A Special Burger Night

By Don Hazelwood

November 24th, 2025 This month’s Burger Night was a special night. Instead of hosting at home or cooking for friends, Beth and I packed everything needed to make burgers and tots for just over thirty residents and caregivers at the CaringHouse in Durham, NC. Let me just say, it was busy, hot, and a whole lot of fun.

First, the most important part of this month’s burger night, it’s the location, the CaringHouse in Durham, NC. If you are not familiar with the CaringHouse, their mission is a simple but powerful one. They provide comfortable, affordable, and supportive housing for adults receiving cancer treatment at the Duke Cancer Institute in Durham, NC. Many residents travel a long way to Durham and need a place to stay where they can focus on healing rather than worry about lodging, meals, or the day to day logistics that become harder when you are sick. The CaringHouse gives them stability, kindness, and community during a time when life can feel anything but stable. It is a place where people are treated like family at a moment when they need it most. 

Providing a bit of stability, one meal, is nothing in our day-to-day lives. However it means the world to those residents. This became very clear within minutes of showing up and meeting one of the residents and listening to her story. A story which to most of us would be heart breaking and devastating. However, they are living it - this is their day-to-day lives. Being there volunteering is to connect with another human and understand their pain and their fear of the unknown. Your presence and the meal you are providing is at least for the moment somewhat pushing their pain and fear to the background. 

My connection to all of this started in a very ordinary way. One Saturday morning I was at the NC State Farmers Market in Raleigh. It is a weekly ritual for me, for over a decade. I go for the fresh produce, having conversations with some of the farmers, and inspiration for whatever I am cooking that week. One week this past spring I met a guy named Mike. We bonded over our shared love for good food. He introduced himself, we started talking, and before long he was telling me about an annual party he hosts called Feed Your Face. I just thought it sounded like a fun food event. While attending the party, I learned it was actually a fundraiser he created to support the CaringHouse. The more he talked about the residents, the caregivers, and the need for volunteers, the more it got my attention.

When I told Beth about it she immediately said we should help. That is how the two of us ended up in the CaringHouse kitchen with over thirty burgers to cook. Here I am, pulling into a parking lot with coolers full of ingredients, hoping I counted correctly and did not forget anything important. If you have never tried to prepare that much food in a non industrial kitchen, let me tell you, it takes some strategy. We had twelve stove eyes to work with, which sounds like plenty until you start juggling multiple pans, buns that need to be toasted, tots that need to come out hot, and patties that all need to be cooked evenly.

We tackled it in waves. Eight burgers at a time on the griddle, buns toasting on the side, and trays of tater tots rotating every few minutes so nothing got cold. There was a moment where I looked over at Beth, both of us moving around the kitchen in this unspoken rhythm, and thought about how wild it is that something so simple as a burger night can turn into something meaningful. It was chaotic at times, but it was good chaos.

We kept the menu simple. One third pound single patty. Shredduce for crunch. Thin sliced onion. Pickles because you need that briny bite. American cheese melted just enough around the edges. A spoonful of Russian dressing. All on a soft potato bun. A classic cheeseburger with nothing fancy going on, but made with care. The kind of burger that hits the spot without trying too hard.

What surprised me were the reactions. Some people were excited because it reminded them of family cookouts. Some had been dealing with medical appointments all day and were relieved someone was there cooking a hot meal for them. Others just smiled and said it was the best burger they had eaten in a long time. It was humbling. You never really know what a simple meal can mean to someone until you are standing there watching them take that first bite.

As the last trays came out of the oven and the final burgers were handed out, I felt that familiar sense of calm that comes after a good service. This was a special month for burger night. Not because we made the best burgers. Not because everything went perfectly. It was special because it gave us a chance to contribute in a small but real way. A way that fit who we are. A way that reminded me why I enjoy these monthly cookouts so much.

Now it is on to December’s burger night. I already have a few ideas. I am sure something will inspire me between now and then. For now, I am grateful for the people we met, the folks we cooked for, and the chance to turn a simple meal into something that mattered.