CHEF'S LAB x COMMUNION

About the Evening

Invite line (final flier): Join Harlem's own, sommelier and James Beard award-winning author Cha McCoy for a special multi-course dinner with Philadelphia's award-winning Down North Pizza to celebrate the one year anniversary of Cha's book, Wine Pairing for the People!

One year ago, Harlem sommelier Cha McCoy published Wine Pairing for the People — a James Beard Award-winning argument that wine belongs to everybody, and that the foods of the African diaspora deserve the perfect pour. On November 16, we celebrate the book's first birthday at Free Food at  Refettorio Harlem.

Down North Pizza comes up from Philadelphia's Strawberry Mansion for the occasion. Led by Muhammad Abdul-Hadi, Down North Pizza is a nationally acclaimed, mission-driven restaurant in North Philadelphia known for its Detroit-inspired, Philly-perfected square pies and commitment to creating opportunities for formerly incarcerated individuals. Named to The New York Times’ 2021 Restaurant List, Down North pairs critically acclaimed food with a model centered on fair-chance employment, reentry resources and community impact. In 2024, Abdul-Hadi received the James Beard Foundation Leadership Award for Industry Culture and Practices. Down North Pizza was recently named as one the 27 Best Pizzerias in the United States by Food & Wine Magazine.

Cha pairs wine with global cuisine from Africa and beyond — the living thesis of the book, poured at the table. Cooking alongside the chefs are the participants in Free Food's culinary training program — justice-impacted New Yorkers building real kitchen careers. Two kitchens, two cities, one belief: everybody eats, everybody pours, everybody has a seat at the table.

The table is set. Come take communion.

The Talent

Cha McCoy — Certified Sommelier, author of Wine Pairing for the People, founder of The Communion

Muhammad Abdul-Hadi — Founder & Owner, Down North Pizza, Philadelphia

Mission: Every seat supports Free Food at Refettorio Harlem's three-course community dinner program — currently serving 900 meals weekly across three programs — and our culinary training initiative for justice-impacted New Yorkers building real kitchen careers. Every week our kitchen recovers surplus ingredients from farmers, distributors, and food producers and transforms them into three-course meals served free to the Harlem community — over 225,000 lbs of food recovered since 2023. Free Food at Refettorio Harlem was recently featured in the New York Times and presented on the floor of the U.S. House by Rep. Jim McGovern.

The Chef's Lab is an opportunity to showcase the mission and raise support for Free Food at Refettorio Harlem's three-course dinners with dignity program — currently serving 900 meals weekly across three programs — Wednesday and Friday community dinners, Thursday Night’s Family Dinner, and a Tuesday Farmers Market Style Pantry and Lunch — addressing food insecurity, food waste, and especially social isolation. Every week, our kitchen recovers surplus ingredients from farmers, distributors, and food producers who practice sustainable, responsible agriculture — and transforms them into three-course meals served free to the Harlem community. Since 2023, the program has recovered over 225,000 lbs of food from entering the waste stream. The program also runs a culinary training initiative for justice-impacted individuals, providing professional kitchen skills towards meaningful employment in the food industry.

Free Food at Refettorio Harlem was recently featured in the New York Times and presented on the floor of the United States House by Rep. Jim McGovern.