Students in the special topics courses on the Slow Food movement, ITAL 370 and SPAN 370, and others shared an informative visit with Cleveland chef, restaurateur, and founder of EDWINS Leadership and Restaurant Institute, Brandon Chrostowski, on Wednesday, October 23, 2024, in the Mandel Center. Attendees viewed the Oscar-nominated film Knife Skills first, which describes the inspiring story of Cleveland’s EDWINS on Shaker Square.

Students attentively listened to his message of stretching and pushing past boundaries, perseverance, and belief in potential and innovation. EDWINS is a model approach to giving formerly incarcerated adults a foundation in the hospitality industry while providing a support network necessary for a successful reentry.

Brandon shared his numerous experiences as a pioneering creator of his operation and the impressive network he has developed to assure that the project thrives and expands. He underscored that food offers the unique way of uniting people in unlimited directions, describing food as a language in itself. This visit was in conjunction with the fall semester exhibit in Kelvin Smith Library, “SLOW MATTERS: Intersecting Food and Fields”, curated by DMLL faculty Denise Caterinacci and Jacqueline Nanfito with KSL librarian Elizabeth Meinke.