Trips

January 18th “Dine for CulinaryCorps” Fundraiser

Miranda Restaurant in Brooklyn, New York will be hosting a 4-course Puerto Rican tasting menu on January 18th, 2010.

The menu is $50 per person, and 25% of all proceeds will be donated to CulinaryCorps.  Miranda’s chef and owner, Sasha Rodriguez, will be participating as a volunteer on the trip!

The menu sounds stunning:

  • Ensalada de Pulpo (Octopus Salad)
  • Asopao (a hearty soup)
  • Pernil (Slow roasted pork)
  • Biscocho de Ron (Spiced Rum Cake)

For reservations, call 718-387-0711, e-mail at info@mirandarestaurant.com or visit the Miranda website. For those of you who would like to dine on their regular menu, 10% of those proceeds will be donated as well.

Donating to a good cause never tasted so great!

2010 Trip Sponsor Spotlight: The French Culinary Institute

The French Culinary Institute (FCI) is Manhattan’s premiere cooking school in the SoHo neighborhood of New York City. Founded in 1984 by Dorothy Cann Hamilton, FCI offers full-time courses in culinary arts, pastry arts, and http://www.veridianinc.com international bread baking. FCI is consistently ranked among the top cooking schools in the country . In April 2006, The French Culinary Institute received “The Award of Excellence for Vocational Cooking School from the International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP).

FCI has been a guiding force for CulinaryCorps, helping the organization grow and prosper since its inception in 2006. Many of our chef-alumni have been graduates of FCI including founder, Christine Carroll, Program Coordinator, Thomas Medrow, and Trip Co-Leader, Sandy Tuason.  In addition, FCI’s Director of Career Services, Erik Murnighan, was an instrumental chef-volunteer in New Orleans during our June 2007 trip.

In 2010, FCI has joined an elite team of maglie calcio poco prezzo donors who are helping to sponsor the cost of our trip to Puerto Rico.  We are pleased to announce that The French Culinary Institute is the first culinary school to contribute at a BENEFACTOR level to the organization. These funds will directly contribute to our work on the island.

We are hugely appreciative of the FCI’s generosity of not only funds but of time and mentorship.  Their continued support of CulinaryCorps has contributed directly to the organization’s accomplishments.  We look forward to a long and prosperous relationship as both entities grow and thrive.

Radio Love

Who said video killed the radio star?  We’ve been tremendsouly lucky to get some amazing radio press over the past few weeks:

On Friday, November 20th Christine Carroll, Founding Director, sat down with Terry Trespacio of Martha Stewart Radio for a 20-minute interview about CulinaryCorps.   If you have Sirius Radio, tune into the Whole Living show every day from 11pm-12pm!

On Saturday, December 6th Viviana Acosta-Padial, Program Coordinator, interviewed with Evan Kleiman on her KCRW Good Food show.  It was our second time on the program, and Viviana took special care to explain our Puerto Rico sojourn. To listen to the show, please visit the streaming version here.

A huge thanks to both shows for taking the cheap oakley sunglasses time to spread the word about CulinaryCorps.  In this time of giving, we hope our mission resonated with those who are passionate about food and support change in their world.

Now Recruiting: Culinary Volunteer Trip to Puerto Rico

We are happy to announce the highly anticipated release of our 2010 application for the upcoming CulinaryCorps trip to Puerto Rico.

As we all know, food has the ability to transform lives and revitalize communities.  Our upcoming CulinaryCorps trip is devoted to bringing this ethos to life.  And in order to recruit the most highly qualified team http://www.oakleyonorder.com/ we can find, in a new model for the organization, this trip is FREE for participants.  Each team member is solely responsible for their transportation to and from San Juan.  We will also be asking all team members to assist with a group  fundraising goal.

For details about the trip including our service project itinerary, please click here.

The application process is now open and will be conducted on a rolling admissions basis until November 23rd, 2009.  All final team decisions will be made on November 25th.

If you have just one week next year to do cheap oakley something good, why not do something you love?

