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LOS ANGELES – For thousands of poor or homeless children in California, one could say that chef Bruno Serato is a true superhero, triumphing over hunger, 3 million meals in 14 years.
His powers lie in week-long tomato pasta prepared by some 5,000 underprivileged children living in the Anaheim area of southern California.
"With pasta, I can win the war on hunger," jokes the 62-year-old journalist at a recent interview in his famed restaurant The White House, located about 40 km south of Los Angeles .
"I do not need missiles, I do not need weapons, I do not need that kind of stuff," he adds. "I just need pasta to win the war."
Every week, from Monday to Friday, Serato faithfully mixes nearly 350 kg of spaghetti and sauce soups to feed hungry children through the founding of his Caterina club, named after his mother.
The genesis of his project dates back to April 18, 2005, when Serato, born in France of Italian parents and settled in the United States in 1980, visited a children's center located near his restaurant.
He was accompanied by his mother, who came from Italy and was horrified by what some children ate for dinner because their families could not afford a proper meal.
A six-year-old boy, who lived in a motel and whose parents had no money or kitchen to cook, was munching fries.
"Like all Italian mothers, she said:" When he's hungry, he can eat pasta "and we immediately headed to the restaurant's kitchen to prepare some," Serato said.
"I have not stopped making pasta since," he added.
Since then, Serato has served 3 million meals to hungry children in nearly 90 locations including schools and community centers in Los Angeles and Orange counties.
On Thursday, he and his foundation celebrate this event with 200 children invited to his restaurant.
He recently decided to close his upscale restaurant at lunchtime to focus on the kids' meals.
"We were already very busy at lunch but we had never booked completely," he said. "Then I made a choice."
Giving has become a way of life for Serato.
Born in 1956 in Laon, in the north of France, he remembers his bucolic childhood with six brothers and sisters.
His parents were farm laborers, and although they were poor and he often wore underwear, Serato said he never lacked anything.
"I ate spaghetti with marinara sauce every day because it cost nothing and I was never hungry!"
He says people like to help others, but often they do not know how to do it.
"Start with a small thing," he advises. "You can start with a" hello ", a" hello ". Make a plate of pasta, give a hug, give a little jacket that you do not use to someone who needs it.
"Start quietly, do not start with a big problem. I mean, I did not start with 5,000 pasta (meals). Start very discreetly, "he said.
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