{"id":13935,"date":"2017-11-25T02:17:31","date_gmt":"2017-11-25T02:17:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/associatednews.us\/content\/2017\/11\/25\/how-one-pop-up-restaurant-is-fighting-stigma-against-hivaids\/"},"modified":"2017-11-25T02:17:31","modified_gmt":"2017-11-25T02:17:31","slug":"how-one-pop-up-restaurant-is-fighting-stigma-against-hivaids","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/associatednews.us\/content\/how-one-pop-up-restaurant-is-fighting-stigma-against-hivaids\/","title":{"rendered":"How One Pop-Up Restaurant Is Fighting Stigma Against HIV\/AIDS"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Elise Hu<\/a><\/span> <\/p>\n

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\n Worldwide there are more than 30 million people living with HIV\/AIDs.<\/p>\n

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Chung Sung-Jun\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

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Chung Sung-Jun\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

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This month diners in Toronto were treated to a four-course meal at a pop-up restaurant called June’s.<\/a> The menu included Northern Thai leek and potato soup with a hint of curry, a pasta served with smoked arctic char followed by garlic rapini and flank steak. The entire meal was topped off with a boozy tiramisu for dessert. <\/p>\n

In addition to a mouthwatering meal, the chefs at June’s also served a message which they wore on their shirts: “Break bread. Smash stigma.”<\/p>\n

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Worldwide there are more than 30 million people living with HIV\/AIDs, including more than a million in the U.S. The two-day event was a fundraiser put on by Casey House,<\/a> Canada’s only stand-alone hospital for HIV\/AIDS treatment. Everyone in the kitchen was HIV-positive. <\/p>\n

After running a survey in which 50 percent of Canadians said they wouldn’t eat a meal knowingly prepared by someone with HIV, the hospital decided to put on the project. <\/p>\n

Casey House’s CEO Joanne Simons says the point of the project was to get people talking about the stigmas that still surrounds HIV\/AIDS. June’s event was a success and Simons says they plan to do another run in Toronto. Simons says they’ve also had interest globally and are “starting to work on a plan to roll this out elsewhere.”<\/p>\n

On how the experience was for the HIV-positive staff<\/strong><\/p>\n

There were 14 people who are HIV-positive. They were led by head chef Matt Basile, who is very popular in Toronto \u2014 owns a restaurant, has food trucks. And he worked with the chefs to co-create the menu. I think that they felt very empowered to be able to speak up and to be able to offer a meal that was absolutely divine. <\/p>\n