Self-trained chef Mike McCoy was busy Wednesday morning making meals in his home kitchen in Allen.
"I think food has become my love language," McCoy said. "I'm supposed to serve others."
McCoy's recipe for success started with losing everything to addiction, including houses, cars, and his marriage.
"So for 10 months, I lived in my car, and some nights I ate saltine crackers for dinner," McCoy said. "I got baptized on Easter Sunday in 2018 and seven days later, I woke up sober and I knew I'd never have a drink or drug again."
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McCoy founded the nonprofit Chef to the Shelters. It started with McCoy offering to make a meal for the Dallas 24-Hour Club, commonly called The 24, which provides transitional living and support services for homeless, alcoholics, and addicts.
"We believe in redemption. We are a place for people to put their lives back together. We are a place for hope for the hopeless," Dallas 24-Hour Club Development Director Adrienne Santaularia said. "We are a place for second chances and third chances and sometimes fourth chances, 'cause that's what people need, especially when they're recovering from drug and alcohol addiction."
It's a community McCoy knows all too well. On his meal rotation, he now has 36 shelters and recovery homes in North Texas.
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"Why shouldn't they have a meal that speaks of dignity and respect? That's it. It's that simple," McCoy said. "It puts me at peace to create something that I can give to someone else that there's nothing at all they can do for me."
"He cooks meals. He cooks meals for all of our 140 residents and community members, on holidays, and on just a random Monday or Wednesday night sometimes," Santaularia said. "That's how he supports The 24."
McCoy will be among the chefs supporting the Dallas 24 Hour Club's biggest yearly fundraiser, making food for the Dallas All-Star Chef Classic on Sunday, Oct. 20.
McCoy said God has directed his mission, allowing him to witness the light coming back in the eyes of someone in recovery.
"You can't write me a check for that. I mean, when I get to see the miracle happen, it's just like, man, this is so cool," McCoy said. "I'm one of the lucky ones."
