Dear Friends of the Gulf Coast,

As the oil spill crisis continues to unfold, I wanted to let you know that you have been on the minds of the CulinaryCorps volunteers you have so kindly embraced over the years.  Many have asked how they can help, if their skills can be of any use as the gravity of the situation settles into our consciousness.  It is clear that you are all in our thoughts and prayers as is your wetlands, your wildlife, your communities and your livelihoods.

And while we may not be of use on the front-lines of the clean-up effort, we wanted to let you know that CulinaryCorps will be making a donation to OxFam America to help provide assistance to those who require it in both the short and long term.  While we fully realize this is just a very small action for such an enormous heartache, we hope to continue to support the cleanup efforts in any way we can.

Time has proven that when hardship strikes, the people of the Mississippi Gulf Coast rise as inspirations to us all.  Here is to your renewal of strength and courage so you may rise again.  We have no doubt you will.

With love and eternal support,

Christine

Here are a few of the responses we received.  Wise and poignant words that we should all heed:

“Thank you so very much for your generosity in thought and deed.  Here in Pass Christian, there are significant preparedness measures being executed should the oil reach us.  Berms on the beaches, booms at strategic locations at entrance to bayous, constant surveillance of tides and currents are measures that give us hope….while we worry.   It is our hope at the Boys and Girls Club, that we may provide a stable environment for our children who live in an unstable world. Your compassion is very much appreciated.”

“Unfortunately here we go again…….(only this disaster is in slow motion).  Please spread the word to everyone who works in kitchens or eats food (everyone) that Louisiana seafood is still SAFE TO EAT and still offers the best shrimp, oysters, crabs, and fish in the United States – best shrimp and oysters in the world.  It is very important that this word be spread because our fishermen will have a tougher time surviving the level of misinformation out there than the oil spill itself!”

“Please tell people to call their representatives and demand that they be more supportive of us  and place pressure on them to get the oil leak plugged.  It’s been a month and a half now, and the support from Washington has been as non-existent as it was during Katrina.  Very sad.”

“If you have about 15 minutes there is a video of a local radio host that is very worth your while. He can explain, better than I, what’s going on in the gulf and how it will impact the nation I wish everyone could see this: http://www.wwl.com/pages/7155465.php”

“Thanks so much for your kind words. It really is a very sad state of affairs in our precious Gulf right now. I am just holding out for a minor miracle and cling to the hope that BP figures something out SOON.”

We cannot risk losing these precious foodways…AGAIN!  What can YOU do to help support the Gulf Coast?  Maybe it is a donation to Oxfam America, The National Wildlife Foundation, The White Boot Brigade or the Save Our Coast Foundation?

Maybe it’s hosting a restaurant fundraiser in your own community like Leslie B, a 2008 CulinaryCorps alum?

Or maybe it’s scheduling a last-minute getaway to New Orleans to take part in the Second Annual Oyster Festival, spearheaded by the venerable P&J Oyster?

Whatever you do, remember the slogan of Southern food activist Poppy Tooker: “Eat It to Save It”.  These words have never rang more true than right here, right now.

Organization/Program: Chefs Move to Schools

Volunteer Opportunity: Volunteer Chef

Location: Nationwide

Start Date: Recruiting Now!

End Date: Open

Time Commitment:  Flexible

Organization Overview:

As part of her effort to turn policies into practical solutions for America’s families, Mrs. Obama is calling on chefs to get involved by adopting a school and working with teachers, parents and school nutrition professionals and administrators to help educate kids about food and nutrition. By creating healthy dishes that taste good, chefs have a unique ability to deliver these messages in a fun and appealing way to the larger audience, particularly children.

Position Overview:

The “Chefs Move to Schools” program, run through the U.S. Department of Agriculture, will pair chefs with interested schools in their communities so together they can create healthy meals that meet the schools’ dietary guidelines and budgets, while teaching young people about nutrition and making balanced and healthy choices. With more than 31 million children participating in the National School Lunch Program and more than 11 million participating in the National School Breakfast Program, good nutrition at school is more important than ever.

To Sign Up As a Chef:  Click HERE

To Sign Up As a School:  Click HERE

Organization/Program: Boys Hope Girls Hope

Volunteer Opportunity: Volunteer Chef

Location: San Francisco, CA

Start Date: Recruiting Now!

