Questlove to DJ the Great Chefs Event 
A F T E R   P A R T Y !

Philly's own Questlove will once again DJ the Great Chefs Event After Party at Alla Spina. The Grammy Award-winning drummer of The Roots and bandleader on The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon, will be spinning tunes all night for After Party Access ticket holders, event sponsors, chefs, and volunteers.

 

How can I be there? 

Only 79 After Party Access tickets are left! Purchase your tickets now.  

Sponsorship Opportunities still available! Please contact Genevieve Lynch at genevieve@vetrifoundation.org or click here for more info. 

 
James Beard Nominees Featured at 
the Great Chefs Event 
 

We knew our Great Chefs Event lineup was star-studded. Turns out the James Beard Award nominating committee agrees. Congratulations to all our nominees! 

 

Best Chef: Great Lakes

Jonathon Sawyer - The Greenhouse Tavern, Cleveland

 

Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic

Brad Spence - Amis, Philadelphia

 

Best Chef: New York City

April Bloomfield - The Spotted Pig

Mark Ladner - Del Posto 

Jonathan Waxman - Barbuto

 

Best Chef: South

Alon Shaya - Domenica, New Orleans

 

Best Chef: West

Michael Cimarusti - Providence, Los Angeles

Jon Shook - Animal, Los Angeles

 

Outstanding Wine Program

A16, San Francisco (Shelley Lindgren)

 

Outstanding Service

Vetri, Philadelphia (Marc Vetri & Jeff Benjamin)

 

Outstanding Restaurateur

Donnie Madia, One Off Hospitality Group, (Blackbird, Avec, The Publican, and others), Chicago

 

Outstanding Restaurant

Hearth, NYC (Marco Canora)

Spiaggia, Chicago (Tony Mantuano & Chris Marchino)

 

Outstanding Chef

Michael Anthony - Gramercy Tavern, NYC

Suzanne Goin - Lucques, Los Angeles

Nancy Silverton - Pizzeria Mozza, Los Angeles

Marc Vetri - Vetri, Philadelphia 

 

See our full list of Participating Chefs.

 
Eatiquette Launches in Philadelphia 
Public School

Wednesday, March 26th marked the official launch of Eatiquette at Ziegler Elementary, our ninth partner school and first Philadelphia public school partnership. Ziegler is a core school of the Healthy Futures Initiative  sponsored by the Independence Blue Cross Foundation. 

 

The lunchroom was alive with engaged, excited kids dining on baked ziti, roasted broccoli, green salad and berries with yogurt for dessert. Partnering with the School District of Philadelphia has been a goal of our initiative since day one and we're thrilled to be working with the fantastic administrative and food services team at Ziegler.

 

Read press coverage of our first official day of service:

Chef Marc Vetri Wants to Bring Family-Style Dining to All Phila. Public Schools 

 
Join Our Team in the Walk+Run Against Hunger this Saturday 4/12

On your mark, get set . . . GO! The Vetri Foundation for Children has been invited to be one of the beneficiaries of the Stroehmann Walk + Run Against Hunger. We will be fielding a team, and we'd love for you to join us. The money that is raised through our team's registration fees, donations, and pledges (minus a small admin fee) will come right back to the Vetri Foundation.

 

WhenSaturday April 12th
Where: Gather at the Art Museum and walk or run along Martin Luther King Jr. Drive 
How far: 5K 
How much: If you are interested in walking in the event, it's free!  If you are interested in running in the event, the registration fee is $30 (and includes a t-shirt).
How do you register? If you are interested in registering, you can register  here. Please make sure to list your team name as Vetri Foundation.
How can you raise more money? If you'd like, you can use our fundraising page or create your own. These links can be sent to friends and family if you think they'd like to support your efforts. Again - please make sure you select Vetri Foundation as the beneficiary. 
 
 
The Bigger Picture: 
Rethinking School Lunch 

The statistics that make us crazy, inspire and drive us to carry out our mission every day: 

  • 5,500,000,000 meals are served annually in the U.S. National School Lunch Program.  
  • A boy born in the U.S. in 2000 has a 1 in 3 lifetime risk for being diagnosed with diabetes.
  • An African-American or Hispanic girl born in 2000 has a 1 in 2 life-time risk for being diagnosed with diabetes.
  • 16 million U.S. children live in homes without access to enough nutritious food.
  • 2/3 of students in the National School Lunch Program qualify for free or reduced-price meals because of their families' incomes.
  • A student eats approximately 4,000 school meals between kindergarten and 12th grade.
  • 1 in 3 U.S. children ages 2-19 are overweight or obese.
  • Between 1980 and 2008, the percentage of obese young people increased by 3 times.
  • 62% of children ages 12-17 drink at least one soda or other sugar-sweetened beverage per day.

Our latest reads:

Rethinking School Lunch: A planning framework from the Center for Ecoliteracy

States Need Updated School Kitchen Equipment 

 
Featured Recipe from My Daughter's Kitchen

Our spring My Daughter's Kitchen cooking program is in full swing. Follow along in Thursday's Philadelphia Inquirer or on the My Daughter's Kitchen Blog. Here's yesterday's featured recipe: 

 

Turkey Lettuce Wraps

(Makes 6 servings)

 

3 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

2 teaspoons cornstarch

� teaspoon sugar

� teaspoon salt

1 pound ground turkey

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons chopped fresh ginger

1 tablespoon chopped garlic

� teaspoon red pepper flakes

3 tablespoons finely chopped green onion

About 20 cup shaped lettuce leaves, such as Bibb, Boston or iceberg, washed and dried

  1. In a small bowl, combine the soy sauce, vinegar, cornstarch, sugar, and salt and stir well to dissolve the cornstarch and combine everything into a smooth sauce.
  2. Place the ground turkey in a medium bowl and use a spoon to separate it into five or six big clumps. Add the soy sauce mixture and gently mix the seasonings into the ground turkey, using your hands. Set aside for 10 minutes.
  3. To cook, heat a large, deep skillet over medium-high heat until very hot. Add the oil and swirl to coat the pan and then toss in the ginger and garlic. Cook, tossing once, until fragrant but not browned, not quite one minute.
  4. Add the ground turkey, and using a spatula or a large slotted spoon, break up the meat and spread it out over the hot pan to help it cook evenly. Let it cook until it changes color on one side, about two minutes. Then turn the uncooked side onto the hot pan and let it cook another minute or two undisturbed. Toss well, using your spatula to break up any large chunks. When the meat is cooked, add the red pepper flakes and green onions and toss well. Remove from the heat and toss again to make sure everything is mixed well.
  5. Arrange lettuce cups on a serving platter and fill each one with a spoonful or two of the cooked beef. Enjoy!
This week's full story: Cooking trumps spring fever!