"An Afternoon Delight"

Karma Kitchen Chicago

September 11, 2011 by Rita C. Stewart

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Sunday’s at Karma Kitchen have become a welcome occasion to celebrate in an atmosphere of multi-cultural expressions, enlivened with the synergy of altruistic community spirit. Many people who come for the first time believe they are coming for a FREE meal. It doesn’t take them long to make a distinct transition in thought, realizing that a “gift” has been given to them, by a stranger, about a month ago. Thus, the atmosphere becomes charged with good will, kindness and joy that feel comparable to that of a holiday celebration. In this blog I will share the activities that made Sunday, September 11, 2011, so uniquely significant on it’s own.

Klay Oven Indian Restaurant open their doors for the Karma Kitchen Coordinators to begin setup around 9:30am. On this particular day, the sun is already shining quite warm and bright, making the atmosphere cheerful and toasty before we even get started. (Just as a side note, it seems as though the weather is never a determining factor for the number of people that participate with us on any given Sunday). Once the room is organized, our volunteers arrive in time to participate in a one-hour orientation that is facilitated each and every month by the coordinators.

Our orientation begins with a moment of silence in remembrance of the lives that were lost 10 years ago in the Twin Towers explosion in New York City in 2001. We complete this portion of the event by delegating assignments and sharing a meal together. By now, new volunteers are well versed in the Karma Kitchen conversations and looking forward to trying on their new roles and assignments.

Our first guests began arriving at 11:45am being quite intentional about getting their special place to sit before others arrive. However this particular Karma Kitchen event was delightfully filled with the theme of “childlike play” as being expressed through creativity using cardboard boxes, crayons, scissors, glue, etc. What a joy it was to see our volunteer servers engage in conversations with our guests about remembering their childhood and the hours of fun they had just using their imagination. Then shortly there after seeing them at the “creativity table” with the intention of crafting something magical and spontaneous without caring about who watched or whether others participated.

it was thrilling to see grown men sitting next to young children sharing crayons. This is the transformative and unifying nature of Karma Kitchen events. And yet there was more to be excited about.

In September we initiated our “Fall Entertainment Series”, where we are featuring local artists who desire to share their talent and gifts, with our Karma Kitchen family. We kicked off with Koku Gonza featuring Deana on Percussions. This charming duo serenaded us with enchanting music that even made the food feel as though it were grooving in our tummy. Koku played a mean acoustic guitar while singing and causing the audience to be excited to the point of dance. We are delighted that they chose to share this beautiful Sunday afternoon with us, at Karma Kitchen.

And just when the audience had shifted into third gear, we invited Khalida Kali the Egyptian Belly Dancer to fill the room with twirls, spins and hip quakes. Everyone had to stop what they were doing to get a glimpse of this beautiful dancing Queen. As music poured from the speakers in the ceiling, our gifted dancer stopped at each table, making sure everyone was properly greeted with her amazing smile.

And if that wasn’t enough, she invited a few of our guests and volunteer servers to join her in a short romp around the room. What a joyful experience this created. It wasn’t long before a couple of the children just had to get in on the fun. Karma Kitchen has a way of mystically crossing all boundaries in an amazingly short period of time and exposure.

Adding another level of unique expression to this Karma Kitchen experience, we initiated a couple of 16-year-old young men, from Jones College Prep High School, into our core of volunteers, who served as our dishwashers. We also had a charming nine-year-old girl that poured water to at least 100 people before the day was over. She came to spend the afternoon volunteering with her mentor. We can’t stress enough how grateful we are to be able to share the joy of volunteering with our youth.

As I complete the writing of this article, I am present to the laughter, fun, excitement and community of a group of people who no longer view themselves as strangers in our midst. Whether guests or volunteers, lives have been transformed forever. And to think all it actually took was being able to accept the gift of a meal.

We look forward to seeing you at our next Karma Kitchen Chicago event on October 9, 2011, at Klay Oven Indian Restaurant, 414 N. Orleans, Chicago, IL 60610, from 12pm – 3pm (last guests are seated by 2:45pm). And if you have groups of 5 or more, please let us know. We also encourage anyone who would like to volunteer at our Karma Kitchen event to please signup at www.karmakitchen.org.

“The Joy of Volunteering”: Karma Kitchen #11 – June 8, 2011

Trust was the theme we were serving this month at Karma Kitchen as we examined what it looks like to move from “transaction to trust” in our business and social relationships.

