Chef Katie Teall returns home after helping World Central Kitchen feed refugees

CARPINTERIA, Calif. -Chef Katie returned home to fulfill catering commitments she made before volunteering for World Central Kitchen.

On Monday, she cooked for Stanford students on Spring Break, on Tuesday she will cook for a private Amazon event in Santa Barbara.

She said cooking for refugees on the border of Poland and Ukraine changed her.

"It was so wonderful to feel the camaraderie of all those people together just helping for the better good, to help somehow, " said Teall, " I mean it really changed it for me because I came home thinking, you know, how we take our freedom for granted, and our lives for granted, you now, don't sweat the small stuff."

Teall said her friend and client Rachel Kaganoff Stern inspired her to go by helping her sign up with the Chef For Ukraine campaign.

"We spent an entire day doing logistics of figuring out how we were going to get her there, so that she could go support the people of Ukraine and my family is from Ukraine," said Stern.

The owner of The Cookery Catering and the former operator of Montecito Confections said she feels like her skill helped her make a difference.

She showed the volunteers a faster way to fill apple sauce containers.

She said she has not been able to reach cousins in Ukraine but plans to keep on trying.

" I found a good grade bag and I just filled it up with the sauce and cut the end off and then piped it out or used a pitcher, but the spoon thing wasn't working." said Teall.

She said they also kept her on for more than the initial time she had signed up to volunteer.

She would love to go back with Rachel if the war drags on.

To donate visit donate.wck.org