Chef’s Lab at Refettorio Harlem
39 w 119th Street | New York, NY 10026 I Inside the Emanuel AME Church
CHEFS LAB x PRESSURE DROP
5:00 pm Press Conference and Tasting
6:00pm Community Dinner
attendance by invite only
For Press: Contact hello@refettorioharlem.org
About the Evening
April 30th, Free Food at Refettorio Harlem celebrates spring with a community dinner and press conference highlighting the limited-edition olive oil Pressure — a Ghetto Gastro x Gustiamo pro bono collaboration available for purchase at Gustiamo.com. 100% of the profits will be donated to Food for Soul, the inspiring organization founded by Massimo Bottura, in support of Free Food at Refettorio Harlem's mission to address food insecurity, social isolation, and prevent food waste. Each bottle of Pressure sold will provide 10 neighbors in our community with a weekly selection of fresh produce and a nourishing multi-course meal served with hospitality and dignity. The evening also marks the official launch of Free Food's new weekly Thursday dinner service for food-insecure mothers and young children in the Harlem community — expanding the program from three to four weekly meals served.
Pressure is a rare, limited-edition extra virgin olive oil sourced from Leone di Carpineto's 500+ year-old olive trees in Molise, Italy — hand harvested, pressed, and bottled within hours of picking. One of the first 2025/2026 harvest extra virgin olive oils from Italy to arrive in the United States.
"We want to share with our community the things we have learned, and most importantly tasted, on our travels. This sharing of cultures is vital to our essence and being. When our friends at Gustiamo hit me to come press olive oil in Italy during the height of harvest season, it was a no brainer.." — Chef P, Ghetto Gastro
Refettorio Harlem is a community cultural project by Food for Soul in collaboration with Free Food Harlem.
On April 30th, our legendary free community dinner table comes alive with a three-course meal of sweet and savory dishes crafted by featured guest chefs — including Chef Antonio De Ieso of Fiorentini restaurant, New Jersey, the Florence-born culinary ambassador and former Executive Chef of the Metropolitan Opera — using Pressure Olive Oil — a menu built to highlight sustainable, nutritious ingredients for the people of Harlem. The ingredients on the plate aren't afterthoughts. They come from growers who care about how food is raised, harvested, and honored.
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 700 meals weekly across three programs — Wednesday and Friday community dinners and a Tuesday Fresh Choice Pantry and Lunch — addressing food insecurity, food waste, and especially social isolation. On April 30th, the program expands to four weekly services with the launch of a new Thursday dinner designed specifically for food-insecure mothers and young children in the Harlem community. 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.
At the press conference, Gustiamo will present a check to Free Food at Refettorio Harlem from last year's Pressure release — a direct fulfillment of the promise made when Pressure launched: 100% of profits to feed the community. Arrive for the press conference at 5:00 PM, then sit down with a cross-section of Free Food's patrons for dinner at 6:00 PM. This is a free community dining experience. The dinner is first come first serve for the first 80 guests that register on Eventbrite.
About Antonio De Leso
Antonio, owner and head chef of Fiorentini, Rutherford, NJ, was born and raised in Florence, where he attended the International Culinary School. Antonio moved to New York in 2012, where he worked at a range of restaurants, including the emblematic Le Cirque, Sea Grill at Rockefeller Center, and his latest role as executive chef at Metropolitan Opera. Fluent in five languages, Antonio also worked in the Caribbean, France, and, of course, Italy – where he had a cooking segment on a TV show.
Collaborators
Gustiamo - Founded in 1999 and based in the Bronx, Gustiamo is an independent Italian food importer on a mission to bring the most authentic, artisan-produced ingredients from Italy to American tables. Fiercely committed to transparency and paying fair prices directly to farmers and food makers, Gustiamo has become the trusted source for chefs and home cooks alike who demand the real thing — from genuine San Marzano tomatoes to single-origin extra virgin olive oils — and has been recognized by the New York Times for its advocacy for food authenticity.
Ghetto Gastro - A Bronx-born culinary collective founded by Jon Gray, Pierre Serrao, and Lester Walker — a flavor company that merges food, fashion, music, art, and design into a singular, boundary-defying force. Drawing from the rich Caribbean, Latin, Asian, and African cultures that define the Bronx, they layer flavor the way hip hop layers samples: to expand, comment, and honor the underrepresented. More than a collective, they are storytellers, activists, and entrepreneurs on a mission to reclaim identity, reframe narratives, and champion race, identity, and economic empowerment — one table at a time. Everybody eats.
Free Food Harlem - The January 22, 2026 New York Times article highlights what has become New York City’s premier, not for profit, feeding program that includes three course meals, farm fresh ingredients sourced from a wide network of food surplus suppliers, and a volunteer driven model that addresses social isolation. Free Food Harlem, an initiative of Unconditional Freedom, is feeding over 700 meals and recovering over 2000 lbs of food weekly, while creating a space for dignity, inspiration and nourishment. Guests travel from all 5 boroughs to volunteer, participate in the pantry, and dine with us. Free Food has created an ecosystem of education and services aimed not at rehabilitation for the justice impacted, but creating the conditions for flourishing. The outcomes filter through to the whole community of Harlem in the form of food, nourishment, nutrition education and inspiration for seniors, veterans, single mothers, children, and more.
Food for Soul - is a non-profit organization founded by chef Massimo Bottura and Lara Gilmore with a clear mission: to turn food waste into an opportunity for inclusion and social change. Food for Soul believes that food has a value that goes beyond nourishment: it is a tool for creating connection, restoring dignity, and building stronger communities. They work with chefs, partners, and volunteers around the world to rescue surplus food and transform it into nutritious, high-quality meals, served in their Refettorios and other social hospitality projects.
Supporting Partners
Need to know
Donation ticket is final and non-refundable
Event is wheelchair accessible
Allergens and General Questions to Refettorio team hello@refettorioharlem.org
Location
39 119th Street, New York, NY 10026 (inside Emanuel A.M.E Church )