We engaged our guests in this conversation in a number of creative ways allowing them to participate at whatever level they found themselves comfortable doing. For example, on each table we placed a quote and our volunteer servers were asked to share the quote with each guest and invite them to explore how it resonated with them. If they wanted to take it a step further, we gave them each a small rectangular strip of paper and encouraged them to write any statement that came to mind that wanted to share with the Karma Kitchen Community.

As the afternoon progressed, one of our volunteers began to take each strip of paper and loop them together one by one, and then attached these loops to a larger circle display hung just inside the entrance of Klay Oven. Now as people entered and exited, they could read the thought contributions of the many guests that participated with us on this Sunday. Here are just a few of those comments for you to enjoy:

• “We look at the Sun and know that it will rise tomorrow; this is trust. We look at our friends and family and we don’t know what they will do day to day; yet, we trust.”
• “We must all learn to trust each other more. When I have, I’ve always realized that we all have more in common than we have different.”
• “I trust that good things will happen in time.”
• “I think trust means to allow others into your life.”
• “When you trust someone, it is all or nothing. There is no such thing as 10% or 50% or 75% trust. That can be scary, but if you can do it, it is rewarding.”
• “Trust is believing unconditionally – God!”
• “When you open yourself to trust; you open yourself to limitless possibilities!”

However, the most fun had at this Karma Kitchen had to be experienced by out volunteers. I don’t usually write about the volunteers because our experience as a team tends to be somewhat private, bordering on the sacred, if you will. Yet, I just have to share the feeling of wonderment, joy and even faith that sprang so lively this month within the framework of service from our volunteers. Keep in mind there are several tales to tell, and I only have room for a couple, and of course these will be my favorite.

Its 1:30pm and we are have way through Karma Kitchen for this session. We have placed a male server to take care of the Community Table and a few of us are just a little concerned because no one has come in to request a seat at his table (it seats 8 – 10). So I go over to the hostess and ask her what she thinks we should do? So after a very short discourse we decided to split the table so that either 2 or 4 people can be seated next, this way our volunteer server will at least have an opportunity to participate with our guests. The two of us then go over to the Community Table and began to shift things around, just at that point the server says to us, “Oh no, you don’t have to do that! My people will be coming soon.”

The hostess and I graciously stepped away and allowed the moment to be saturated in the vibration of faith and allowing. Neither of us had ever experienced this type of action on either side. We were willing to support the courage and enthusiasm of our first time volunteer. Another half an hour passed and still, no one. We looked at the volunteer server and he was still standing there with a charming and hopeful grin that said, “Just wait and see!”

At approximately 2:25pm, thirty-five minutes before the end of our monthly event, 4 young women walk in and request a seat at the Community Table. Five minutes after they were seated and waited on, another women (a personal friend of mine) walked in and requested a seat at the Community Table. Another 5 minutes passed and another pair of women walked in and wanted to be seated at the Community Table. In less than 15 minutes the table was completely filled and everyone was sharing, talking and breaking bread together as if they were at a Thanksgiving Feast.

As volunteers, we were all moved, touched and inspired by the stand in faith that this newbie exhibited so graciously for all to see. And the karmetic gift of the Uni-Verse was to grace his presence with a table full of joyful and beautiful women of all ages and ethnicity. It was beautiful and amazing to watch and very much depicted what Karma Kitchen is all about.

It is not my intention to bore you with the adventures of our Karma Kitchen volunteers however I have just one more story that I must share with you because it also displays the energy, joy and generosity of the Karma Kitchen spirit. However, this particular episode took place in the back where no one could see it unless you were going in and out of the kitchen. Let me provide a bit of background for you.

One of our volunteer positions is to have two of our people serve as platers. A plater works directly in the kitchen with the Klay Oven Chefs placing food on the Thali’s that is served to each of our guests. This particular placement requires our volunteers to be flexible in their disposition, expeditious in their movements, comfortable working in a fast paced environment, and having the ability to work with a team of diverse people in close quarters; communication skills are a plus.

At one point during the afternoon I ventured into the area to assist one of our volunteers in providing tea service to one of our visitors. I heard someone summon me into the kitchen and there in the small space between the stove and the counter top our platers, hostess and liaison were teaching line dancing lessons while the cooks, sous chefs and chefs were playing paparazzi! For a moment I thought about bringing order to this madness when all of a sudden I started dancing along with everyone else. Oh my goodness, it was absolutely delightful!