End Date: October 2010

Time Commitment:  Flexible

Organization Overview:

Many factors beyond a child’s control can combine to strangle his or her promise and potential and threaten that child’s future.  Neighborhoods shattered by crime and poverty. Families broken by economic hardship, death, and divorce. Overcrowded and underperforming schools.

Boys Hope Girls Hope believes in children. We believe in their ability to overcome their circumstances. We believe in their ability to become more than they ever dreamed of becoming. And we believe that they can then go on to give hope to countless others.

By providing children with arms-around care, safe homes and environments, a first-class education, opportunities to learn more about themselves and the world, and academic, financial, and spiritual support through college, Boys Hope Girls Hope empowers children to realize the potential that is within them.

We set high standards and give our scholars everything they will need to meet those standards.  In doing so, we make our communities, and our world, a better place.

Position Overview:

Boys Hope Girls Hope of San Francisco is looking for someone to volunteer their time and talent to prepare meals for ten active teenage boys. Our kitchen is well equipped and our pantries are full; our need is for someone to dedicate the time and energy to put together a meal so our Residential Counselors can focus on the scholars. This volunteer opportunity can be whatever you would like to make of it. If you are available to help out once a month, or a few times a week we will gratefully love the assistance. Having experience preparing meals for large groups would be a valuable skill.

Contact:  Contact Noel (nvogel@bhgh.org) or call (415) 291-8166

Organization/Program: Rwanda Hospitality Institute (in partnership with Heaven Restaurant)

Volunteer Opportunity: Hospitality Program Coordinator

Location: Kigali, Rwanda

Start Date: Recruiting Now!

End Date: 1-year From Start Date

Length:  1 Year

Website Overview of Position: Website currently not available

Organization Overview:

Rwanda Hospitality Institute is Rwanda’s first “live” vocational training center for customer service, culinary arts and hospitality management.  Rwanda Hospitality Institute will deliver a series of workshops as well as ongoing, on-site practical training that benefits the entire tourism sector in Rwanda.

Short courses will provide vocational and technical skills and prepare Rwandans to work in the hospitality and tourism industry. The Director of Rwanda Hospitality Institute is working closely with the Rwanda Hotel and Restaurant Association, Ministry of Education and the Workforce Development Authority to become an accredited vocational training center.

We are looking for a passionate and energetic candidate who thrives in a

dynamic start up environment. Rwanda’s Hospitality Institute Coordinator is critical to ensuring that the newly created onsite hospitality vocational training center will produce qualified and skilled applicants for the hospitality sector in Rwanda. He/she will develop and recruit experienced trainers to teach the first year of hospitality short courses. A passion for education and hospitality vocational training is essential.

Position Overview:

• Assist the program director in planning, development and implementation of the first year of practical training courses.

• The Coordinator will identify the necessary objectives of each course; develop all of the content; and teach or recruit expert trainers to teach each course.

• Work closely with the Rwanda Hotel and Restaurant Association, Ministry of Education and Workforce Development Authority to develop practical training that complements existing curricula from top hospitality schools in Rwanda.

• Identify international best practices and curriculum models for accreditation.

• Determine scheduling and content of courses and assist in development of hospitality program budget and school fee structure.

• Organize guest speakers and invite experts in the hospitality field to co-teach

• Work with the business community to ensure that curriculum development is in alignment with the training needs of the private sector.

The ideal candidate should have the following skills, experience and knowledge:

• Commitment to Rwanda Hospitality Institute’s vision, mission and values

• Proven leadership abilities, a high level of initiative, strong interpersonal skills, creative and flexible problem solving skills.

• Minimum 3 years experience teaching and working in the hospitality industry

• Bachelor’s/College Degree Hospitality/Tourism/Hotel and Restaurant Management is preferred

• Strong networks within the Rwandan and East African hospitality industry

• Exposure to the international hospitality industry and vocational training field

• Excitement and a positive attitude about working in a dynamic start-up environment

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills; and planning and organizational skills required

• Strong analytical skills, independent judgment, ability to multi-task, comfortable under pressure and able to meet deadlines while retaining a sense of humor

• Ability to communicate ideas across cultural and language barriers; fluency in English is mandatory. French proficiency is also preferred.

