How do we help in this crisis? That’s the question on so many minds right now. Clarke, New England’s Official Sub-Zero/Wolf/Cove Showroom & Test Kitchen and Smith & Wollensky, America’s Premier Steakhouse answered that question by partnering to cook and deliver 750 meals to the frontline medical staff at hospitals in their headquarter communities this week.
For three days, Clarke President Sean Clarke and his son, along with Smith & Wollensky Executive Chef Matt King and two of his restaurant chefs, prepped and cooked at Smith & Wollensky’s closed Wellesley restaurant to ready the hospital meals. On Monday, April 13, Clarke and Chef King delivered the meals of hearty beef stew and chili to Milford Regional Medical Center in Milford, MA, where Clarke’s headquarters is located. On Tuesday, April 14, meals were delivered to Newton-Wellesley Hospital, just minutes from Smith & Wollensky’s flagship restaurant location in Wellesley.
“As our three Clarke showrooms were sending employees home to work and Smith & Wollensky’s nine restaurant locations around the world were also closing their doors, to respect social distancing guidelines, Matt and I talked about what we could do to help our communities during this crisis,” explained Clarke. “Since both of our companies are dedicated to preparing delicious food – either at home or in a fine dining experience – we thought we could pool our resources and cook for the dedicated healthcare teams in both of our communities so they would have a delicious meal that they neither had to prepare nor pay for as they work to help the increasing numbers of patients in our communities presenting with Covid-19 symptoms.”
Milford Regional Medical Center is a 149-bed, nonprofit, medical center located in Milford, MA, servicing 20-plus towns surrounding 
Milford along the Route 495 corridor to the Rhode Island border and west toward Worcester. Located in Worcester County, where more than 2,000 cases have been confirmed, Milford Regional teams have been working around the clock to source supplies and equipment, provide drive through testing by appointment and treat sick patients inside and outside their Emergency and ICU departments. The hospital has reassigned two of their community Urgent Care locations to assess those with Covid-19 symptoms.
Newton-Wellesley Hospital is a 273-bed hospital servicing 17 towns in the suburbs west of Boston. Located in Middlesex County, where more 
than 5,000 cases have been confirmed, Newton-Wellesley has been preparing for a surge by repurposing various parts of the hospital. The first step for patients who are referred to Newton-Wellesley for coronavirus testing is to check in at the three tents on the roof of the hospital’s employee parking garage. There they are tested if suspected of having symptoms linked to Covid-19.
Clarke and Smith & Wollensky enthusiastically prepared these meals to show their support and give a moment of respite and enjoyment to the medical and support staffs at these two important community medical facilities.
A behind the scenes look at the preparation: