years of running the kitchen Bracken stepped into the role of  Executive Assistant Manager - "Food & Beverage" overseeing the  entire food & beverage operation at The Peninsula Hotel. He enjoyed  immersing himself in the service side as well as the world of wine and  food pairings and took great joy in helping build the hotels award  winning wine list.

In  October of 2005, Bracken joined the Island Hotel in Newport Beach. As  Executive Chef, he headed up the property’s culinary operations,  overseeing the new Palm Terrace Restaurant & Lounge, and a staff of  65 cooks, pastry chefs & stewards. His first focus was on  repositioning the hotel’s signature restaurant, Palm Terrace, firmly on  the culinary map. Previously known as Pavilion Restaurant, the Palm  Terrace opened in June 2007 following an extensive refurbishment with a  new tropical-themed décor and new menus that reflect Bracken’s whimsical  American-style cuisine.

After  five years in the kitchen, Bracken again took the reign of the entire  F&B division, this time while still wearing his chef coat. Bracken  was tasked with creating a new business model to navigate through some  very trying economic times. While doing so, Bracken also created the  culinary vision for the Oak Creek Golf Club’s food & beverage  operation.

While  enjoying the challenges presented to him, it was time for Bill to move  onto new challenges. Since leaving the hotel world Bill has consulted on  a variety of restaurant and hotel projects including the only “Forbes  Five Star” resort in Santa Barbara, El Encanto. As well Bill helped to  open DivBar Smokehouse BBQ in Newport Beach to rave reviews.

Bill’s  most recent project was to open and establish The Ensaymada Project  with his wife Molly and his partners Ramon & Chari Reyes. After  spending a year establishing this exciting new online Filipino pastry  store with rave reviews in the Orange County Register, OC Weekly and  Riviera Magazine Bill has turned the reins over to his partners.

With  the recent news that the IRS has granted Bracken’s Kitchen 501c3 status  Bill has sold his interest in the Ensaymada Project to dedicate all of  his energy and efforts to his project. Bill is excited about building  the business and truly making a difference in the lives of those who  need it most.

A  resident of Fountain Valley, California, Bracken lives with his wife  Molly and his three children Jacob, Jessica and Lukas. In his spare  time, Bracken enjoys taking an active role in his kid’s lives supporting  their various school and sporting events, as well as his active  involvement in Seabreeze Church where his family are members. On those  rare occasions when Bracken has some time to himself, you can find him  enjoying many outdoor activities or taking a ride on his Harley.

On  contemplating how to best help those in need, one of the main obstacles  that Bill kept running into is the lack of mass transportation in  Southern California. While the face of those in need has changed over  time, public transportation in Southern California has not. Unlike other  major metropolitan areas Southern California does not benefit from a  subway, “L” or other large mass transportation systems for those without  a car or can afford the outlandish price of gasoline today. Bill’s  original plan was to build a restaurant modeling the success of Jon Bon  Jovi’s “Soul Kitchen” in Red Bank New Jersey. However without the ease  of mass transportation Bill has decided to bring the restaurant to them.

With  that in mind Bracken’s Kitchen will jump on the growing popularity of  food trucks as a means to help those in need. With a mobile kitchen /  restaurant Bill will bring the food to those who need it most. By  networking with churches and other nonprofit agencies that provide for  those in need, Bracken’s Kitchen will be able to announce when and where  they will be feeding.

The  goal of Bracken’s Kitchen is to provide high quality and healthy meals  on a regular basis to those who need it most. Our hope is that by  providing meals on a regular basis we can lessen the financial burden of  those in need and their precious few dollars can be spent on housing  and other important life necessities.

While  the goal of the food truck will be to feed, it is also our goal to  eventually become self-supporting by selling food on those days that we  are not feeding. One of our newest plans is the possibility of branding  our trucks with the companies & individuals that have supported us.  With the right branding we feel that the food truck can be even more  successful in raising capital on the selling days. To further expand the  impact that Bracken’s Kitchen hopes to have in our community it is our  goal to partner with various organizations to help employ those  individuals who need a job most.