• Willingness to commit to a minimum of 1 year

• Previous international exposure, especially in Africa

The Hospitality Institute Coordinator will report to the Director of the Rwanda Hospitality Institute in Kigali.

Contact:  Submit resume, cover letter, and references to Alissa Ruxin at alissaruxin@gmail.com.  Include “Hospitality Institute Coordinator” in subject line.  Contact Alissa directly for questions about requirements, salary and benefits.

Organization/Program: Brainfood

Volunteer Opportunity: Guest Chef for High School After School Cooking Program

Location: Washington, DC

Start Date: Ongoing

End Date: Ongoing

Length:  Various (minimum 1 day)

Website Overview of Position: Click HERE

Overview:

Are you a local chef or food expert looking to work with youth?

Brainfood is a non-profit youth development organization in Washington, DC. Using food as a tool, Brainfood builds life skills and promotes healthy living in a fun and safe environment. Local high school students participate in our programs either twice a week after school or every day for six weeks during the summer.

Activities include hands-on cooking classes, lectures, field trips and community service projects. Brainfood graduates are equipped with practical cooking skills, an introduction to the food industry, a framework for nutritious eating, and leadership experience that prepares them to make a difference in their community.

Brainfood welcomes guest chefs and guest speakers into our kitchens to lead a class about a topic or food they love. Guest chefs provide Brainfood participants the chance to learn from an expert who is working in the food or nutrition industry. Some of the topics that guest chefs have taught our participants include basic knife skills, how to make risotto, cake decorating, and ways to cook healthy alternatives to favorite holiday foods. Guest chefs typically bring in some or all of the special ingredients they will be working with.

Guest chefs and guest speakers are needed for both the Brainfood After School program (Monday – Thursday, 4:00pm – 6:30pm) and the Brainfood Summer Institute (Monday – Friday, 1:00pm – 4:00pm).

Contact:  E-mai Carina with your name, email address, and telephone number and possible topics that you would be interested in teaching our youth: scarina@brain-food.org

Organization/Program: Continental Divide Trail Alliance

Volunteer Opportunity: CDTA Crew Chef

Location: Various, Continental Divide Trail, USA

Start Date: April 2010

End Date: October 2010

Training: July 3, 2010 Leadville, CO $15 per person

Length:  Various (minimum 5 days)

Website Overview of Position: Click HERE

Overview:

Would you like to lend a hand with a spatula rather than a shovel? Are you interested in cooking in the wilderness to help feed trail building volunteers? If so, then this program is for you! We invite you to become a Volunteer Crew Chef or Sous Chef on themost significant trail system in the world – the Continental Divide Trail.From April through October the Continental Divide Trail Alliance brings volunteers together from all over the country to build, maintain and improve theCDT. A CDTA Crew Chef helps to provide nutritional meals to enhance the volunteers’ experience of working on the trail.

As a CDTA Crew Chef you choose the menu and do the planning that you feel comfortable with, including shopping. Each volunteer project is very unique so it is important to take into account the length of the project, number of meals, number of volunteers, camping facilities, accessibility and environment.

Contact: Stephanie Friday: stephanie@cdtrail.org

Organization/Program: Coney Island Lighthouse Mission

Volunteer Opportunity: Friday Night Soup Kitchen Chef

Location: Brooklyn, New York

Start Date: Rolling

End Date: Rolling

Website: Click HERE

Overview:

The Coney Island Lighthouse Mission is dedicated to fighting hunger and poverty in our community through the many services we provide to those in need.
We are in need of a dedicated volunteer who will be able to cook for our Friday night Soup Kitchen. Duties include cooking, setup, and cleanup. Cooking starts in the morning before the 3pm After-School program and continues at 5pm. Around 5pm, the chef and volunteers set up the Lighthouse Mission for dinner. Dinner begins at 6:30pm and usually ends at 8:30pm. The chef is expected to supervise volunteers.

Contact: Those interested, please email us at ConeyLighthouse@aol.com or call us at 718-415-1170 Monday through Friday between 11am-5pm.

