Trips

Deb F. (CulinaryCorps Dec ’07) recapped the trip experience in her alma mater’s alumni newsletter. A graduate of the Cambridge School of Culinary Arts, Deb F. captured the week with detail, warmth and sincerity. She ended her prose with the following quote:

“Throughout the trip we got to listen, learn, and empathize.
Everyone had a story to share: where they were during the
storm, how long before they http://www.oakleyonorder.com/ could get back to New Orleans
and into their homes, the damage they incurred, the friends
that left for good, the friends who returned to pick up the
pieces and reclaim their lives in the Big Easy. It was probably
the most challenging, intense, emotional, and rewarding
experience I’ve had.”

Click here to check out a great article by author Julie Schwietert featuring CulinaryCorps in Matador Volunteer – an online publication that seeks to promote the incredible work being done by grass-roots organizations and NGOs worldwide, and to connect people with Ray Ban outlet volunteer programs and opportunities that make travel matter.

We are thrilled that both Julie and her husband, Francisco, will be joining us as volunteers during our upcoming June trip. Francisco is a private chef here in New York City Ray Ban Baratas and we hear he has some amazing Cuban specialties up his sleeve. Both Julie and Francisco will be helping to document the trip for our upcoming speaking engagement at this year’s TASTE3 conference in July. Check out the couple’s amazing photography, writing, music and adventures on their website Collazo Projects.

In seven short days CulinaryCorps cooks from around the country arrive in New Orleans, marking our fifth trip to the city. The itinerary this year is bursting with amazing partnerships both new and old. A quick snapshot of the week includes:

Sunday, June 1st: We begin with a Recovery Tour of the wards with Share Our Strength liaison Ashley Graham, then kick off our culinary education with a crawfish boil and calas demonstration led by Poppy Tooker, the Slowfood LA Magliette Calcio A Poco Prezzo convivium leader.

Monday, June 2nd: Our volunteer efforts start off with gusto as we cook dinner for over 500 volunteers at Habitat for Humanity’s Camp Hope. After service, we head to dinner at the legendary Mandina’s and will be joined by Gumbo Tales author and New Orleans cuisine connoisseur, Sara Roahen.

Tuesday, June 3rd: No visit to New Orleans is complete without an early morning trip to the Crescent City Farmers Market. After a quick shop, we continue on to Edible Schoolyard NOLA where we will be launching an “Edible Afternoon” for the 5th and 6th grade classes of Samuel Green Charter School. The students will participate in six culinary stations, including Ancient Roman bread making and butter churning. The day ends with dripping po’boys from Parasol’s and dripping sno-balls from Hansens.

Wednesday, June 4th: Our morning starts early as we head off to the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Our first stop is Pearl River Blues Farm where we will help farm-owner and egg extraordinaire, Amy Phelps, harvest her crops in exchange for a farm-fresh lunch. Shortly thereafter, we arrive at the Gulf Hills Hotel to prepare small plates for over 150 guests at “A Taste of Mississippi” — a fundraiser for the MS Slow Food convivium, confidently championed by Diane Claughton. We will be using locally sourced ingredients to create a menu of over a dozen items, including heritage beef, smoked local quail and, of course, Amy’s amazing blueberries. Once we pack up, we head off for BBQ galore at the MS pulled pork emporium, The Shed.

Thursday, June 5th: We begin at dawn preparing breakfast for the student of Café Reconcile. Our chefs will work side-by-side with the students to create a special “Bistro Menu” for that afternoon’s lunch service as well as http://www.magliettedacalcioit.com launching a mini-workshop on homemade pasta and ravioli making. A quick change of attire and we head to The Southern Food and Beverage Museum to lend our manpower to their Gala Opening — a much-anticipated event for the entire city. The day concludes with a pork-centric meal at the beloved Cochon.

Friday, June 6th: We say goodbye, but hopefully not for long.

We were recently invited to join FohBoh, the new on-line networking community for culinary professionals, and happily jumped on board. Founder Michael Atkinson cheap oakley posted our latest recruitment announcement on their homepage blog – a huge boon for our June trip. The most recent comments made us smile…

At 12:40pm on Apr 15th, 2008, Jim said…

Thanks for highlighting the CulinaryCorps and its mission, which is more important than ever. I recently spotted a news reference to the organization (although I cannot recall where…) and briefly browsed their site. Your post prompts me to learn more about their invaluable work.

