As we prepare to celebrate with our friends and family this season, it’s important for us to remember to help those who are less fortunate. In solely the past 12 months, many parts of the world have been affected by unprecedented levels of destruction and tragedy.
Donating money to charities in regions affected by disaster is one way we can help. Beginning today, Pim of Chez Pim is holding A Menu for Hope II to support earthquake victims in Northern India and Pakistan. Pim recently asked food bloggers to each pledge a prize to be awarded in a raffle lottery. By raising money through raffle ticket sales, we can all help support UNICEF’s earthquake relief efforts.
For each $5 US donation you make, you’ll receive a ticket towards a drawing for a specific prize. Since there are many prizes, you’ll have to specify which prize you’d like your ticket to go towards. You can also enter more than one draw by buying more than one ticket, and you can buy multiple tickets towards the same draw (if you want to increase your chances of winning a certain prize).
Pim has kindly posted a listing of all the prizes on her blog, so feel free to browse and buy tickets towards the prizes that you’d most like to win. Just click here to donate and win!
The prize I’ve pledged consists of The Cook’s Book and three jars of Anton Kozlik’s Canadian Mustard. Both are completely new and unopened, and you’re welcome to choose any three flavours of mustard from www.mustardmaker.com. I’ll also gladly pay for standard shipping worldwide to anywhere amazon.com, amazon.ca, or amazon.co.uk ships.
I chose these items because they are among my favourites, and I’m certain that anyone who likes to cook and eat won’t be disappointed. The Cook’s Book is an extraordinary cookbook collaboration of 18 master chefs, including Charlie Trotter, Pierre Hermé, Ferran Adrià, Ken Hom, and Shaun Hill. The book includes over 650 recipes, and is divided into 24 chapters, each written by a particular chef. In each chapter, the chef guides you through the topic, from basic techniques to advanced signature dishes. So for example, Ferran Adrià is responsible for the chapter on Foams, while Charlie Trotter, teaches you about fish and shellfish.
The biggest reason why I think this is such a great cookbook, is because it includes clear step-by-step colour photographs, guiding you through both basic and complex recipes and techniques. The chapters are also fairly diverse and include everything from making basic sauces and dressings, to Middle Eastern and Thai cuisine.
Even if you don’t win, I’d still urge you to check out the Cook’s Book at your local bookstore, read more about it on Amazon, or take a look at a few sample pages here.
The second part of my prize consists of three jars of Anton Kozlik’s Canadian Mustard. Free of preservatives and truly delicious, I enjoy Anton Kozlik’s mustard on nearly anything that’s savory. Tara and Jennifer have also had great things to say about it too. You can choose from a wide variety of mustards at www.mustardmaker.com.
Unless the winner lives in Toronto, I’ll probably ship the book directly by Amazon, and I’ll buy the mustards locally and ship them myself. As I mentioned above, I’ll be glad to cover the cost of shipping, but I won’t pay for any duties, taxes, or any other fees incurred at the destination. If you have any questions, please feel free to e-mail me or leave a comment below.
Many thanks for everyone’s support, and special thanks to Pim for organizing this wonderful and most worthwhile event!
Thanks Clement for your generous gifts. We've raised so much money I could hardly believe my eyes every time I check the donation tally.
It's the amazing effort from everyone that made this campaign so successful, thank you for your part in it.
cheers
Pim
Posted by: Pim | December 21, 2005 at 04:48 PM
I really enjoy your blog and the amazing food you whip up. I was undecided about purchasing Bouchon but after googling it I found your review and this wonderful blog (it now resides comfortably next to the stove for inspiration). I have been looking for the same extact plates you served Quintet of Sorbets with Fruit Mélange on and the various other dishes. I would really like to know who makes them because I have looked everywhere for these plates. I have noticed them before on Made To Order but have never been able to find these plates. I looked at the mustard and it looks so delicious I just may have to order some for myself. Thank you for the great blog and I hope you can tell me who produces the plates.
Posted by: Patrick | December 22, 2005 at 03:09 PM
Happy New Year Clement!
Posted by: VK Narayanan | January 01, 2006 at 05:15 AM
Happy New Year Clement!
Those mustards really sound like something else. Do you know if it's possible to get them in the States?
Posted by: Lady Amalthea | January 01, 2006 at 03:59 PM
Happy New Year, Clement! (from a fellow Torontonian!!!)
I love your site ... keep up the good work!
Posted by: Ivonne | January 03, 2006 at 01:59 PM
This was a brilliant idea. I'm too late to donate to this specific one, but I hope it was a big success.
Posted by: coglethorpe | January 06, 2006 at 02:35 PM
Pim - Thanks so much for organizing this wonderful event, and congratulations on its tremendous success!
Patrick - Thanks for writing. I buy most of my plates from Caban (www.caban.com), which is the sister housewares store of Club Monaco in Canada. The shallow bowls I used for the sorbets is part of their basic line of dishes made by Monno (on the back it says Supreme Porcelain Monno) and cost about $6 Cdn each.
The other line of dishes I use from Caban are the ones with the subtle blue circles. These are from the Loft Weiss series by Thomas Rosenthal Group. At Caban, they're about $13 Cdn for a salad dish or $22 for a charger. I was surprised to recently learn that The French Laundry currently uses this line of dishes to plate one of it's desserts!
VK - Happy New Year to you too!
Lady Amalthea - The Natural Group (http://www.naturalgroup.net/products.php3?productid=46) sells Anton Kozlik's mustard by mail order in the U.S. I think some Whole Foods may also carry it, and the Kozlik's Mustard website (http://www.mustardmaker.com) also has online ordering.
Ivonne - Thanks, and congratulations on your new site!
Colglethorpe - Yes, I think we raised about $100 through this prize alone.
Posted by: Clement | January 16, 2006 at 11:49 PM