Later in the day we did our somewhat traditional “Bhangra Break”, where we invited everyone dining with us to join in for dancing and celebration. It is so much fun watching to see who will participate and how much joy they have doing so.

We are now completing one year of sharing Karma Kitchen in Chicago and we are delighted to have so many enchanting and delicious opportunities to get to know one another. It is our intention to continue this event and to find ways to become a broader part of community in Chicago.

We look forward to seeing you soon!

Karma Kitchen #10 – “Drops of Kindness” by Rita Stewart

You could see that spring was in full bloom at Karma Kitchen by the multi-cultural display of beautiful people that came out to play with us on Sunday, April 10, 2011. By the way, this just happened to be our tenth Karma Kitchen in Chicago and we are just getting started.

There is so much to talk about, so let me start at the beginning by sharing with you the theme of our April Karma Kitchen; this month it was all about kindness. Each volunteer server was encouraged to engage our guests in a conversation about the last random act of kindness they encountered. People had many great and amazing stories, so we also made available a wall where our KK guests could post their “Drops of Kindness” tales for others to read, as they came into and exited the Klay Oven. In a separate blog you can read the postings that our guests generously share with us.

Let us move on into the conversation about the new food items that were added to our menu for the month of April.

The appetizer was Aloo Tikka or Potato Cutlets, is one of the most popular snack dishes in India. We have been experimenting with different appetizers for the past couple of months looking to get an idea of what our guests are most enchanted by. So for those of you who have tried them, please feel free to leave us a comment either here on the blog or on our Facebook Fan Page. Here is a video to show you how they are made:

The featured dessert was Gulab Jamun. This tasty dessert is an Indian version of warm donuts floating in warm sweet syrup. These seem to be a big hit with our guests and many asked for seconds and a few even requested thirds. It was exciting to watch people enjoy our new food additions.

One of the highlights of the afternoon came about when we took a short break from eating, talking and serving for a Bhangra dance break. Bhangra is a form of dance and music that originated in the Punjab region of India and Pakistan. We just added this new activity to our schedule last month and it is quickly becoming a Karma Kitchen favorite. So if you visit one of our future Karma Kitchen Chicago Events, come prepared to shake a little bit more than a new friend’s hand.

To finish off this amazing Sunday afternoon, we offered each of our guests a gift pouch filled with, “Seeds of Kindness”. A group of KK volunteers gathered on Friday evening to create these delightful little contraptions designed to assist in the blooming of spring flowers in the Chicagoland area. We thought you might want to see how these were made so here is a YouTube link for you to view.

By the way, this is a great project to share as a family, especially for children and teens. “How to Make Seed Bombs” . . .

We continue to be enchanted with the ambiance and benevolent community that finds us each month at Karma Kitchen Chicago. From volunteers, the coordinators, guests and even our host – Klay Oven Restaurant, it’s all quite fascinating. We are enjoying the Karma.

Here is a beautiful poem, one of our KK regulars shared with his volunteer server this month. We hope you enjoy it! Our next Karma Kitchen is Sunday, May 8, 2011 at Klay Oven Restaurant, 414 N. Orleans from 12:00pm – 3:00pm.

You can see the rest of our pictures from April's Karma Kitchen in this slideshow:

Spring Bling Karma Kitchen #9 – Kristen Medica

“The beautiful spring came; and when nature resumes her loveliness, the human soul is

apt to revive also!” ~~ Harriet Ann Jacobs

Our Karma Kitchen theme for the month of March was centered on the above quote

from Harriet Ann Jacobs. Our guests had the delightful opportunity to engage with

our servers by sharing their thoughts and opinions that came to mind when they read

these words. Each table had this quote available, so as the guests were seated they

were greeted with this intriguing comment. This is just one of the many aspects that

Karma Kitchen creates to stimulate an afternoon of good food, conversation, fun and

fellowship. And this is how one of our volunteers enjoyed the environment.

Walking into Klay Oven on Sunday morning for my first experience at Karma Kitchen,

I had absolutely no idea what to expect. Equipped with Starbucks and my typical

do-gooder attitude, I was ready for another day of volunteering. Soon I was greeted

by friendly smiles and welcoming Hello’s from faces that I’ve never seen in my life,

immediately overcome by the kindness in the room as I acknowledged that I was

exactly where I was supposed to be. And this was only the beginning. To sum up my

day at Karma Kitchen, I resulted to telling others this fact: Never in my life have I been

surrounded by such joy, generosity, and altruism.