Organization/Program: Master Food Volunteers at Kansas State

Volunteer Opportunity: Culinary Instructor

Location: Kansas, USA

Start Date: Rolling

End Date: Rolling

Website: Click HERE

Overview:

The Kansas Master Food Volunteer (MFV) Program provides a foundation of knowledge to volunteers in the subject areas of food safety, food science, food preparation, and food preservation. The Extension Master Food Volunteer Program allows people with interests in food, cooking, and nutrition to take their expertise to a higher level while developing new avenues for helping in the community. The Master Food Volunteer Program is patterned after the successful Master Gardener Program.

Contact: If you live Kansas, check to see if your county is listed, and contact your appropriate agent.  For general information, call (785)532-1673.

Descriptions and pictures after the jump:

A CHRISTMAS DINNER IN CAYEY

The day we all first meet as a team is often one wracked with nerves.  Each of us has those butterfly feelings that harken back to the “first day of school” jitters .  Will people like me?  Will I like the group?  Am I a good enough cook to be part of this trip?  Am I ready for this challenge?

Over the years, we have found the best way to move past these unfounded hesitations is by sitting down to a meal together.   This trip’s first meal happened to be filled with a lot of pork, a surefire way to cut the tension in a roomful of cooks.  The evening started with a trip up the tropical mountains of interior Puerto Rico, about a half-hour south of San Juan, to the town of Guavate.  Also known as the “roast pig route” Guavate is a pork lover’s paradise with roadside restaurants of whole-roasted pigs lining the streets like street lights.

Walking into one of these joints feels like you’ve arrived in porcine heaven.  There are steaming hot trays filled with every cut of succulent roasted pork (from loin to tail) all clinging to crispy bits of caramel-colored skin.  Plus, large quantities of sausages in every shape, size and color, rice, beans and plenty of hot sauce.   We bought about 8 pounds of roasted meat, chopped via machete in front of the crowd, for our dinner later that evening.

While some could not tear themselves away from the rotisserie, a few of us explored the small stands by the underpass run by local entrepreneurs selling artisan food products.  There was local honey, coconut and orange candy and a unique fermented drink called mavi.   Made from the bark of an indigenous tree, the beautiful pink liquid is reminiscent of a very sweet Kombucha.

Our climb into the mountains continued, and we finally reached the beautiful estate in Cayey that was our destination for the evening.  Our co-leader, Viviana, had graciously invited us into her family’s home to share in a traditional Christmas meal. The platters of pastelillos (crescent-shaped fried turnovers filled with meat and guava paste respectively) and sausages (both morcilla and a smoked variety that contained hunks of pork and cilantro) first graced the table.  We dug right in.

After a taste of the local moonshine or Pitorro (a flavorless rum that was then steeped in prunes and spices for several months) as well as a few cans of Medelia  (the ubiquitous beer of the island) we sat down to a richly nuanced Puerto Rican feast.  We tucked into our roasted pork, Spanish rice with pigeon peas, banana-leaf wrapped lllame pastelles (sweet potato-like dumpling), fricase of chicken with olives, and fresh-from-the-oil tostones (fried, green plaintains).

We also talked about the unique sticky “savoriness” of Puerto Rican rice, and the foundation of all good Puerto Rican cuisine, sofrito.  Most home cooks make their own version from sweet peppers, garlic, onion, herbs and oil but the refrigerated section of any local supermarket will yield dozens of pre-made sofritos of varying degrees of quality.

For dessert, we were pulled generous shots of strong Puerto Rican coffee by our host, which proved to be a bitter antidote to the sweet and rich coconut tembleque, a wobbly flan-like dessert that “trembles” when you eat it.  Over steaming cups of coffee, the merits of the traditional calderos were discussed, the aluminum cooking pots that get all the credit for the perfect rice all Puerto Ricans seem to be gifted at making.

A TRIP TO THE MARKET WITH A TROPICAL NATURALIST

On one of the first evenings of our trip, we met up with Chef Rebecca of Afrodita catering at the Santurce market.  A Puerto Rico Slow Food member, chef-instructor and island caterer, Chef Rebecca specializes in vegetarian Puerto Rican cuisine.   Without meat, she uses the wonderful array of indigenous Puerto Rican produce and products to create dishes that taste wonderful and boast medicinal properties as well.