While  we intend to start very modestly with just one truck our goal is to  have a larger impact by growing the fleet. There is much more need just  in Orange County than 1 truck can handle not to mention other areas of  Southern California. The ability to expand to those areas is our end  goal. Imagine a day where Bracken’s Kitchen food trucks dot the  landscape of Southern California and beyo

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I felt compelled to let you know about the amazing work being done by this fantastic career chef in California. I first met Chef Bracken at the Peninsula Hotel in Beverly Hills and I was blown away by his down to earth approach with patrons, while serving up some of the most sophisticated plates on the planet. Later, when he took over at Islands I did a review of their hotel restaurant. He is a very talented guy and his decision to create Bracken's Kitchen, his own way of making a difference for people in need, comes as no surprise to me and I am sure everyone else who knows Bill. To leaarn about what he is doing to help the hungry in Orange County please go to their site at BrackensKitchen.com and take a look at Betsy and the work Bill and his board of directors and volunteers are doing to make this happen. We need more people like this in American cities! BC

Dear EarthTalk: Do you have any tips for helping me get my kids involved in environmental protection advocacy? -- Jeanine Black, Charlotte, NC

There’s no time like the present to teach kids to respect their environment and be willing to stand up to protect it. Of course, any good environmental education starts at home: parents should always keep in mind that they are role models for their kids, and should act responsibly. And most schools today incorporate issues of sustainability into their curricula. But kids who want to do more can sync up with one of any number of nonprofits focused on getting young people involved with volunteering and advocacy on behalf of the environment.

One of the best places to start is Youth for Environmental Sanity (YES!), a nonprofit that runs a national speakers’ and workshop tour around the U.S. and beyond as well as summer camps devoted to teaching kids how to take action on behalf of the environment. The group also runs JAMs, bringing together “young changemakers” from local communities to brainstorm ideas for solutions to local, national and international environmental problems. The YES! website features information on a wide range of environmental topics as well as videos focusing on organizing and coalition building around shared environmental goals.

Another great resource is the Center for Biological Diversity’s Generation Wild program, designed to help kids learn about and help protect local wildlife. The program’s website offers kids tips on things like how to write an effective and compelling “letter to the editor” for publication in a local newspaper, creating a backyard wildlife sanctuary, encouraging teachers and schools to undertake projects that help local wildlife, and spreading the word via social media.

Meanwhile, Earthforce, Inc. helps kids ages 10-14 develop citizenship skills and address both local and national environmental problems. Participants get hands-on, real-world opportunities to learn about the issues and develop skills that can help them become lifelong leaders in addressing them. Another leading youth environmental group is Tree Musketeers, which empowers kids to use innovative approaches in launching their own environmental campaigns where they live. Through its Young Executive program, the group provides resources to help kids learn the practical, logistical and personal skills to lead environmental actions and spread the word about the need to live more sustainable lifestyles.

Yet another nonprofit vehicle that helps kids get active is SustainUS, which focuses on sustainable development. Its Agents of Change program sends youth delegations to United Nations conferences on climate change, sustainable development, women’s issues and biological diversity—and its Lead Now Fellowship trains and supports young people in becoming leaders in advancing sustainable development.

Last but not least, TakingItGlobal is an international network of young people working to tackle global environmental challenges. Its Digital Youth Engagement, Global Education and Social Innovation programs focus on creating the next generation of environmental leaders around the world.

Young people can also get involved in environmental protection efforts right in their own backyards even without the support of a non-profit. Examples include organizing a local e-waste recycling drive, asking schools and businesses in the area to refrain from using noxious chemicals for landscaping, and coordinating carpools to reduce traffic-related greenhouse gas emissions. Likewise, kids can learn a lot by finding a local green group and volunteering to help canvass for funds, clean-up a beach or waterway, or lobby local officials to take sustainability into account. Indeed, our common future may well depend on it.

Step Up To The Plate to Help The Hungry