From the perspective an epi-curious resident of Planet Earth, I’ve rarely seen such a beautiful convergence of meaning: food, culture and culinary collaboration all happening in a http://www.oakleyonorder.com/ unfamiliar community context in which everyone learns and grows. Brilliant!

At 6:39pm on Apr 15th, 2008, Diane said…

Sounds like a fabulous way to combine education with charity and still get out of town for a whole new perspective. There’s nothing like going someplace else to help other people you don’t even know, even for a short while. This kind of thing opens our eyes and broadens perspective.

Ruth Reichl, editor-in-chief of Gourmet Magazine, helped our recruiting efforts in her weekly e-newsletter, The Gourmet Weekly. Proudly displaying flats of luscious LA strawberries, CulinaryCorps alumni Summer and Danielle were our photogenic ambassadors. Take a peek at the shout-out here.

Anyone who has been to New Orleans between March and June knows that “boil” takes on a whole new meaning. The June trip will find us having our own private crawfish boil at the historic House on Bayou Road with the help of Slow Food rising-star Poppy Tooker and featuring the Bayou beauties from the nets of Joey Fonseca of Des Allmandes Seafood. To prep for the event, we thought a short lesson on crawfish technique would be useful. Chowhound does a good job demonstrating the “speed” method but rest assured, they are as many cheap oakley sunglasses ways to devour a crawfish as there are backyard boils in Spring.

CulinaryCorps invites eligible culinary students and professionals to join our fifth volunteer outreach trip to New Orleans, LA and MS Gulf Coast from June 1-6, 2008.

Currently, a team of twelve cooks, culinary students and food professionals is being selected to volunteer their time and kitchen skills to food-related community projects cheap oakley sunglasses invaluable to the area’s rebuilding efforts. Beyond our service activities, participants will be immersed in the vital culinary culture of the region. Each trip aims to provide both cultural exchange and service opportunities to cooks who believe that good food can lead to great change.

If you are a student, alumni or culinary professional who would like to transform your passion for food into an opportunity to provide support and solidarity, please apply today!

WHEN: June 1-6, 2008

WHERE: New Orleans, Louisiana and MS Gulf Coast

COST: $300 (students) $375 (professionals) + Airfare (Includes: projects, most meals, most events, activities, housing (in the Xavier University Dorms) and transport in New Orleans. It is recommended that each participant brings at least $200 spending money)

REQUIREMENTS: Min. 3 months professional kitchen experience and/or culinary degree. Personal health insurance. Commitment to volunteer expectations.

HOW DOES IT WORK: Each day, CulinaryCorps lends their manpower and enthusiasm to a specific project partner. Tentative projects include: Cooking in the Camp Hope Kitchen, Habitat for Humanity’s Volunteer Housing, Headlining the Slow Food Strawberry Festival Fundraiser in Ocean Springs, MS, working with the Edible Schoolyard New Orleans and preparing lunch alongside the students of Cafe Reconcile. Volunteers will http://www.oakleyonorder.com/ also have the opportunity to learn about the culinary heritage of the city through classes, lectures and tours. The most recent trips have had participants creating over 1,200 healthy meals for the residents of the recovering 9th Ward, surveying over 200 market patrons and creating healthy, balanced and seasonal meals with 40 children from the Samuel Green Charter School. For further specifics of the trip, please contact culinarycorps@gmail.com

TO APPLY: Fill out the 2008-june-culinarycorps-application.doc and return it to culinarycorps@gmail.com. Your application will be reviewed in a timely fashion and if selected, you will be asked to submit a $150 non-refundable deposit to secure your spot. A participant packet with the full itinerary will be e-mailed to you three weeks before the trip.

THESE SLOTS FILL UP QUICKLY…APPLY TODAY.

Please click on the following link to complete the 2008-june-culinarycorps-application.doc

Please send all completed applications to culinarycorps@gmail.com

Many thanks to all of you who have inquired about our upcoming trips. We are pleased to announce that CulinaryCorps will be returning to New Orleans and the Mississippi Gulf coast from:

June 1-6, 2008

We will be recruiting 12 culinary volunteers to join us for this week of service, education and connection.

Applications will be available on line March 1, 2008. Cost per participant (not including airfare) is $300 for students/recent culinary school graduates and $375 for professionals – includes housing, meals and transport in NOLA.

Our friends at the Southern Food and Beverage Museum always have a way with words. Case in point, their great overview of our day archiving culinary treasures at Antoine’s.