Our tour of the market started with a description of the incredible variety of root vegetables Puerto Ricans use in their cooking.  For those of us who are most familiar with potatoes and their kin, these hairy, gnarly, tubular (and often huge) specimens were a sight to behold.  We were shown two different types of taro, batata, llame, yautia and cassava, and quickly explained the nutritive properties of each.  Many of us also took a keen interest in the hanging bunches of plaintains in varying stages of ripeness.  Chef Rebecca explained that the green, hard plaintains are eaten in a savory manner, used for frying (especially in mofongo) or in stews and plaintain balls.  The yellow or black plaintains are a popular breakfast food when baked and sprinkled with sugar.  Interestingly, she recommended that green plaintains be eaten before the sun sets as they are slightly harder to digest, and will not sit well in your stomach while sleeping.  We also took a closer look at papaya, noting that the peppery seeds are great for cleansing the body.  Finally, we left with a giant hunk of Puerto Rican pumpkin, or calabaza.

After our market rounds, we made our way back to Chef Rebecca’s cooking studio for a hands-on cooking class.  First, she showed us some staples of Puerto Rican cuisine including annatto seed as well as a few plants she finds to be underutilized in the country including the wispy, outer husk of the coconut (great to use as a strainer instead of cheesecloth) and lemongrass, almost a weed on the island and a lovely tea when steeped with ginger in hot water.

With a little help from the group, Chef Rebecca made a wonderful rendition of the classic tuber stew, sancocho.  Typically made with meat, this vegetarian version combined root vegetables, plaintain dumplings and lentils,and  made up in richness what it lacked in meatiness.  For the only time on the trip, we were served brown rice to go with our meal – a reminder on how sacred white rice is to this culture -  as well as baked batatas.   And to round out the meal, we enjoyed mojito (a traditional garlic dipping sauce) on the cracker-like cassava bread, a traditional food introduced to the island by the native Taino population.

A TASTE OF PUERTO RICO’S CULINARY INFLUENCES

Puerto Rico prides itself on being a melting pot of cultures.  Dance, art, architecture have all be uniquely altered by the blending of centuries of immigrants.  Food is no exception.

Throughout our trip, we were reminded of many influences the Spanish left behind.  From the language to the wrought-iron work in Old San Juan, Spanish cuisine has also played a large role in shaping the way the country eats.  Some of San Juan’s most beloved “diners” are Spanish, and we were lucky enough to be staying right around the corner from one of the best, Kasalta.  When mornings would allow, many of us took in our first meal of the day here enjoying jamon y queso on a mallorca (soft roll) sprinkled with powdered sugar and dense tortilla Espaniola studded with potatoes.

We also enjoyed a modern take on the traditional Spanish meal at Cien Vinos, a wine store specializing in tapas in the Guaynabo section of San Juan.  We were treated to small bites including stuffed rice balls, salmon rilletes and white bean spread on toast then plates of seafood rich paella and finally, sweet mounds of creatively flavored flan, including one that used the most famous of Spanish cheese, Manchego.  Our lovely host, Franco, narrated the wine selection for the evening, a combination of wines from across all regions of Spain.

We also indulged in Argentine pizza (a favorite among the locals; both crispy and chewy owing to a large quantity of oil in the dough), and witnessed the many Dominican Republic influences on the cuisine, especially in the roadside stands of Pinones.

THE FLAVORS OF LOIZA

A visit to the small northeastern town of Loiza is like a walk back in time.  First settled by escaped and freed slaves from Nigeria, it has remained isolated both by its cultural proclivities and geographic positioning, flanked by two rivers and the ocean.  A tight-knit community, Loiza works hard to preserve its traditions including an emphasis on music and dance as well as food and art.  However, it is also an economically depressed community that looks upon tourist dollars as it only salvation.  A visit to Loiza now will help to save this incredibly special community.

Our first stop for the day was the Loiza Cultural Center, where we were immediately met with the deep, rhythmic sounds of the bomba and plena.

