Cooking for a Cause: Local Chef Travis Swikard Donating Proceeds from Virtual Cooking Class

Chefs are in the business of making sure all are well-fed and loved, and Chef Travis Swikard is working to ensure that every San Diegan is given that opportunity. He’s joined Feeding San Diego in its mission to end hunger as an ambassador, and is lending his time and talent to raise funds via a virtual cooking class this holiday season. Having grown up in Santee, Chef Travis recently returned home to San Diego to open Callie, his California-Mediterranean restaurant in San Diego’s East Village neighborhood. He fell for the flavors of Greece, Spain, Italy, Morocco, the Middle East, and every place along the Mediterranean coastline during his time cooking at Boulud Sud, one of iconic French chef Daniel Boulud’s New York City restaurants.  

Cooking with Callie

On Monday, November 15, Chef Travis is hosting an engaging and interactive virtual live cooking class to show attendees how to master one of his favorite holiday dishes, a stuffed pumpkin, from his time cooking alongside Chef Daniel Boulud. All proceeds from this class will go to Feeding San Diego to provide meals to San Diegans facing hunger. Collaborating with Feeding San Diego is a chance for him to build community in his hometown, something that he is prioritizing at his new restaurant. We met up with Travis at our headquarters in Sorrento Valley where he told us more about his desire to give back. 

“Moving back to San Diego my key goal was to invest in the community. Not just with building a restaurant in the East Village, an underdeveloped area where everyone said, ‘Don’t go there.’ I’m from San Diego. I went to the first game at Petco Park. I wanted to make sure that I was able to invest in the community and ultimately, I could build myself into it and they could build themselves around the restaurant and we could grow together. Part of this partnership with Feeding San Diego is just another investment in the community for us. Not just for myself but for the restaurant, something that I can see being a longstanding relationship. Fortunately, the restaurant has been a busy place and we feel like part of that is to give.”  

Hometown Hero

Chef Travis is committed to devoting some of his precious time (chefs do work long hours) to local organizations like Feeding San Diego. He feels that it’s up to him as a restaurant owner to set a good example. 

“I think part of shining a light is being a leader. Being a mentor. Being someone that people look up to. Setting an example. For me, it’s so important not only that my cooks see me as a mentor but other chefs, other restaurants, or even if you’re a small grocery store, you can see that you can give some effort and all little efforts add up to something big,” he shares. “Whether it’s working out or doing something like this, the first step is the hardest step to take. I work 90 hours a week but I’m spending an hour here today to do this. I want to set an example and show it can and should be done. Whether it’s Feeding San Diego or whatever it is, a little bit of effort can help people a lot. Whether it’s your time, your money, your effort…it’s all helping.” 

Chef Travis and his wife and business partner, Mia, are thankful to have this opportunity not just to help others but to show their kids what philanthropy can look like from an early age. 

“I have kids, and I want my kids to see what we’re doing and understand that we’re fortunate that we can put food on the table for them every day,” he says. “There are a lot of people that don’t have that. It’s heartbreaking to think that there are kids their age that don’t have food. I’d give everything I have to feed those kids.”  

To purchase tickets for the virtual cooking class, visit Eventbrite.