OTTAWA -- Chef Adam Blacklock has been cooking up nutritious meals for those in need during the COVID-19 pandemic since March. 

“So far we have done 3-thousand meals total since the start and about 15,000 pounds of food,” he says.

He is cooking with his wife Courtney, who is also a trained chef, out of a kitchen provided by the Boys and Girls Club of Ottawa, and with the help of donations and a GoFundMe campaign. Most of the funds go to purchase packaging and PPE such as gloves and masks to wear in the kitchen. 

“We have cooked everything from fresh burrata salad with mint to seafood minestrone, to oatmeal," Blacklock says. “We did 900 muffins one time. We only had four trays to back them all so we were in and out all day baking.”

At the start, donations poured in, but now Blacklock says donations are low. With funds running out, he has been forced to scale back. 

“We were doing 300 meals, three times a week, plus whole foods donations and baking. Now, we are predominantly doing single serve meals. We do about 200 of them when we can cook.” 

Recently, Blacklock has been cooking once a week. 

The meals go to various shelters across the city including the Ottawa Mission. Blacklock estimates he has cooked more than 1,500 meals for the Mission. He has also helped with hampers from the Boys and Girls Club. 

His meals vary in recipes daily, and they have surprised some palates, notably the seafood minestrone served at the Ottawa Mission. 

“The receiver at the mission looked at us and said ‘seafood eh?’ But the following week we got kudos and people were asking when we would do that again,” he said. 

Blacklock’s mission is to give everyone the chance to try delicious food, especially those affected by COVID-19 . 

“Everyone deserves a good meal everyday, cooked with love.” 

You can donate to Chef Blacklock's GoFundMe campaign here.