International Association Of Culinary Professionals And New Orleans Chefs To Give Back To Kids Of New Orleans

Cooking professionals organize kids' recipe- and story-writing contest and chef demonstrations:
"Heirloom Recipes: The Food Legacy of My Family"

Top New Orleans chefs will visit six schools and after-school programs January 14-18, to show how to prepare their personal favorite heirloom recipes and to give youngsters an example to follow. Six finalists will be announced on March 24, 2008. Those students will have the opportunity to show off their skills to an audience of IACP members and cook with Chef John Besh at The Savvy Gourmet in New Orleans on April 16, 2008.

All the chefs are volunteering their time and materials to demonstrate how recipes and family cooking traditions can be transmitted from one generation to the next as part of a project by the International Association of Culinary Professionals (www.iacp.com). The IACP 30th Annual International Conference will take place in New Orleans in April. In conjunction with this event, IACP will give back to New Orleans in a number of ways through cooking and education-related projects, including reaching approximately 700 young New Orleanians through a locally-based culinary heritage recipe- and story-writing competition "Heirloom Recipes: The Food Legacy of My Family."

This project is designed to support the children and families of New Orleans by calling attention to the value of taste memories and New Orleans' rich culinary heritage and cultural identity. One of the goals is to demonstrate the practical connection between home cooking and resilient families.

Kids ages 9 to 14 years old are encouraged to submit recipes of their favorite traditional New Orleans dishes. They may experiment to create lighter adaptations that retain full flavor. Their accompanying stories will describe why they love the dishes they choose.

All entries in the contest will be judged by a panel of national culinary experts, New Orleans notables and the participating chefs. Six finalists will be announced on March 24. Those students will have the opportunity to show off their skills to an audience of IACP members and cook with Chef John Besh at The Savvy Gourmet in New Orleans on April 16.

Each participating school and program will receive a substantial Culinary Heritage Grant from The Culinary Trust for future programs. Winning stories and recipes will be posted on the IACP Web site after March 24.

The 30th Annual Conference of the International Association of Culinary Professionals is a gathering of more than 1,000 of the top thought leaders in the culinary world. Our conference theme - Rhythm on the Plate - will explore the strands of celebration and responsibility in our food world. We will celebrate the culture of food, its rhythms and its pleasures, and examine the responsibilities food professionals have to future generations for holding and sustaining this vital and precious commodity. Founded in 1978, the International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP) serves as a resource and support system for food professionals worldwide. Its 4,000 members represent a "who's who" in the world of food. More information is available at www.iacp.com.

The purpose of the IACP Kids in the Kitchen Committee is to support the development of programs that inspire and motivate young people to learn how to cook and to make beneficial food choices as part of a healthy life style.