chez pim

happy holidays!

Menu for Hope extended through the weekend

Menu for Hope raffle is extended through the weekend. It looks like there are a bunch people who made mistakes in their raffle bids and donation forms so I am going to give until the end of this weekend to correct everything.

When the great folks at Firstgiving get into their office at 9am EST, someone there is going to close the donation page and then send me the spreadsheet of the donors and their raffle bids for our drawing. That will be the hard stop for the campaign right there.

So, there's a bit of time left if you want to donate and get more raffle tickets you missed the first time. If you have any problem at all with the donation, please email support@firstgiving.com and they will be happy to help you.

Meanwhile, you probably see that you can keep up with how much we've raised with the neat little widget just to the right of this post. That came courtesy of Derek Slager, who also helped me figure out the odds on our tip sheet. Thanks Derek!

Seventy-eight thousand dollars!!

Wow.
Wow.
Wow.

Will we make $80K, you think? A bit more time to go....

$73K!!

....and counting! Have you given to Menu for Hope yet? If not, now would be the time!

Check out Menu for Hope tip sheet on what prizes have the best chances!

Menu for Hope Tip Sheet

(Raffle is extended through the weekend.)

Friday is the final day of our Menu for Hope 4. We beat our last year's record with a whole day more to go, and now let's see how far we can really run!

To nudge you over to our donation page to finally give and make your raffle choices, I've decided to give in to popular demands and show you the odds for each prize. Consider this a tip sheet before you bet on the races. ;-)

I'm not going to give you exact odds, mind you, because those numbers will be inaccurate as soon as I publish this post. What I can do is to break the prizes down to a few categories, as follow..

Great odds
These are great prizes that for some reason or another have been overlooked. Some of these have odds as great as 1 in 2 chances of winning. Get your raffle tickets in for these prizes if you really want to win.

Good odds
These are great prizes that have a number of bidders, but are still pretty good odds to win. Time for you to throw your hat in the ring!

Long shots
These are popular prizes that have got a lot of raffle bids already. Chances are you're not going to win, but that doesn't mean you can't take your chances at them!

Hail-Mary shots
These are prizes that are extremely hot, and so the odds of you winning are tiny. But the prizes are so great - some of them once in a lifetime chances - that you might as well throw a raffle ticket in and pray for your life! Who knows, it only takes one ticket to win!

Are you behind on your Christmas shopping list? Give them hope!

We are getting so close to 50K I can smell it! It's pretty clear now that we will beat our last year's record before the campaign ends at the end of the week, but by how much, that's for YOU to decide.

We have so many great prizes on our Menu for Hope this year that some of them haven't enjoyed as much attention as they deserve. That means, my friends, you've got really good odds at getting those wonderful prizes with your $10 raffle ticket.

Have you finished your holiday shopping yet? If you're running behind, why not consider getting some on your list Menu for Hope raffle tickets instead of a present? They can feel good about helping the hungry, and they might even win something. It's great all around.

My Europe host Fanny at Foodbeam has put up a list of her favorite prizes on her blog, while Adam over in New York showed you the under-appreciated prizes his East Coast list. Jeanne and Johanna in London also has one. Check them out.

*New: also some good odds from our Canadian host Jennifer at Domestic Goddess.

Here are a few lovely ones that are still waiting for you!

More pictures from Lesotho

Bokang Khatala

Bokang Khatala lives with her husband and six children in the village of Malimong Tebellong in Lesotho. She is 44 years old and has lived in Malimong all my life. Her family used to be very poor and always hungry until she started conservation farming. Now she produces enough food for her family and even some extra to sell. This year she used the money she made to pay for her children's school fees.

More pictures from Lesotho

Maleetoane Khali

Maleetoane Khali working in her field. She follows conservation farming techniques that help to preserve moisture in the soil, stop the soil from being eroded and produce bigger yields - all without need for tractors or oxen, which very few people have access to.

She is a 52-year-old farmer in the village of Tebellong-Ha-Abisae near Qachaís Nek in Lesotho. She has a husband and 8 children. Beore she started conservation farming, it was very hard to live. There was real hunger up here in Tebellong. The harvests were very small and people were starving. Her family was so hungry. They had to borrow from neighbours. Her children did not go to school because they were too hungry.

But the situation is completely different now. Since she started conservation farming, they have had ok harvests because the soil is much better now and keeps moisture for much longer. This year they had a good harvest even though there was a drought. She sold some maize to WFP and used the money to pay her childrenís school fees and also to buy some important household items like soap.

A meal of your life and theirs, a great new prize from Menu for Hope 4

How can you have a meal of your life in Paris and help children in Lesotho have a meal that might save theirs? Donate $10 to Menu for Hope and try your luck at our most exciting new prize: lunch for two at the Michelin three-star l'Arpège! (Prize code: EU40)

You heard it right my friends, l'Arpège. This prize came courtesy of the chef, Alain Passard, himself. The lucky winner (and a luckier guest) will be treated to a sumptuous lunch of Alain's fabulous creations.

Take it from me, if you won this prize, make sure you plan your visit when the weather is nice. Have a meal of your life, and cross the street to the Rodin garden for a little rest en plein air to relive the joy of that wonderful meal and even feel a bit smug about how much good you've done humanity with it!

What other meals of your life can you have while helping us help others? There's the dinner for two at Blue Hill at Stone Barns in New York (UE01), or Manresa in California (UW10), or have Heston cook his historic British menu for you at the Hinds Head in Bray (UK33)? Or what about that chef's table at Attica in Melbourne (AP27)? Or the Sportsman in Seasalter, Kent (UK39)?

If it's dining companion you're looking for, what about joining two famous food critics, Jay Rayner in London (UK34) or Stephen Downes in Melbourne (AP15) on a review gig?

Whichever dining experience your choose, you're helping us support Menu for Hope! Thank you so much.

You can also see the full list of Menu for Hope prizes or browse by region: US, East Coast; US, West Coast; US, anywhere in between; United Kingdom; Europe; Canada; Asia Pacific/Australia/New Zealand, or browse the wine prizes at Vinography, our special wine blog host.

35K and just a few more days to go

Have you got your raffle tickets to support Menu for Hope yet? We are now at $35K and just a little less than a week to go. Last year's total was $60K and with your help we can beat it!

We've got so many great prizes that are still waiting for more raffle tickets. Odds are still pretty good for a review dinner with Jay Rayner in London and also with Stephen Downes in Melbourne. What about a day stage with Nuno Mendes at Bacchus in London? Or what about tasting menu cooked by Stephen Harris at the Sportsman in Kent, plus, he'll take you on a tour of markets and farms that supply the restaurant.

Alder, our wine blog host, has got a list of prizes that also have pretty good odds at winning, most of which are newly added, like a whole case of twisted wines from Twisted Oak, or a half case of lovely Austrian wines, or perhaps a year subscription to two fantastic wine publications, The World of Fine Wine and The Fine Wine Review? Check out Vinography, our wine host for Menu for Hope for more.

Down under in Australia, Helen of Grab Your Fork, our Asia Pacific host posted updates on how her prizes are going, so check out your odds if you're over on that side of the world. There are a bunch of new fabulous prizes from Thailand, Cambodia, and Malaysia, which would be great if you're planning on heading out that way any time next year.