County library cooks up interest with chef series

Key Takeaways

Orange County, Calif. Public Libraries’ Food Literacy Project uses Charlie Cart mobile kitchens and guest chefs to introduce library-goers to healthier, more diverse food options. 

The library system had had its Charlie Cart mobile kitchens, which provide equipment for hands-on cooking in small groups, for years when Mitch Albom, the best-selling author of “Tuesdays with Morrie,” came to give a talk at one of the county’s library branches.

It was a cold night, and people were lined up down the block, so library staff had the idea to serve hot chocolate from the Charlie Cart. It was such a success that they served scones and tea from the mobile kitchen at another event, with Julia Quinn, the author of the “Bridgerton” series. 

Many were people who weren’t regular library-goers and weren’t aware of all the services the libraries offer, so the Charlie Cart became an access point for engaging the community, said Samantha Smith, library administration programs manager at Orange County Public Libraries. In 2024, when it launched, Orange County Public Libraries saw a 13% increase in community engagement.

“It was allowing people to come up and ask library questions in a really non-threatening way,” Smith said. “You’re getting a scone, you’re getting tea. You’re also getting a QR code to sign up for a library card. It really became another place of connection that sparked this whole project.”

The Charlie Carts were previously used for cooking demonstrations solely led by library staff, with sessions such as how to make tortillas and the process of baking and decorating Christmas cookies. Through the creation of the Food Literacy Project, that evolved into the library inviting chefs and cooking influencers to show participants how to recreate their recipes using the mobile kitchens. 

Around 300 people (some of whom said they’d never been to the library) came to see Jet Tila, a Food Network star, make a recipe that was made with one of the library’s Charlie Carts — which include a convection oven, induction cooktop, electric griddle and a blender — in the initiative’s first event. In 2024, Orange County libraries held 77 food literacy events, which were attended by 2,456 people. 

Many of the chefs who participate in the Food Literacy Project specialize in a specific cuisine. During recipe demonstrations, they also share their cultural heritage and the role food plays in that culture, with library-goers, some of whom are members of the community themselves, while others may have never tried the food before, Smith noted. 

“It’s about nourishing their minds and nourishing their bodies,” Smith said. “And we try to be diverse in who we select to be our authors, wanting to make sure we represent Orange County and all the different communities and all the different people that live here.”

Jocelyn Ramirez, a chef specializing in vegan Mexican food, was one of the highlighted chefs. 

“Her mission is very much maintaining these cultural flavors and cooking from your roots, but also with a healthy and sustainable spin on it,” Smith said. “… We had people lined up who were there saying, ‘Oh, I’m here because it’s an event, but at the same time, I don’t like vegan food.’ But then they left [saying], ‘I had no idea vegan food could be so delicious,’ so I think it kind of changes people’s perspective.”

Duff Goldman, a pastry chef and TV personality, held a cooking demonstration class for children, showing them an easy way they could make gummy bears at home. Another demonstration created for children included a recipe with plums. One of the kids said they thought they hated plums, but loved the recipe they tried.

“That’s just a simple story from a kid, but at the same time, it also shows me we’re encouraging people to try new things,” Smith said. “We’re encouraging people to try more healthy food that maybe they thought they wouldn’t like.”

The Food Literacy Project has helped build community at the library — many people attend numerous events, and it provides an opportunity to socialize, according to Smith.

“There’s a loneliness epidemic in our community, so it’s a great place to come out and just talk,” Smith said. 

The cultural events have been particularly special, inspiring intergenerational community building, Smith said. At one event, Vietnamese-American chef Tu David Phu demonstrated a recipe from his cookbook and shared stories about his family and Vietnamese culture. 

“We had families that brought their kids saying, ‘Oh, this is so great. We don’t normally see events that are focusing on Vietnamese culture, and I’m Vietnamese, and my kids were born here, but we want them to know about this culture,’” Smith said. “And so, they would bring them specifically, because they wanted to showcase an author or speaker that was relevant to them.

“We had people saying, ‘This flavor reminds me of home,’ and sharing stories about how it reminds them of their mom or their dad and cooking with their grandparents, so that was very heartfelt.”

Other events have included a demonstration on how to make mocktails, with the speaker sharing their sobriety journey, and social media cooking influencers Jenny Martinez and Owen Han demonstrating quick and easy recipes.

Event attendees get to take home a copy of the author’s cookbook, so they can recreate what they’ve done with the Charlie Cart in their own kitchens, which is funded through the nonprofit Friends of the Library. Other funding streams for the initiative include grants from the Office on Aging, which is focused on promoting healthy eating, and Lunch at the Library, which helps fund programming adjacent to the free lunch it provides for children ages 18 and under throughout the summer at the library. 

According to the California State Library, about 28% of adults in the state read below a third-grade level and 36% have a similar level of numeracy. OC Read, a literacy program at the library, incorporates food literacy into the project, as well, which has been a great way for people who might feel intimidated or uncomfortable going to a workshop targeted at people who are low literacy to improve their reading ability. 

“If you’re learning to measure, if you’re reading a recipe, interpreting different types of measurements — those are all literacy skills,” Smith said. “I think it’s just such a meaningful thing to see people learning to read, improving their skills and removing that stigma.”