A group of chefs brought food and joy to the tenants at Barrier Free Living (BFL) Apartments in the Bronx, NY last month. BFL Apartments offers permanent homes to survivors of domestic violence with disabilities and their families, as well as to single adults.

We caught up with Zack Pozzoboni, who organized the volunteer driven event, to find out what drew him to Barrier Free Living, and to ask if he would share the crowd favorite Banana pudding recipe.

BFL: What led you to volunteer at BFL Apartments?

Zack: We were looking for a location to cook on Thanksgiving , we met Jeff Fox (Foxy Management) and he told us about BFL. We felt like it would be the perfect place to do the event because we all feel that domestic violence is a very prevalent and important issue in our communities. Even though we are all from different places, we all know someone that has been affected by domestic violence. And it was also important for me personally to do it in the Bronx because I grew up there and I am connected to the community.

BFL: Tell us a bit about the volunteers and chefs involved. How did you all come together for this event?

Zack: When we came up with the idea I reached out to my old high school friend Jeffrey DeJesus, who accepted my offer immediately, even with his busy work schedule. After high school he took to the kitchen life and worked super hard to become a successful cook. He is now sous chef at Nom Wah Tu in Chinatown.

Maria Konder Reis is a chef (even though she likes the term ” cooker ” ) graduated from NGI ( Natural Gourmet Institute ), originally from Brazil, based in NYC for 12 year. She was/is always involved with some kind of voluntary / charity activity and was on board from day one. The other volunteers were my mother who is currently in law school and my sister, who runs a women’s healing arts collective in Brooklyn called Root Mama BK.

BFL: What was the experience like working with the tenants?

Zack:  The experience was very rewarding. We all felt like we were bringing a sense of unity and support for all of them, especially the children. The kids were really happy and the adults were very grateful and that made us truly happy.

BFL: What was a highlight of the day?

Zack: The highlight of the day was when everybody got together (BFL staff / tenants / Community Table NYC), bonding through food made with love and Brazilian music provided by Jeff Fox.

BFL: Are you open to coming back! Plus, our tenants are wondering if you would you share the recipe for the banana pudding? It was a crowd favorite.

Zack: Yes of course we are hoping to be back as soon as we can for another feast. And the banana pudding recipe we got it from online. Here is the link.