Menu for Hope Prizes from Chez Pim
Alright, after spending days putting together a list of everyone else's prizes, now I have time to do my own prizes justice. I've got a whole bunch, and I'm not giving all away yet, mind you. There are a few good tricks up my sleeves yet. I have to keep you guys on your toes now, haven't I?
Ok, so let's see what I managed to ask -that is to say beg- my generous friends and acquaintances to agree to do for Menu for Hope.
Prizes in the US:
UW10: Dinner for two with wine pairing included at Manresa, plus a personal tour of the Manresa Biodynamic Garden.
If you are a Chez Pim reader you surely have heard of Manresa, yes? David - as in Kinch, the chef - has not only generously offered the dinner once again, and even cajoled Jeff Bareillles the sommelier to promise smashing wine pairings to match his delicious menu, but he is going even further. He will also take the winner and a guest on a personal tour of the Manresa biodynamic garden, also known as Love Apple Farm in the Santa Cruz mountains. You can meet Cynthia Sandberg, our wonderful farmer, and see where the amazing produce that supply the (Michelin 2 star!) kitchen at Manresa comes from.
UW11: A chance to have lunch with Harold McGee, the author of the classic tome On Food and Cooking. Last year, Harold agreed to have tea with a lucky winner of Menu for Hope III raffle. Apparently the experience must have been relatively painless, since Harold not only agreed to do it again, he let me sell him for anything I want! Luckily for him, I can be nice - though it is an effort - so, instead of making him do all sorts of interesting things that came to mind - and that would have sold thousands worth of tickets - I'm only offering him to you as a perfect lunch companion. This lunch will have to be claimed somewhere in the Bay Area, of course. No, there's no plane ticket in the prize, you'll have to get yourself here.
Prizes in the UK:
UK33: A unique historic British menu for two at the Hinds Head from Heston Blumenthal of the Fat Duck. Heston will also meet the winner and present autographed copies of all his three books.
The more public side of Heston Blumenthal is the pre-eminent chef-scientist at the Michelin three-star restaurant The Fat Duck, while the side lesser known is the passionate researcher and restorer of historic British dishes. The lucky winner of this prize (and a guest) will dine on a menu that is literally a representation of British cuisine from the 17th and 18th century. Heston promises that they will be outstanding, and some of them will never have been tested before!
UK34: Companion spot on a review dinner with Jay Rayner of the Observer and the Guardian's Word of Mouth blog.
Jay said "This meal will be a London review. so no point bidding if they ain't nearby or planning to be there. (note from me: Menu for Hope won't fly you over either so you're on your own there.) And secondly, I do not guarantee that the cost of the meal I take them on will in any way match the amount they spent on raffle tickets. Somebody here in London recently bid £500 for my company which is a ludicrous sum. Do I now have to be £500 funny? Oh, and it will be at a time convenient to us both but within the next, say, six months. how does that sound?" Brilliant, I said!
Prizes in Europe:
EU31: A tour of elBulli kitchen laboratory at the new Alícia Institute. If it all goes on schedule, by next year, most of the experimental work that has been done at the elBulli Taller in downtown Barcelona will be moved to the new gastronomy research center Alícia, near Barcelona. The lucky winner of this prize will get a tour of the center, hopefully at least part of the time accompanied by Ferran Adrià. Ferran's schedule is absolutely crazy, as you could imagine, so the winner of this prize will have to be a bit flexible. We'll try our best to work out a schedule that is good for everyone concerned.
And as a thoughtful addition, my good friend Mariano of the Adventures of the Silly Disciple blog will offer his services as a special Ferran translator, that is, if the winner is not fluent in Spanish or Catalan themselves. This is a chance of a lifetime!
You can also see the rest of the prizes, or browse by region by visiting our regional host blogs
UK: The Passionate Cook and Cooksister!
Europe: Food Beam
US: West Coast: Rasa Malaysia
US: East Coast: Serious Eats
US: Central: Kalyn's Kitchen
Canada: The Domestic Goddess
Asia Pacific, Australia, New Zealand: Grab Your Fork
and, last but not least, our special Wine Blog Host: Vinography
To Donate and Enter the Menu for Hope Raffle
Here's what you need to do:
1. Choose a prize or prizes of your choice from our Menu for Hope above
2. Go to the donation site at Firstgiving and make a donation.
3. Please specify which prize you'd like in the 'Personal
Message' section in the donation form when confirming your donation.
You must write-in how many tickets per prize, and please use the prize
Each $10 you donate will give you one raffle ticket toward a prize
of your choice. For example, a donation of $50 can be 2 tickets for
EU01 and 3 tickets for EU02 - 2xEU01, 3xEU02.
4. If your company matches your charity donation, please check the box and fill in the information so we could claim the corporate match.
5. Please check the box to allow us to see your email address so that we can contact you in case you win. Your email address will not be shared with anyone.
Check back on Chez Pim on Wednesday, January 9 for the results of the raffle.
Thanks for your participation, and good luck in the raffle!