Famous Cleveland Chef Joins Forces With Geauga Habitat

August 22, 0201

By Rose Nemunaitis
Cleveland chef and Food Network reality star Chris Hodgson is at a place in life where being in the public eye offers a platform and self-proclaimed respons-ibility.
“I believe in waking up every day and trying to be a better person than I was the day before,” Hodgson said. “I come from a family that taught me the value of giving back to the community.”
So, as Hodgson recently greeted early lunch-goers with the opening of a door and a smile at the Welshfield Inn in Troy Township, all was status quo with the 27-year-old, who recently shared spotlights with celebrity chefs Giada De Laurentiis and Bobby Flay.
“There’s a responsibility to be true to who you are while striving for success,” said Hodgson, a Shaker Heights native. “I think I’m more aware of that more than ever.”
Hodgson will focus on the needs of Geauga County Oct. 12 as he headlines Geauga County Habitat for Humanity’s fifth annual fundraiser “Passport to the World” culinary tour of five countries, which includes live and silent auctions at Petitti Garden Centers in Bainbridge Township.
“It’s a trip around the world with food and wine,” Hodgson said. “It’s going to be a very special evening of food, drinks, music and fun, all for a good cause.”
Geauga’s Habitat for Humanity is a charitable organization that helps people in need realize the dream of home-ownership.
Habitat purchases the land to be built on or the home to be rehabbed. The partner family and volunteers do the physical work and the partner family pays back a mortgage over time.
In the past year and a half, Habitat has built four new homes in Middlefield and rehabbed two in Chardon, with a “re-hab” expected to be finished this month in Burton, according to the organization.
“While Geauga County is one of the wealthiest in the state, there is still a large contingency of people living at or below the poverty line,” said Cheryl Carter, Geauga Habitat’s director of philanthropy and community relations.
Helping families get homes and improve their situation is good for the county, adding new taxpayers to the pool and providing hardworking families a stable environment to thrive in, Carter said.
“Habitat’s mission fits my personal and professional mission and values,” Hodgson said. “I like to give back and invest in those building a better community.”
Hodgson moved to Chagrin Falls when he married his wife, Jacquelyn (Romain) Hodgson on May 25, 2013, whom he met while they were students at Canterbury Elementary School in Cleveland Heights.
Family is important to the chef, who grew up experiencing the world via mission trips.
“The best habits we learn from our parents,” Hodgson said, adding his dad, a retired physician, told him to “Touch people with your art,” as he ended up hating “regular” college and graduating from Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts.
“Don’t be a good chef, be a great chef,” Hodgson recalls his father saying.
He became inspired by the food trucks he saw while spending time in New York City, pioneering the very first food truck in Cleveland, Dim and Den Sum.
His second truck, Hodge-Podge, made it to the final showdown on last year’s “The Great Food Truck” race on the Food Network.
His generosity toward giving back after all the continued TV fame stays constant.
“I donate massive amounts of cans during can drives at my church,” Hodgson said. “It’s always comical when you’re standing there with a half a pallet next to the guy with one can of peas, but it’s always about giving according to our means to those with less. That guy with the one can of peas may be donating his dinner for the day.”
Hodgson said he is a “chef with a cause.”
“I can’t wait to make a difference. I had worked with some of the members (Habitat) in the past, so they knew about my ‘cuisine for a cause’ philosophy,” he said. “Through their past interactions with Driftwood Restaurants and Catering (providing the food for the event), they also knew that Driftwood would be a great fit. Our company is filled with wonderful people, excited to help others. Finally, because of my TV appearances, they thought the timing was right to help them raise money and awareness.”
Hodgson is a partner and consulting chef with restaurateur Scott Kuhn, a Solon High School alumnus.
The Driftwood Restaurant Group locations include: Hodges, 87 West, Allegheny Grille, The Orchard House, Washington Place Bistro and Welshfield Inn.
“My true ties (to the county) come from my partnership with Scott Kuhn,” Hodgson said. “He is the owner of Welshfield Inn and is heavily involved in the community. Driftwood’s corporate offices are at the Welshfield Inn, so the area feels like my second home.”
Soon, Hodgson jumped in his Driftwood catering truck and motored away from the Welshfield Inn heading to business in downtown Cleveland.
“It’s easy to make a difference here,” Hodgson said.
Tickets and more information on Passport’s culinary tour, fundraiser and silent auction are available at www. habitatgeauga.org.