As I shared with my fellow volunteers in our afternoon wrap-up session, I spent a lot

of time volunteering for other organizations, such as Make-A-Wish Foundation and

Children’s Memorial Hospital. Most, if not all, of my volunteering allows me to work with

children and families; however, I enjoyed this opportunity to interact with those in my

peer group- whom attended as guests and volunteers. Although I’d be lying if I didn’t

admit I kept hoping for a child or two to be seated at my table.

There was only one young boy that I recalled seeing amongst the guests that afternoon.

He walked in with a group of adults and joined the group on the dance floor for some

Bhangra (an Indian dance that I had no idea how to do properly…but tried it anyways.)

I hadn’t seen him since then and therefore, assumed he had left. However, I spotted

him sitting over by the koi pond and decided to make my way over to him.

While the whole day was incredible, talking with this 8-year old boy was truly the best

part of my day. Soon we were naming the fish in the pond and wondering why the

one’s eyes were so big! We talked about school (his favorite subjects are math and

English) and sports (he likes all the Chicago teams and is an avid Cubs fan). I really

enjoyed my time with him and, to be honest, I was sad when he had to leave.

One of my fellow volunteers, who saw me interacting with the boy,

said me to me afterwards: “You know you made his day.” And

with a huge smile on my face I replied, “He made mine.”

A Serene Karma Kitchen in February

Fresh off of our biggest Karma Kitchen to date, we knew that we were all in for a special experience in February. With a crew of fresh and familiar faces, we kicked off yet another Karma Kitchen. But not before the crew received personalized, homemade cupcakes from one of our Karma Kitchen veterans, Dina (thanks, Dina!). Clearly, the generosity was abounding before we even opened the doors!

As we explored our theme of what brings our guests inner peace, a survey of the room conveyed in its own way a sense of serenity. With warm hot chocolates in hand (new to our menu), the conversations around the room were those of calm familiarity and comfort. The mood perfectly complemented our theme. That sense was punctuated during our post-event discussion among our volunteers when we touched upon the catharsis felt when volunteering and interacting through generosity. We certainly hope that the sense of peace stayed with our guests and volunteers beyond the doors of Klay Oven!

Knowing that Karma Kitchen attracts a generous bunch, the team decided to collaborate with the CureSonia initiative to host a bone marrow donor registration drive at our monthly event. Our friends in Berkeley ran a successful drive, and we knew that Chicago could stand up too! WOW did we stand up! We had twenty-eight people register as bone marrow donors! This is particularly amazing considering we had 103 guests, so we had more than 27% of our guests register. We could not be more thankful and amazed by the generosity of our guests - this was tremendous!

If you’d like to volunteer at Karma Kitchen, we’d love to have your help! Please visit the Volunteer Sign-up page and submit your info. If you have any questions, feel free to leave us a message at volunteers [at] karmakitchenchicago [dot] org!

Finally, we’d like to bring you some comments from the From One Guest to Another booklets we keep on each table at Karma Kitchen for guests to leave inspiring messages and comments:

Beloved . . . You are surrounded by love here. Love through food, love through generosity, love through amazing friends, old ones and the new ones you'll meet today. Enjoy the peace, bliss and inspiration that this moment creates.

Hi There!
I hope all is well. Do enjoy your meal, the love and peace we experienced here was like none other! May your life be continually blessed. You are loved.

This afternoon we arrived to wonderful, wafting smells from Karma Kitchen. And then something magical happened! We were greeted by radiant faces, affable smiles, like a welcome back to the family . . . . Thank you, KK for the wonderful experience!

Hey this place is rockin', hope you like it!! ♥ Love, [From the writings of a child.]

Come join our experiment in the "gift economy" on Sunday, March 13th at Klay Oven. Volunteers will be serving a vegetarian "thali" which is a traditional Indian plate with a beautiful array of flavorful dishes, each in its own bowl.

Last seating time will be at 2:45 pm, so please try to arrive before then.

A huge thank you to Klay Oven restaurant owners Vishal and Vinny Khosla for their ongoing warmth and generosity.

The Confluence of Generosity by Sagar Patel

From the timid nods and hellos exchanged among strangers, to the warm smiles shared with new-found friends, to the hearty laughter and soul-stirring conversations of a fellowship, January’s Karma Kitchen was an experience to behold.

