Chef Demos at Common Threads Fundraiser!

Iron Chef contestant, Chef Dena Marino, MC Hospitality Group was our headliner and closing act for Kids Eat Miami's inaugural fundraiser event for Common Threads! I'll be posting the chef's individual posts soon. Also, all the recipes will be posted on Kids Eat Miami site soon.

I can't wait to hear the tally on how much this event raised. For a first, I think everyone did a FANTASTIC job of pulling together for a great cause! 

Thanks to Jungle Island for hosting this event and to all the participating sponsors, auction donors, organizers and especially to the volunteers. The kids love ya! Please visit Common Threads to see how you can get involved in this community project. And let's not forget Chef Michelle Bernstein who started the Miami chapter.

Common Threads Chef instructor and Nutrolution, Rachael Richardson, RD, LN/D made a delicious, very fluffy Tabbouleh using quinoa instead of bulgar wheat.

Kelly Saks, Miss Earth Florida teaches adolescents success through ecology (T.A.S.T.E.). A vegetarian herself, she does a great job promoting healthy eating and the kids related to her.

Wok Star Eleanor Hoh gives monthly cooking classes in Miami. I made a sizzling beef with baby bok choy and bell pepper. I wanted to show a tasty, one-dish dinner for busy weeknights can be simple and easy.

Chef Shawn Fralin, Rakkasan Chef and his teenage kids made Conch Soup from the Overtown CookBook. As he says, can be served hot and sassy or chilled and spicy, umm.

Great turnout for the chef demos even though the other activities were way out in Jungle Island. What I noticed was the minute people smelled food, they were THERE!

I couldn't resist doing the celebrity chef photo op.

Buy tix to Common Threads Fundraiser

Excited to announce chef lineup for Common Threads healthy eating demos at Jungle Island! Iron Chef contestant, Chef Dena Marino will be headlining this Saturday at 2pm. Posting schedule soon.

The Common Threads kids and I will be wokking up a healthy, easy, sizzling one dish dinner for busy weeknights: beef with baby bok choy. And if they can do it, so can you!

Bring the kids, head out to Jungle Island, there'll be lots to see and do. $10 off usual entrance of $35 for a good cause plus you can visit Jungle Island!

Kudos to all the organizations for joining up to help on this important issue to fight childhood obesity and nutrition.

You must buy your tickets AHEAD, click to KidsEatMiami for details and find out more about Common Threads and why you should get involved!

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Nothing Better Than Getting Kids Cooking! Updated

I love setting the tone and mood for this Common Threads class I gave to 8-12 yr. olds earlier this week at W.J. Bryan Elementary in North Miami. So honored to be invited to participate in this wonderful program and had so much fun with the kids. Glad to be part of their day and be able to show a healthy, Pineapple Stir Fried Rice dish using brown rice. If you like the sound of this, you can make it yourself at home!

Just a few decorations and a few goodies. Also brought them some Fiji Water and San-J Intl. Tamari samplers to try, they lit up their day! The students really enjoyed their moment frying in cast iron woks! New experience, score. I'm also probably the only instructor who's not a chef and the most strict. Best part for me was when one of the kids came and gave me a hug!

Here's another short post of my wonderful Common Threads experience!

There are many ways you can get involved, just visit their site, below is a brief description how it started and a little about the Miami Chapter. Many upcoming fundraising events includes numerous restaurants who will be donating a percentage to Common Threads! More details here.

Here's a short video and wonderful explanation by Chef Michelle Bernstein!

Hope to see you out there for some fun and food and all for a worthy cause!

Here's Mango and Lime's wonderful writeup about another school who participated in the Common Threads program.

Mimi Chacin, Miami coordinator for Common Threads gives a wonderful summary. Mimi is herself a chef! :
Common Threads is a non-profit organization with a mission to educate children about the importance of nutrition and physical well being, as well as foster an appreciation of cultural diversity through cooking.

A little background on the organization – founded in 2003 by Chef Art Smith in Chicago, Common Threads started with one class out of a church basement, and has grown to serve nearly 1000 students per year at public schools in Chicago, Miami, Washington DC and Los Angeles. Our Miami chapter was spearheaded by Chef Michelle Bernstein in 2009. Our programming consists of a 10 week session in which a group of 16 students, ages 8 – 12, meet once per week to learn how to prepare 2 to 3 ethnic, wholesome recipes. Led by trained Chef Instructors, (we are lucky to have Alicia as our Chef Instructor at WJ Bryan Elementary) and a dedicated team of volunteers, the students apply their new skills in our hands-on after school cooking classes, and come to learn about different cultures through their food.

See the full gallery on Posterous

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