Just call them four organic chefs that enjoy cross-state biking.
The bikers have put their finances on the line to ensure that the next generation of Americans, especially blacks, are living a healthy lifestyle free from cancer, diabetes and other health-related illnesses.
The band of organic biking chefs stopped by the Rattler’s Den on Wednesday as a part of the Be Organic tour to give FAMU students a bite into their organic lifestyle.
Chefs Kirk Nelson, Chad Cherry, Roosevelt Desir and Andre Walker spearheaded the 40 miles for 40 days campaign. For 40 days, they ride bikes across Florida informing residents on the organic standard of living.
The chefs joined forces in Miami where they opened a restaurant in what’s known as the design district..
Their love for cooking and athletic endeavors led them to becoming mobile with a catering service. This opportunity has allowed them to cook for some notable figures: rapper Trina, “CSI: Miami” staff, and our President and First Lady, Barack and Michelle Obama.
Even though the organic chefs had reached celebrity status, they felt like their mission of education on healthier lifestyles was incomplete.
This emptiness led them toward creating the Be Organic community outreach tour. The four chefs travel city to city on their bikes spreading the goodness of organic living and encouraging the go green movement that is sweeping across the country.
The chefs have temporarily halted their catering business to educate the masses on organic living.
But what does it mean to go organic?
Cherry described organic food as, food that comes up the way it is supposed to be with no modification.
While organic living can be expensive, the chefs offered great alternatives. Instead of going 100 percent organic at once, they suggested going 15 to 25 percent organic.
They suggested eating and trying an alternative organic breakfast because it is the easiest, cheapest and most important meal in a nutritious lifestyle.
But not everyone believes going organic is beneficial.
“I don’t believe organic food has any additional nutritional value over regular food,” said Alexis Pompey, 17, a first-year chemistry student from Woolwich, N.J.
According to BreakfastFirst.org, people that tend to skip breakfast have a higher tendency to have greater body fat.
Cherry suggests that as a culture, we must maximize on this experience and not let it pass us. He stressed the importance of going organic as not a trend, but a cultural shift that has the potential to help our community financially.
Cherry also said collecting old cell phones and selling them to Web sites such as cellforcash.com is a great way to recycle the products.
The Be Organic workshop not only provided tips for your body and wallet, but it also offered flavorful dishes. The fact that they came with food should not have came as a surprise since Cherry proclaims that, “We are the best in what we do.”
One type of dishes offered was a lettuce wrap filled with chick peas, water chestnuts and green and red peppers. The meal was served along a jerk chicken, penne pasta and topped with homemade pineapple jerk sauce.
Malcolm Jackson, a third-year computer information systems student from Ft. Lauderdale, described the food as delicious but nutritious.
For more information on the four organic chefs, visit their website neweraorganic.com or follow them on Twitter under, OrganicTakeover.
To make a change in organic living on campus, attend the next Green Coalition meeting, Oct. 7 at 6 p.m. in the School of Journalism & Graphic Communications Lecture Hall.