Walking in from the biting cold, it wasn’t specifically the thermal space that was engaging (though it was certainly welcome!), it was the hum and anticipation of a crowd that had assembled to be a part of the experience. Waiting to be seated for a meal is generally chalked up as an inconvenience and burdensome ordeal, but the gaggle of folks waiting at Karma Kitchen (the largest yet at 130 guests!) were pleasantly mingling and establishing connections among themselves - an excellent primer for what was to come.

After several conversations, and cheerful reunions with people met at previous Karma Kitchens, it was onto the Community Table! Typically, sharing a meal is an activity shared with people I know. Those awkward moments of circumstance that force strangers at a coffee shop or restaurant to share a table often seem like intrusions. Well these circumstances are thankfully encouraged at Karma Kitchen! The Community Table encourages strangers to sit together, enjoy a meal and get to know one another at a level beyond run-of-the-mill pleasantries. The environment elicits rejuvenating conversations. Perhaps it is the generosity threading everyone together, or maybe it is that the barriers we normally keep between ourselves and strangers are knocked down, but I always leave Karma Kitchen feeling enriched.

The connections at Karma Kitchen extend beyond the people who are physically present at the table, or even in the room, they touch those who have visited Karma Kitchen previously, and those who will become a part of the experience in the future. Further still, those connections reach people who haven’t even heard of Karma Kitchen. The “bill” received at the end of my meal was less of a request for monetary donations, but a charge to pay the generosity of someone who gifted me my meal forward, in whatever way I choose. In the weeks between a Karma Kitchen, I often find myself in situations where I would normally walk away from an opportunity to help someone, an opportunity to be kind, but the mandate that the Karma Kitchen bill symbolises gives me that small nudge toward generosity.

All of it comes full circle at that one point. The friendships, conversations, experiences...they all meet at a confluence of generosity. So what is this confluence of generosity? It’s a community.

Hope to see you at the next Karma Kitchen so we can break bread together...

KARMA KITCHEN 7

The new year is a time for many to reflect introspectively on the past, and resolve to do something positive in the coming year. We invite you to set a positive tone for 2011 with generosity and kindness at our next session of Karma Kitchen Chicago on Sunday, January 9th from 12-3 p.m. We welcome your arrival as we gather to share an afternoon of new found friends, good food, and stimulating conversation.

It has been our intention to ignite the spirit of generosity, kindness and community with this monthly event. Klay Oven Restaurant, partnering with Karma Kitchen Chicago, provides an opportunity to "break bread together" which promotes an atmosphere of sharing and caring to all who attend and to those who volunteer. We are so thankful to the volunteers and guests that have made our first six events so special and look forward to seeing the ways in which the spirit of generosity unfolds this Sunday!

For more information on the Karma Kitchen experience and its purpose, see below. For a recap of our first five events, check out our blog site:http://www.karmakitchenchicago.org/

To invite friends with whom you may want to share this experience, RSVP and then click on "Select Guests to Invite"

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Imagine a restaurant where there are no prices on the menu and where the check reads $0.00 with only this footnote: "Your meal was a gift from someone who came before you. We hope you will pay-it-forward however you wish."

That's Karma Kitchen, a volunteer-driven experiment in generosity. Founded in Berkeley, California by a group of volunteers inspired to seed the value of a "gift economy", Karma Kitchen is now in Chicago and will be running it's 7th event on Sunday January 9th.

Run by volunteers, Klay Oven cuisine will be served with love, and offered to each guest as a genuine gift. Our hope is that receiving this gift inspires our guests to pay-it-forward by not only making a contribution to those who will come after them, but also by being kinder and more generous to the people with whom they connect everyday. In keeping this chain going, the generosity of both guests and volunteers helps to create a community that moves...
...from transaction to trust
...from self-oriented isolation to shared commitment
...from fear of scarcity to celebration of abundance

Volunteers are ready to serve you a vegetarian "thali" on January 9th. A thali is a traditional Indian plate with a beautiful array of flavorful dishes, each in its own bowl. We invite you to join us in this special experience.

To stay posted on upcoming events, join Karma Kitchen's Facebook group page. Become a fan by visiting Karma Kitchen's Facebook fan page. For recaps of our most recent events, visit our blog site atwww.karmakitchenchicago.org.

Contact info@karmakitchenchicago.org for volunteering information, media requests, or any other comments/questions you may have. Tweet about us @karmakitchenchi!