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A Quartet of Traditional Dishes from Our Chefs
January 30, 2026
John McAliley
Prepared Foods Manager
Weavers Way Co-op
Co-op staff since 2016
Dish: Red Beans & Rice. “I grew up eating it as a kid, but it was more than just red beans and rice. Hoppin’ John got made, also dirty rice. Lots of rice and bean dishes. There was also Spanish rice. It’s an easy meal to throw together, and it’s also something that you never have any complaints about, unless you get tired of eating it all the time.”
A fond food memory: “Cooking was a very big part of our family — meals and preparing the meals together. More than just eating the food, but coming together to prepare…it went beyond simply putting food in your body — it was the whole process of making it from start to finish.
“Going to my grandparents’ house —whether it was Thanksgiving, Easter or just regular Sunday dinner, it was something that happened regularly throughout all of my childhood. It was…very important to me. Again, it was more than the food. It was being together with the family — the fellowship of everybody being there.”
Dale Stambaugh
Fresh Food Manager
Weavers Way Germantown
Co-op staff since 2019
Dish: Smothered Pork Chops — seared and cooked in gravy with mashed potatoes and blanched green beans. “I’m from a real Appalachian part of Pennsylvania (born in Harrisburg; raised in Lancaster, York and Juniata counties). “I grew up on real thick, stick-to-your-bones comfort food.”
Learned to make it from: His grandmother. “I started cooking when I was about 7 or 8, and then my grandmom just honed the skills as I grew up.”
A fond food memory: “Every Christmas, making cookies with my grandmom. She would normally do like, 40 to 50 dozen; we’d be in the kitchen for weeks. I loved it.”
Prepared Foods Manager
Weavers Way Chestnut Hill
Co-op staff since 2019
Dish: Fried chicken, baked mac ‘n’ cheese & seasoned string beans. “It wasn’t necessarily something that we would eat because it was Black History Month. It was just a regular dish that we would eat.”
A fond food memory: “The first real chef that I saw cooking was a Russian guy by the name of Igor. I was about 14 ; I was a busboy at the time…working at this restaurant called Catfish Cafe (in East Falls). He seen something in me, I guess, because he always used to call me to the kitchen like, ‘You’re not busy, come to the kitchen and learn something.’ When I wasn’t busy, I’d go to the kitchen and he’d just show me little things like, ‘If you’re gonna sauté, you gotta make sure your pan is extremely hot before you put any food in it.’ That was my first, initial contact in opening up for cooking.”
Senora Grayson
Prepared Foods Manager
Weavers Way Ambler
Co-op staff since 2025
Dish: Mess o’ Greens — Seasonal greens cooked low and slow in a ham hock broth. Her version includes turnips.
Learned to make it from: Her mom and aunts. When she decided on the dish, she called her mom and aunt to get the proportions of ingredients needed. That was tricky, because they cook it without a recipe.
A fond food memory: “I especially think about my Aunt Brenda, who passed away eight years ago. Whenever I make [the greens], I think about her. [My aunts] would always bicker about who made the best greens. I’m like, ‘You guys, these are exactly the same.’”