No kitchen in Acadiana is as busy as the kitchen at Bailey's Seafood and Grill on Thanksgiving day. This year, the restaurant anticipates serving close to 1,000 meals to people in need.
For the volunteers who make it happen year after year, there is no way they'd rather have it.
"It's not Thanksgiving without this. It's almost like I feel selfish being here because this just makes me feel so good," says Natalie Piccione, who at 18 years old has spent her last ten Thanksgivings working in the Bailey's kitchen, preparing meals for others.
"It's been such an amazing experience," says Piccione. "I've cut pies a few years. I've cleaned dishes before. So many of these people are just so happy to have this opportunity."
She says there is love in every step of bringing this event together.
"They have this many meals to serve and this many people to serve and yet they still care about what they're serving. Like the broccoli, they wanted to get it perfect. The right amount of broccoli, the right amount of cheese. They're not just throwing this together for whoever's going to eat it. This was made with love," says Piccione, who hopes to continue coming back to Bailey's into her adulthood and even bring her future children one day.
