Chefs Rally to Help Nashville After Flood

(CNN) --Nashville chefs have cooked up plans to keep rescue workers fed and farmers in business and to whet the appetites of tourists to return once floodwaters subside.

"I grew up with the philosophy in my family that when you have a tough time in whatever area of life, a good hot meal makes a lot of things better," said chef Tandy Wilson of City House restaurant.

Though his restaurant was stocked and operational and had planned a "flood menu," his difficulty in getting to the building spurred Tandy to shut down his business and rally his staff to volunteer.

"We got in contact with the Red Cross to see who we could feed. David Lipscomb University had a big shelter in their basketball gymnasium, and we took over homemade bread and pasta with a pork ragu -- it was real good," said the fifth-generation Nashvillian.

But as soul-satisfying as that meal was, Tandy and his fellow chefs knew that with other restaurants having lost inventory and equipment and with the Nashville Farmers' Market under water, there was much more to be done.

Read more about what needs to be done and who's getting it done here.