A percussion-driven musical tradition, the bomba is a pact between the dancer and the drummer.  Unchoreographed, the dancer “leads” the drums to change beats and rhythms according to their movements.  Once settled into the performance, the drummer can then play with the dancer trying to control his/her steps.  Rooted in dance customs brought to Puerto Rico from Africa, the bomba is truly a wonder to watch, and after being taught a few steps by our host, a joy to take part in.  Later on in the day, we were also able to take in a performance of the Ayala family, one of two of Puerto Rico’s most prominent musical families in the tradition and world ambassadors for the music and dance of Loiza.

Next it was off to visit the cathedral of St. Patrick in the center of town, a perfect example of the seamless blending of cultures in Loiza.  It was St. Patrick that was credited to ending a plague of ants that was ruining the local food supply, thus, their homage to him in this gold-plated altar.

A quick side trip also took us to a local geological curiosity, Cueva de Maria, a cave where Tainos allegedly lived before the arrival of Christopher Columbus, and the home to a happy hermit for many years.   It is now host to enormous hanging hives of honeybees.

Returning back to the cultural center, we sat down to learn about the history of caldo santo (Loiza’s town dish) from the woman keeping the tradition alive, Carmen L. Rivera Rodríguez, lovingly referred to as Dona Yiya.  A hearty stew, caldo santo is one of the few examples of Puerto Rican cooking that uses coconut milk in a savory capacity.

Incorporating fish (in ours, kingfish) as well as tubers, caldo santo loosely translates to the “medicinal soup of saints” and is eaten during their yearly celebration, Fiestas Tradicionales de Santiago Apóstol.  The festival also makes good use of the discarded coconut shells, turning them into elaborately decorated masks.

Our next course was enjoyed at El Buren de Lula, owned and operated by María Dolores de Jesús (Sector El Jobos Tel. 787-876-1095).  Dona Lula cooks over an open flame on a buren, the traditional flat metal cook top once a mainstay in every Loiza home.

She makes everything herself, by hand, from local ingredients just as she has been doing for decades.  People come from all over to sample her land crab with rice, stewed red beans with pig’s feet, and crabmeat cassava empanadas cooked in banana leaves.  Her kitchen was as full of character as her food, and she is a living museum to a foodway that is slowly disappearing.   In anticipation of our next stop, we picked up some sweet empanadas seasoned with cinnamon, a gift for the artist Samuel Lind, who was welcoming us to his home.

When you first enter the house of Samuel Lind, you feel as if you immediately understand the vibrancy of the community that fuels his work.  His imagery and colors depict Loiza in its raw, round and often emotional, state.  Working as a sculptor, a painter and a lithograph artist, Samuel uses his birthplace as inspiration…the vejigantes (colorfully dressed evil spirits) of the festival, the bomba dancers in their sweeping, pure white, costumes, the wildly green mangroves and of course, the food.  We took a glimpse into his childhood kitchen in one of his prints, and saw women at the buren in many others, women just like Dona Lula.  Because we were all cooks, he wanted us to see his own kitchen.  There hung a captivating portrait of mother earth, rotund, commanding and compassionate.  His display of this piece in his kitchen made us all realize just how much faith and honor he placed in food.

When we finally headed back to the vans, the beat of the bomba reverberating through our limbs, we were all in a magical trance.  There are not many times in your traveling life when a community feels so real, so rich, and so endearing.  We are forever indebted to Loiza for its hospitality, and its willingness to showcase its intimate culture to us strangers.  It was as delicious as it was inspirational.  Thank you.

OUR CONTRIBUTION

While we were traveling, we made sure that we showed our appreciation to our project partners and hosts in the form of a small departing gift.   We were thrilled to get a donation of FEED 100 bags from Whole Foods Market Bowery to give out along with bacon chocolate bars by Vosges.  Every FEED bag helps to provide 100 school lunches to children living in Africa through the World Food Program.

In addition, our chef-volunteers were given a copy  of the new cookbook, The Dumpling: A Seasonal Guide by Wai Chu and Connie Lovatt.  A seminal guide to the wonderful world of dumplings, this book also highlights two traditional Puerto Rican recipes including wrapped cassava “tamales” stuffed with chickpeas and pork) and plantain dumplings in chicken broth.  A wonderful reminder of just a few of the many incredible dishes we learned throughout the week.