Tommy FitzGerald has a lot cooking

What do juice boxes, baseball, children, and cooking have in common? The answer is, quite simply, chef Tommy FitzGerald.

When FitzGerald turned 40 in January 2010, he threw a birthday bash that the 1,200 or so people in attendance are still talking about today. It was called Juice Ball and the nearly $30,000 raised that night supplied juice boxes to Kid’s Food Basket, a local nonprofit that provides sack suppers to low income children.

Now in its 4th year, the Juice Ball theme for 2013 is baseball and once again, FitzGerald -- a.k.a. “Babe Juice” -- will donate money from the event to Kid’s Food Basket. His goal is to provide them with a quarter of a million juice boxes every year.

FitzGerald says what he likes the most about Juice Ball is “the way the community rallies around me and my passion for helping kids -- I’m like the little drummer boy.”

The Grand Slam Juice Ball happens Jan. 5 at the JW Marriott International Ballroom, starting at 7 p.m. Organizers plan to convert the ballroom into an indoor baseball stadium with pitching machines, games, and a food court with hot dogs, pizza, caramel corn, and cotton candy. Guests are also encouraged to wear baseball inspired attire. Dennie Middleton will provide entertainment, and when he's not playing, DJs SlimTim and Jenny Disko will spin dance music. You can find links with ticket information and all of the juicy details below.

In addition to acting as the grandmaster of Juice Ball, catering events, and being the owner of Café Stella, FitzGerald is now starting his own nonprofit dedicated to sharing his culinary wisdom with children, nonprofits, and others in the community.

Kitchen Sage is the name of the new organization and its core focus will be to provide access to nutrition and culinary awareness, while making sure kids are fed.

One of its main roles will be to teach culinary skills to high school students. By this fall, FitzGerald hopes to have a fully functioning classroom kitchen somewhere in the city so that students, 16 and older, can come in each day after school for two-hour lessons.

He’s hoping to work with kids from Grand Rapids Public Schools and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Grand Rapids, as well as any other students who have their own transportation.

An application will be available by next summer and 20 kids will be chosen by FitzGerald to attend the free culinary classes. The program will be taught in both the fall and winter school terms. After completion, students will be invited to attend a summer leadership academy. This academy will offer marketable skills needed to be a part of the hospitality community, such as videotaping techniques, logistics, food costing, accounting, marketing, PR, and social media.

Once students finish the program, they can become state certified in safe food handling, which will be helpful in getting a job in the food industry. The three-year ServSafe® certification normally costs $250 per person, but Kitchen Sage will pick up the cost for its students.  

Kitchen Sage is also setting up a scholarship fund for students who want to continue their culinary studies in a college program.

In an effort to share kitchen wisdom with everyone, Kitchen Sage will offer consultations to nonprofits and other organizations on a donation basis. Discounted catering and chef packages will be available to nonprofits as well.   

Volunteers are still needed for Grand Slam Juice Ball so if you’re interested, contact information is listed below. Donations are appreciated, too.  

To find out more about what Tommy FitzGerald has cooking, check out the following sites:

- Tommy FitzGerald
- Café Stella
- Tommy on Facebook
- Juice Ball Initiative on Facebook
- Juice Ball event on Facebook
- Juice Ball tickets
- Kitchen Sage on Facebook

- If you’re interested in volunteering at the 2013 Juice Ball on Jan. 5, contact Anicia Latter.

Source: Tommy FitzGerald, Executive Director of Kitchen Sage, Grandmaster -- a.k.a. Babe Juice -- of Juice Ball, and owner of Café Stella.
Writer: Heidi Stukkie, Do Good Editor

Images provided by Tommy FitzGerald.