Acclaimed chef now serves up much more than food

TAMPA (FOX 13) - The executive chef at the Trinity Cafe is a man with a mission. 

Benito D’Azzo is responsible for feeding hundreds of people a day -- all for free. This chef with expert experience from swanky locations downtown now serves the down and out instead.

"We are a non-profit restaurant," explained D’Azzo. "Anyone who is homeless, hungry, food insecure -- We don't care. We'll feed you."

Balanced nutrition is important to D’Azzo, not just because he loves food, but because this chef is responsible for making more than 600 meals a day.

He and his kitchen crew prepare a proper three-course meal every day to be given away to anyone who comes through the doors.

"Our guests depend on us being here," he continued. 

D’Azzo has found in the Trinity Cafe a place that blends his passion for food is with his love for people. 

But he says it's not just the food that they provide. "It's that dignity and self-respect. That's really what we're providing here."

Trinity Cafe staff mix and mingle with the guests in the dining room to check on everyone to make sure that they are OK and their needs are being met.

"When someone approaches you with a tear in their eye to thank you for the meal, that's so much more than any James Beard Award," D’Azzo added.

LINK: www.trinitycafe.org