Chef Wins the Inaugural 2022 Standard Bearer Award Gwinnett County Recognizes Chef Hank Reid By Tana Poncsak
Life can be full of surprises – both good and bad. Chef Hank Reid of Lettum Eat! Inc. got a good surprise when he was invited to Gwinnett’s State of the County Address held on March 3, 2022, at 12 Stone Church in Buford and was recognized as one of the three inaugural 2022 Standard Bearer Award recipients. “I got emotional,” Chef Hank said. “I teared up and had to sit back and catch my breath. It hit me. It just blew me away.” Originally from Griffin, Georgia, an area known for great high school football, Chef Hank was known for his talents on the gridiron. He left to go to college in Atlanta where he got his first taste of feeding a crowd by cooking for his fellow classmates and selling steak dinners out of his dorm room on the weekends. Like many young people, he was trying to figure out what he wanted to do and narrowed it down to two things: “culinary school, because people would always need to eat, or cosmetology school, because people were always going to want to look good.” Culinary school won, and Chef Hank went on to work in a number of restaurants, many in the Atlanta area, working his way up to general manager and executive chef level positions. Chef Hank is a man on a mission. With more than thirty years in the restaurant industry, his biggest kitchen yet may be feeding the people of Gwinnett County through his nonprofit Lettum Eat! Inc. On the surface Lettum Eat! Inc. may appear to be a much larger operation than it is, serving over 200,000 meals since the start of the
pandemic. The operation has been run by four employees and a few dedicated volunteers. And he’s had Divine intervention and a lot of support along the way that led him to where he is today. “What God started showing me,” Chef Hank said, “was all the experiences I’ve had for all these years in the restaurant industry, now they were finally starting to manifest themselves into a mission based ministry of service, which is where our mission statement – ‘Mobile food provisions prepared with care and served with compassion to those in need’ – comes from. Because I have a passionate heart for people and cared about the work environments I was responsible for cultivating, I wanted people to have a great work experience. This was God showing me the path to creating an environment of love and producing something people would care about. And at the same time, I can do God’s work feeding those in need by mobilizing and taking it to where it’s needed. Then He told me to give it away.” And Chef Hank did. Lettum Eat! Inc. was officially formed in September 2019, months before the Global Pandemic hit the U.S. The first event was held in spring 2020 right when it started. Coming up with the name Lettum Eat! was a no brainer. It started as a pushback when the servers would ask the back of the house kitchen staff where their orders were or when the servers were slow to pick up waiting meals. Chef Hank and his crew would satisfy their end of the deal and shout, “LETTUM EAT!” Either way Lettum Eat became the mantra, and it was only fitting that Chef Hank used it for the name of his newest mission. Since being recognized by the county, Chef Hank has also been recognized at the State Capitol where he was recognized by Senator Nikki Merritt with a Proclamation and Citizens Award, something he could share with his family, including his parents. “When I got the call about the state award, I immediately called my parents,” Chef said. “Getting to the point where I could share that with them was awesome.” Since he hung up his football jersey years ago, he told his father, “I couldn’t get you to the Superbowl, but I got you to the State Capitol.” His wife, Rachael, and his five grown children (two boys and triplet girls) are also a big support for Chef Hank. Three of his children help him with the day-to-day operations of the business. As with most nonprofits, consistent funding is his biggest challenge. But he’s looking ahead and hoping to grow and to be sustainable. His vision includes a farm to help people learn to grow their own food and offer emergency shelter to help people during their time of need. “We never think we do enough,” he said. “And more work can always be done.” And while Chef Hank is out there supporting the residents of the county providing food, he is quick to say the support has gone both ways. He’s developed partnerships with different services in the county, and he’s experienced tremendous support from the county in general. Continued on page 12
PAGE 8
Become an Advertising Partner: Info@OurTown Gwinnett.com or 678-825-2049
