Unsung hero: Ex-pilot turned chef now steers the cooking at O.C. Rescue Mission

The retired airline pilot who flew international flights to places like Zurich, Munich and Stockholm embarked on a new kind of journey several years ago.

His travel time to work now is much shorter, just a few miles to the Orange County Rescue Mission in Tustin. But he finds himself soaring in a whole new way.

James Whitehead of Newport Beach’s Balboa Peninsula retired from flying commercial flights in 2003, and during his leisure time found himself wanting to learn how to make a Bearnaise sauce for his steaks.

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Newport Beach resident James Whitehead, 71, looks in the pantry at the Orange County Rescue Mission in Tustin, where he recently celebrated five years and more than 800 hours of service as a chef.

(Scott Smelzter / Daily Pilot)

He enrolled in Orange Coast College’s culinary program and six semesters later could prepare meats and fish, sauces, soups and French desserts.

The college’s chief instructor recognized Whitehead’s culinary talents and suggested that he volunteer as a chef at the mission.

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Editor’s note: This is an installment of Unsung Heroes, a new annual feature that highlights otherwise overlooked members of the community.

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Today, the 71-year-old father of two and grandfather of two recently celebrated five years and more than 800 hours of service to the organization, which provides job training, shelter, food and healthcare to the poor and homeless.

Every Monday, Whitehead arrives at noon and readies dinner by 5:30 p.m. for the 250 residents.

Why?

“It’s about commitment,” Whitehead said as he stood in the Rescue Mission kitchen. “Hopefully some of that will rub off to people, so they can see dedication in a person and they will want to find purpose and meaning in their life.”

The silver-haired chef looks immaculate in polished slip-resistant shoes, pressed black slacks and an ironed white jacket with “Executive Chef” embroidered in black just above his heart.

He doesn’t know what he’ll cook for that evening until he learns of the supplies on hand that day.

Each night is like an episode of the television show “Chopped,” where he has to call on his culinary skills to use all the ingredients he is provided from sources like Smart & Final, Albertsons and Trader Joe’s, Whitehead said.

Eighty pounds of donated chicken thighs, noodles and vegetables? He’ll refer to his thick binder packed with hundreds of recipes — like turkey pot pie, pasta with handmade marinara sauce and chicken Parmesan — that he and Peg, his wife of 47 years, have collected and tested over the decades. He’ll then multiply the set of instructions by 15 to 20.

If a guest can’t eat what he prepares because of dietary restrictions or religious practices, Whitehead will make a substitute.

And he also fixes broken kitchen equipment, most recently the beater for the kitchen’s 40-quart mixer. A replacement would have cost about $300.

“Chef James, to me, is the rock here,” said Barbara Ratkovich, Orange County Rescue Mission food services assistant manager. “He loves to teach and he has so much knowledge to give everyone. If he sees something broken, he’ll fix it so we don’t have to put out the money. He goes over and above the call of duty.”

It’s a physically demanding job, involving picking up 50-pound bags of carrots and potatoes and walking back and forth carrying food and ingredients. To stay in shape, Whitehead rides his bicycle 20 miles a day.

Without food donations Saturdays and Sundays, the first of the week’s shipment of produce and poultry can seem meager to a chef. But White said he enjoys the challenge in having to be especially creative.

The residents are appreciative of his innovation too.

“They tell me, ‘If it weren’t for you, we’d have leftovers,’” Whitehead said with a smile. “They love Mondays.”

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Kathleen Luppi, kathleen.luppi@latimes.com

Twitter: @KathleenLuppi