By Donna Cornelius
When Chris Hastings says he was tied to his mother’s apron strings, he means that in the most positive way.
“My mom and I were very close,” said Hastings, the chef and owner of Birmingham’s Hot and Hot Fish Club. “We were always hanging out in the kitchen and at dinnertime.”
Food always played a big part in the relationship he and his mother, Angelica Hastings, shared, he said.
“When I was young, it wasn’t about becoming a chef,” Hastings said. “It was about great food and spending time together in the kitchen. It was having time with my mother.
“Food was an important kind of connection for us, whether it was finding great little restaurants or going to farmers markets or to pick-your-own strawberry farms and coming home and making pies.”
Angelica Hastings died of breast cancer when her son was 18. That loss is one of the reasons Hastings is participating in Real Men Wear Pink, a new way to help promote breast cancer education and early detection.
Hastings is one of 29 Birmingham-area men who have signed on for the American Cancer Society Jefferson/Shelby County Leadership Board’s campaign. He and the other “Pink Men” will work during Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October to raise money and awareness for the cause.
His family’s experience with the disease has made him and his wife strong supporters of efforts to fight cancer, he said.
“We both have tried to stay involved,” Hastings said. “Hopefully, we’re helping move the needle toward a cure. It’s personal to us.”
Hastings, a Charlotte, North Carolina, native, used the love of food he shared with his mom as a springboard to a spectacular culinary career. He and his wife, Idie, opened Hot and Hot Fish Club in 1995. The restaurant quickly gained a loyal following for its farm-to-table menu and innovative food.
Hastings got attention in culinary circles when he won a 2012 James Beard Award as Best Chef of the South. That same year, he competed on the Food Network’s “Iron Chef America” – and beat celebrity chef Bobby Flay.
Hastings now is in the process of launching a new restaurant, OvenBird, at Birmingham’s Pepper Place.
“We’re planning to open the first week in October,” Hastings said.
Throughout his career, Hastings has been mindful of the way food connects people, he said.
“The most important thing is the power food has to sear into your mind the special moments with friends and family,” he said. “It’s not just about creating food but developing relationships through food.”
A roasted chicken recipe in the Hot and Hot Fish Club Cookbook was inspired by one of his favorite childhood dishes, he said.
“It’s a takeoff on a dish we had when I was a kid,” Hastings said. “Then, we used Cornish hens. I formalized that dish into a recipe, and it’s not terribly ‘cheffy’ or complicated.”
The roasted chicken dish is one of his family’s favorites to have at home, he said. He and Idie have two sons, Zeb and Vincent, both students at the University of Alabama.
Hastings and other “Pink Men” will be featured in Birmingham-area publications and on social media. They’ll each pose for pictures wearing the signature color for breast cancer awareness.
“We’re being photographed wearing pink, whether it’s a wristband or clothing,” Hastings said.
That’s not a problem for the chef.
“I’m not afraid to wear pink,” he said, laughing.
Jefferson County Commission President Sandra Little Brown is heading up Birmingham’s Real Men Wear Pink campaign. Brown is a cancer survivor.
In addition to Hastings, other community leaders participating in the campaign are Birmingham Mayor William Bell, Christopher Butler, David Carrington, Matt Condra, Rob Conrad, Kelly Doss, Patrick Eades, Corley Ellis, Jerod Haase, Jefferson County Sheriff Mike Hale, Gene Hallman, Dr. Clint Holladay, Doug Hurst, Ray Jordan, Rick Journey, Jeffrey Klinner, Theo Lawson, Morgan Murphy, Chris Newsome, Joey Pierson, Jeff Pitts, Wilmer Poynor, Hernan Prado, Shelby County Sheriff John Samaniego, Dr. Jack Schaeffer, Michael Sellers, Richard Shea and Brandon Wilson.
The Real Men Wear Pink participants will be introduced at a kickoff party from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Oct. 1 at Carrigan’s Public House on Birmingham’s Morris Avenue.
The men will be active in the campaign throughout the month. The top fundraiser will be recognized as Birmingham’s Pink Man of the Year at a party at Carrigan’s Oct. 29.
Tickets aren’t required for either event, but there will be a cash bar.
For more information about Real Men Wear Pink, visit www.makingstrideswalk.org/realmenbirminghamal.
