A Chef on a Mission

CulinArt Executive Chef Mashaye Barr spends much of her spare time working with various charities and causes that support the homeless in Baltimore. Barr is an Advising Board Member of DeaconChef whose mission is to serve the homeless community in the Greater Baltimore and surrounding areas by providing resources for health, housing, and hygiene that will renew hope for better living.

“I want to give back because my family needed the same help in my earlier years,” says Barr. “I understand what it was like to go to bed hungry. Everyone deserves a meal and to be served with dignity.”

After a full day of managing her unit, Chef Barr steps out of the kitchen to serve Baltimore City with a team of chef-volunteers. These chefs are her friends, former colleagues, and partners from the American Culinary Federation. In 2018, Barr started working with DeaconChef to assist with Christmas service at the War Memorial Plaza in downtown Baltimore. She joined as an Advising Board Member, and she continues to support coordination for culinary events.

Their mission last Christmas was to support the Franciscan Center and DeaconChef, both nonprofit organizations based in Baltimore, in running the center’s first-ever Serving ‘Round the Clock food marathon. From 8 a.m. Wednesday until 8 a.m. Thursday, a team of about 80 volunteers served nearly 2,000 meals at the Franciscan Center of Baltimore, catching the attention of the community and local media.

“My role was to provide the logistics and recruit the chefs from around Baltimore and the D.C. area,” Chef Barr says. One of those chefs donated a Big Boy Smoker that the team used to prepare the 300 pounds of brisket. “This was the highlight of the event because we would not have made it through the Marathon without this donation.”

During the pandemic, Barr’s contribution with DeaconChef included sewing 270+ homemade face masks and distributing them to Baltimore frontline workers, local small-business restaurants, the Baltimore homeless population and charity collections. Barr isn’t stopping there. In 2021, she started Vizion of Culinary, a nonprofit that serves the Baltimore-Washington, D.C. area.

“This new organization teaches health and wellness while empowering the community at large. Baltimore has a large network of talented chefs but not enough skilled workers,” says Barr. “I would like to change that narrative by sharing my skills free of charge. Over the years, I have worked hard to build a sound network, which will help me as I grow my organization to do some awesome work.”