By Mark Rosati, culinary director, Shake Shack

Shake Shack has had a long history of chef collaborations and supporting communities since our inception in 2004, which stems from our fine-dining roots. Over the years, we've partnered with incredible chefs including Daniel Humm, Zaiyu Hasegawa, Massimo Bottura, Rosio Sanchez, David Chang and more. We love to seek out fun and unexpected ways to push the envelope on what a modern-day "roadside" burger can look and taste like for our guests.

We recently announced a year-long chef collaboration series, "Now Serving," where we're partnering with well-known chefs and restaurateurs across the country and featuring exclusive menu items for a limited time. My favorite part about this new series is that a portion of net proceeds from each collaboration will benefit local nonprofits that help the restaurant community. The pandemic has been devastating for the hospitality industry, and while we're starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel, we have a long way to go. It's in our DNA to be a part of the local communities in which we operate, and as part of our mission to Stand for Something Good®, we're committed to delivering an amazing guest experience and supporting the restaurant industry from which Shake Shack was born.

With this series, we're working with chefs in our network, who we were not only inspired by from a culinary perspective but are also dedicated to giving back to their communities. Our collaboration with Chef Chris Shepherd in March was a year in the making. I flew to Houston in January 2020, before the pandemic, and met with Chris and the team to talk about possibly doing something together. When we opened our first Shake Shack in Houston in 2016, I dined at Chris's restaurant, Underbelly, and was blown away. Not only was his food delicious, but I could tell he was also a true champion of all things local from recommending other local joints he likes to proudly displaying a picture of his favorite tailor in his restaurant. With Chris, all boats rise with the tide, and when thinking about who we could partner with this year to help support the restaurant community, Chris and his incredible Southern Smoke Foundation came to mind instantly.

Slutty Vegan Founder Pinky Cole makes a TV appearance on Access Live. Photo: Slutty Vegan

We also have a collaboration as part of the series with Chef Pinky Cole of Slutty Vegan in Atlanta, and proceeds from our "SluttyShack" collab burger in Atlanta and in New York will be donated directly to local organizations: Giving Kitchen in Atlanta, a crisis relief organization for people in the food and beverage industry, and ROAR in New York, a community of hospitality leaders advocating for the NYC restaurant industry. We've all heard about Pinky Cole this past year and the impact she's making — not just in Atlanta and New York, but across the country, especially in her work fighting racism. It's incredibly rewarding to work alongside the Slutty Vegan team and support communities that are near and dear to us both and align with our philosophy.

If there is one thing I've learned throughout the development of this series, it is the importance of thinking big while acting locally and working with people that are committed to doing good and helping others. By thinking big and creating a national collaboration series, we've garnered more widespread exposure and attention for the overall restaurant relief campaign and these amazing chefs. Also, by acting locally, we've been able to have more impact within each community by highlighting the specific causes that are important to the chefs and helping shed a light on their stories, which for me is always the right thing to do when you can help others out. We leaned into something we've had success within the past, but we've re-envisioned how we could execute for greater impact, and that has made a positive difference in local communities.

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