As always, spring with Recipe for Success has been full of fun! We're wrapping up our event season with VegOut! in Style, the season finale of We're Cooking Now! A Gala in Small Bites. The dinner party, co-hosted by Divya and Chris Brown and Claire and Rick Thielke will feature a menu of "clean, well-edited flavors and textures" by chef Kevin Naderi of Roost who is currently up for Food & Wine's Best New Chef award.
Learn more and book your tickets here.
Yes. You read that right. Chef Jean Philippe Gaston likes to shake things up in the kitchen at Haven's Cove Cold Bar. At RecipeHouse for Chef Surprise guests was no different.
Now we've done stawberry and mint to great satisfaction, and we were wowed but still following as he swirled a stream of yuzu into the strawberry sorbet. But then Chef Jean Philippe whipped out the sriracha bottle and, as with much of his wildly inventive approaches to the art - and science - of gastronomy, he gave us pause. But again, like his other zaney concoctions, this one was right on the mark. Sweet and tangy, slow heat, finished with the cooling tingle of mint... quite a ride for the taste buds.
The Chef Surpríse series is held the first Monday of every month at RecipeHouse and features a rotation of Houston's hottest chefs. To learn more and sign up to attend upcoming dinners, visit our website.
"... Eight years ago, Gracie Cavnar founded Recipe for Success in response to increasing childhood obesity rates. At the time, the National Conference of State Legislatures had found a startling nin million children were overweight and consuequently at risk for chronic condigions, including Type 2 diabetes and heart disease. "It boils down to the food we eat and the way we eat it," Cavnar says. "We had a culture of all-day grazing and eating on the run." Her solution was simple enough in concept, yet monumental in impact: teach children the pleasures of mindful eating. ..."
See the full article published in Tribeza-Austin's May issue in an e-reader format here (flip to page 128!).
Angelica Archilla is our volunteer of the month for May! She was raised in Colombia, but has lived all over the world before moving to and falling in love with Houston! Angelica has a burning passion for nutrition and fitness. She loves to try new recipes and competes in triathlons and half marathons in her spare time. She started volunteering with Recipe for Success 3 years ago with Chef Kendall at Rodriguez Elementary. Angelica took some time off, but came back to us earlier this year. Before starting back up, we had a chat about how she specifically wanted to help parents make healthier decisions for their children. I knew in that moment that she would be the perfect fit for our parent class at Rodriguez. She thinks the parent class is "right on point" by boosting awareness and education about nutrition and the current obesity epidemic. She says the class is more like a team because everyone has the same end goal, better health for our children. They are able to share tips, input, opinions, and recipes with each other.
Her most memorable experience with Recipe for Success thus far is a field trip to Fiesta Mart. It was a revealing and enlightening moment for the parents about healthy choices they can make in the grocery store.
We are happy to have Angelica apart of the Recipe for Success team and appreciate all of her hard work at Rodriguez!
Our parent class is taught in Spanish every other Wednesday morning at Rodriguez Elementary. It follows a similar structure to our Seed-to-Plate Nutrition Education; teaching parents the nutritional benefits of gardening and cooking through experiential learning. If you would like to bring a parent class to a school near you, email us at info@recipe4success.org!
Recipe for Success recently chatted with TechNewsWorld about how we've utilized Grow Interactive's garden planning application and resources at GrowVeg.com to lay out our Recipe Gardens.
Learn more and read the full story here.
At Rodriguez Elementary, our Seed-to-Plate Nutrition Education™ students aren't the only ones getting schooled in healthy cooking and gardening. Every other Wednesday, a group of enthusiastic moms attend a class with RFS instructors Chef Claire Olivo and Chef Ruth Riojas to learn how to provide nutritious meals to their families. Recently, the Spanish-speaking class took a field trip to the nearby Fiesta Mart (also a Seed-to-Plate Nutrition Education™ sponsor!) to up their smart shopper savvy, including how to select fresh produce, lighten up favorite dishes, and analyze nutrition labels. Fiesta Mart team members welcomed the group, helped to advise our moms in navigating their offerings and even gave out goodie bags. Thank you, Fiesta, for hosting our successful field trip!
See more photos of the field trip here. Interested in putting together a parent class of your own with Recipe for Success? Email us at info@recipe4success.org!
During our VegOut! 30 Ways in 30 Days Challenge, 11 MacGregor Elementary School teachers and their PTO president, Tiffany Spurlock, participated in a cooking class led by Seed-to-Plate Nutrition Education™ instructors Chef Alyssa and Recipe Gardens Coordinator, Justin. The group prepared and enjoyed an impressive and healthy spring feast that inlcuded: sun-dried tomato hummus with veggie dippers, kale salad, coconut milk polenta with stir-fried seasonal veggies, and gluten-free macaroons! All who took part had tons of fun while reinforcing healthy eating habits.
Kale salad... YUM!
Bon appetite!
At Churrascos, the offerings are extensive and it's unlikely you'll be disappointed, no matter your selection. However, while demonstrating for Chef Surpríse guests the secret preparation for Churrascos signature plate, Chef David Cordúa confides that half the tickets the kitchen sees include this reknowned cut of meat. We may not dine on steak often, but when we do, we're pleased as punch if it's The Churrasco: Chargrilled center-cut beef tenderloin, seasoned with chimichurri and served with crispy yuca cake, pickled onions and bearnaise sauce.
The Chef Surpríse series is held the first Monday of every month at RecipeHouse and features a rotation of Houston's hottest chefs. To learn more and sign up to attend upcoming dinners, visit our website.
Chef Cordúa continued the parade of Latin flavor by demonstrating for Chef Surpríse guests how to make a homemade pasta that relied on a south of the border staple - plantains! The fruit lended the dish a bright yellow hue and a sweet undertone that paired nicely with savory sous vide carnitas, achiote, poblano, citrus and baby arugula.
The Chef Surpríse series is held the first Monday of every month at RecipeHouse and features a rotation of Houston's hottest chefs. To learn more and sign up to attend upcoming dinners, visit our website.
"Applause, applause for Edward Wilkerson, the popular designer for Lafayette 148, who wowed the ladies and a few gents at the Recipe for Success Dress for Dinner fashion presentation at Neiman Marcus. The spring frocks, Capri pants and long shirts with wide belting were hits with the crowd of women who appreciate stylish substance over short-lived, pop trends. The fashion standout in this lively crowd was Bob Cavnar, who wore a black kilt and vintage Muhammad Ali boxing shoes. ..."
Read the entire CultureMap story featured in Shelby's Social Scene section here.
