Awards and recognition were the last thing on chef Seanan Culloty’s mind when he rolled up his kitchen knives and walked away from a blossoming career in fine-dining four years ago and went to work in a soup kitchen to feed those in need.

He had been seeing and reading about chefs who were leaving their restaurants to help people around the world who were suffering after natural disasters and other crises.

“And I was like, I think I want to do something like that,” Culloty said. “I think that making really good food for people that don’t have the opportunity necessarily to afford good or excellent food, or to be able to afford to go out to eat, is important.”

Culloty didn’t have to travel the world to find people in need. He just had to cross the streets of Durango – leaving behind Ken & Sue’s restaurant – and walking into Manna soup kitchen.

The Colorado Restaurant Association recognized Culloty’s work at Manna and beyond with the announcement Wednesday that he is a 2022 Signature Dish Award winner in the category of “Outstanding Regional Professionals.”

He is the first soup-kitchen chef to win the award.

“I feel very honored,” Culloty said. Unfortunately, he won’t be able to accept the award at the ceremony Nov. 9 in Denver, because he will be in Honduras cooking for a medical brigade that’s helping people in need in that country. “Maybe I will be able to send a family member or friend,” he said.

It’s that level of care and commitment, along with his humble and good-natured approach to work and life that inspired a culinary peer to nominate Culloty for the Signature Dish Award.

“Seanan has been a leader in the community for so long, and kind of an underrepresented leader in the community,” said nominator Dave Woodruff, general manager at Durango’s El Moro Spirits and Tavern, and the Durango chapter president of the Colorado Restaurant Association.

“You know, for somebody to go from executive chef of one of the best restaurants in town to the soup kitchen, to an organization that he believed in the mission – where he is literally nourishing the community – I feel like he was a shoe-in for the award.”

In addition to his work at Manna, Culloty helps the community through culinary education classes, volunteering for whatever is needed, joining fundraisers and doing nonprofit board work, Woodruff added.

“He is just always the first one to jump in and lend a hand,” he said. “He just does so much.”

Culloty is one of those rare people who is always happy, who lightens the atmosphere at work and creates fun while also rolling up his sleeves and getting the job done, added Woodruff, who once worked with Culloty at Steamworks Brewing Co.

One of the challenges in leaving fine-dining and transitioning to a soup kitchen has been learning to make “really good food” with what is on hand, what’s been donated or grown in Manna’s garden as opposed to just ordering whatever is needed and changing menus every day, Culloty said.

One of the rewards has been meeting the people he helps to feed, along with the caring people in the greater community.

“I’ve learned that people get put in situations where life happens, whether it was a car accident that put them on the streets, or they’re just struggling to buy their kids shoes,” Culloty said. “I’ve learned that healthy, good food can change someone’s home. And I’ve learned that there are so many people in the community who just want to help. And how special this community is. I feel like I’m on the same mission, to help people in Durango.”

Culloty’s help and impact at Manna has been huge, said Manna Resource Manager Marissa Hunt.

“The soup kitchen became a safer and more lively environment for staff and participants,” Hunt said. “When COVID hit and everything was up in the air, Seanan kept the kitchen open consistently, not shutting down for a single day, working to feed the community in need without the help of any volunteers.”

And when Manna staff realized the kitchen needed to change, it was Seanan who stepped in to lead with designs and plans for the new resource center, she said. “The new model opened in March of 2022, and now we never run out of food from the takeout window or the market.”

gjaros@durangoherald.com