In good food and good service,

The CulinaryCorps Team

Photo Credit New York Times

New Trip Just Added! Puerto Rico 2010

In an exciting development for the organization, CulinaryCorps will be expanding their trip footprint to Puerto Rico in 2010. With the help of four-time trip participant and San Juan native, Viviana Acosta-Padial, a trip will be launched from January 31 – February 7, 2010.  For trip details, please click here.

The island nation of Puerto Rico has one of the most dynamic economies and cuisines in the Caribbean region. However, sustainable economic development remains a challenge for this United States Commonwealth.  Currently, the average median household income is less than half of Mississippi, the poorest state in the USA, and a majority of Puerto Rican citizens live under the poverty line set by the cheap oakley American government. Puerto Rico receives some US federal aid but does not get equal coverage or qualify for most welfare programs. In 2007, the US halted its funding to clinics serving HIV/AIDS patients, a devastating blow for a country with over double the rate of AIDS than in America. However, Puerto Rico’s network of dynamic non-profits have helped reduce mortality, increase literacy, improve medical services, raise life expectancy and increase quality of life for all citizens including the domestically abused and those afflicted with long-term illness.  CulinaryCorps is honored and privileged to help further the work of these admirable organizations.

Equally as important to the work that is keeping the country healthy is the cuisine that keeps the country happy. With roots in the cooking traditions and practices of Spain/Europe, the Amerindian Taínos (pre-Colombian indigenous inhabitants), and the African continent, the mingling of flavors and ingredients passed from generation to generation have resulted in an incredible food culture unique to the island.  Puerto Ricans are fiercely proud of their cuisine but unfortunately, US influence and island industrialization have eroded the viability of agriculture, and Puerto Rico is now largely dependent on food imports.  With this shift, practice and preservation of traditional http://www.oakleyonorder.com/ cooking techniques, products and recipes is quickly fading.  Indeed, as these native foodways are exchanged for convenience foods, instances of high blood pressure, diabetes and heart disease have increased among the young.   Fortunately, Puerto Rico is beginning to recognize this trend and are taking first steps to quell the backslide.

CulinaryCorps is excited to be a small part of this forward progress, and upon our return home, is keen to be voice boxes for both the plight and the progress of this cheap oakley sunglasses culturally rich country.


April 2009 Trip Update: The Expanding Ripples

We are pleased to report on the continuing fallout from our April 2009 trip to Ray Ban outlet online New Orleans and the Mississippi Gulf Coast:

The post-trip spotlight shone on Chef Gary Podesto when his restaurant’s PR company wrote a piece on his CulinaryCorps experience in their weekly blog.

Ex-restaurateur, Mark Carter, shared his CulinaryCorps stories on his sister’s well-read website, Terry O’Dell.com, and received some wonderful comments about his efforts.  Read Part 1 and Part 2 and get a glimpse inside the many vivid images that we collect during a single trip.

The CulinaryCorps designed Grow.Cook.Dine curriculum will be officially launched in the Fall with the help of The Ocean Springs Audubon Society and Slow Food Mississippi/Alabama.

Lastly, we wish CulinaryCorps alumni, Zachary Hedden, a safe journey to Antarctica in August.  The consummate adventurer, Zachary has taken a one-year position as a cook in the research station at the bottom of the world.  His work in the kitchen will help nourish the discoveries for a better, wiser, tomorrow.  We wish him a safe journey and an incredible year of wonderment.

Capturing The Experience: Chef-Writers Blog 2009 Trip

We were extremely fortunate to have some tremendously observant, witty and poignant chef-writers onboard the 2009 April trip. They have captured their own versions of the trip; a refreshing take on the days spent cooking, eating and connecting with the tremendous people we served.

It has been wonderful to read the diversity Ray Ban outlet that lies in the single common thread of participating on a CulinaryCorps trip; a happy reminder that we are all individuals – processing images, tastes, sounds and emotions completely differently yet somehow, the same.

Chocolate and Bacon

FancyPans

Crazy4Food

The Only Constant is Cooking