Justin Aprahamian, and award-winning chef and his staff decided to cook a hearty French cassoulet (a stew with meat and vegetables) was a good dish to serve on a December night.

But this dish isn't for people who can fit in his upscale Sanford Restaurant near downtown Milwaukee. They are for the 86 men staying at Milwaukee's Guest House, the largest publicly funded homeless shelter in the area.

"The men are so appreciative, that someone would take time out of their day and prepare this nice, quality meal," said Cindy Krahenbuhl, executive director of the Guest House.

Dale Rhyan, a volunteer retired from the restaurant business came up with the idea about four years ago to approach restaurants and ask help after he noticed the men got only about a dozen or less meals a month. The shelter has no budget for meals and relies completely on volunteers for food.

"So I thought, OK, this is by far the most important thing on the list, because food goes right to the brain," Rhyan said. "These guys need nutrition to get their lives back, and to be able to go out on the street, find work, and get their health back."

So he approached his friends in the restaurant business, and the response was remarkable.

"I would sometimes go home at night and find that I would be crying in the car because I was so overwhelmed, because I was not getting any rejections," Rhyan said.

With the help of the restaurants and other community volunteers, the meal program has gone from providing 40 percent of a month's meals to about 90 percent! Other restaurant groups involved include the Bartolotta Restaurants and Black Shoe Hospitality, both of which own some of the best-reviewed restaurants in Milwaukee, the Huffington Post reports.

Tags: Award-Winning Chefs Make Gourmet Meals For The Homeless Inspiring videos