Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl recently showed up at an L.A. shelter and spent the night barbecuing for roughly 450 people who are currently experiencing homelessness. Today.com spoke with Grace Ancheta — the director of development at Hope the Mission’s Trebek Center in Northridge, California — who confirmed the news after a photo of Grohl had gone viral. “He arrived around 3 in the afternoon [on Feb. 22], and then he was in our kitchen,” Ancheta revealed.
“He was prepping the meat, he was cutting it up and he was there until he put it in the smoker,” she continued. “The meat didn’t go into the smoker until midnight that night because he’s like, ‘Oh, it has to season and it has to do this.’” Ancheta then added, “He’s definitely a craftsman when it comes to that, and then he spent the night.” The shelter director went on to explain that Grohl and others were working through the night to get the barbecue done, while a winter storm moved through Southern California. All in all, she noted that they spent about a day getting it just right before serving unhoused individuals and shelter staff at around 6 pm on Feb. 23.
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“He actually served to our guests, he came out and was very gracious and took pictures with the people that recognized him,” Ancheta told Today. “He wanted no glory for it, he was like, ‘I just want to do this for you guys and give back in that way.’” She added that Grohl told staffers that barbecuing is therapeutic for him, after playing concerts and recording music. “Whenever he comes off of work or anything else, that’s what he wants to do,” Ancheta says. “He wants to cook for people.” She then confirmed what everyone has been wondering: “And by the way – it was amazing. It’s the best barbecue we’ve had.”
The original photo of Grohl from the shelter — which is shown above — has received a lot of attention on Twitter. “Had the privilege of meeting him years ago when I used to work at a museum in LA in college. He was driving off [with] his family and was about to leave behind what he bought at the gift store, so my coworker let him know. He was so appreciative & flashed us his sweet smile,” one person tweeted back. Someone else added, “One of the best, warmest, most caring people on the planet. I met Dave at a local Maryland Crab restaurant. I don’t typically bother people, but in such an intimate setting, I went to him and told him I might be his oldest fan!He was gracious.”
