chez pim

Lend a hand to chefs of tomorrow

Stagiaires are young, often unpaid cooks-in-training.  Those working at Mugaritz lost their valuable knives in the devastating fire recently.  Replacing their costly tools of the trade will be difficult for these young cooks, yet not having them is not an option.  Their plight is surely insignificant in the face of the disasters in Haiti and Chile.  But what price a dream?

If you're a frequent visitor to one of the many food forums on the web, you might recognize the name John Sconzo, docsconz as he is known thereabouts.  John has set up a fund via the Slow Food chapter in Saratoga to help these young cooks replace their knives.  Their goal is to raise $2,500, and they are ever-so-close.  So, if you could spare even a few dollars - give up your $4 latte tomorrow morning perhaps - please consider helping these young cooks continue in their pursuits. 

http://www.firstgiving.com/mugaritzknives

Menu for Hope 6 raffle winners

So here it is, the results of our sixth annual Menu for Hope - with the help of two hundred bloggers, two hundred and four delectable items on our raffle list, and in the span of just over two weeks, we raised $78,898.00 in support of the UN World Food Program.  Yes, nearly $78K, in a recession year no less!  Not bad at all.  And none of these would be possible without your support - food lovers, businesses, bloggers, and our readers and supporters from all over the world.  A huge big shout-out also goes to our wonderful, hard-working hosts without whose help Menu for Hope 6 wouldn't have existed - Alder of Vinography, David of The Sweet Life in Paris, Ed of Tomato, Helen of Tartelette, Shauna of Gluten Free Girl, and Tara of Seven Spoons. 

Now that I'm done with thanking the academy, let's get to the fun part.  Check out the list of our raffle winners below to see if you've won anything.  If your name is on the list here, you'll be receiving an email about how to claim your prize in the next day or two!

Menu for Hope 6 final total ($78,818!) and minor housekeeping

Just a quickie note here to let you know that our Menu for Hope 6 now has a final total $78,818!  Nearly $80K - nothing to sneer at in a recession, huh?  That's a lot of farmers we'll be supporting and lots of hungry people we're going to be feeding via the good work of the WFP.

Derrick and I are doing the final tally and picking the raffle winners, but before we can finish we're doing a bit of housekeeping on the donation records and raffle picks.  If you see an email from us today, that means there's a problem with your raffle pick (nothing big, usually just invalid item codes), please reply asap so that we can correct the records and make sure all of your raffle choices are accounted for. 

We're still on for final raffle announcement on Monday January 18.  Check back here to see if your good karma pays off!

Menu for Hope, these are a few of my favorite things

I've been busy with other tasks for Menu for Hope that I've neglected to point out my own favorite things that I've gathered for the raffle.  Every year I ask friends who are chefs and producers of amazing things to help offer up the results of their hard work to entice you -yes, you- to donate to our Menu for Hope.  Here's the list of this year's items.  I hope some of these will strike your fancy. 

UW04  Dinner for two at the Michelin 2-star Manresa.

You'll be invite to feast on the Grand Tasting Menu wine pairing and a personal tour of the restaurant's biodynamic kitchen garden at Love Apple Farm.  The Grand Tasting Menu+wine pairings for two at Michelin 2-star Manresa, AND a tour of the restaurant's biodynamic garden at Love Apple Farm.  Manresa is, of course, my favorite restaurant in the world - and that's not only because I live with the chef ;-) but also because I am fully aware of the care and the love he pours into his restaurant.  David's food is not only delicious but also thoughtful, rooted, and always inspiring.  If you haven't had a chance to try it, this will be an experience you will not soon forget. 

UW06  Dinner for two at Daniel Patterson's Michelin 2-star Coi. Plus, dinner for two at his more casual spot at the Ferry Plaza, Il Cane Rosso.

Daniel is not only a good friend, but he's also my favorite chef in San Francisco.  His flagship Coi is an intimate restaurant, an oasis in the midst of the craziness that is North Beach.  But don't let the location deter you, once you're inside Coi you'll be treated to such a calming, rejuvenating atmosphere and the kind of food that'll make you rethink what you thought you knew about an ingredient.  Daniel's second spot, the casual Il Cane Rosso at the Ferry Building, is his new venture, and it's no les delightful.  The tiny Il Cane Rosso serves family style dinner, with scrumptious home-y food but with top notch ingredients and perfect preparation.   

WB22 Dinner with the indomitable Randall Grahm at Cellar Door in Santa Cruz, plus Been Doon So Long

My dear friend and neighbor Randall Grahm is one of the most influential figures in the American wine industry. Founder of Bonny Doon Vineyard, Randall pioneered many things that are commonplace today in winemaking and wine marketing. Still at the helm of Bonny Doon, Grahm has completely changed his approach to winemaking in the last few years, going from high production to low production and embracing Biodynamic winemaking to the fullest.

For Menu for Hope, Randall invites you (and your +1) to join him for dinner at his Cellar Door cafe at the Bonny Doon winery and tasting room in downtown Santa Cruz.  He'll pull a special bottle out of the esteemed cellar, and bring a long a copy of his latest book, Been Doon So Long, which he'll gladly sign, just for you.

UW05  Six jars of Chez Pim’s artisan marmalade and jam, plus an autographed copy of The Foodie Handbook

I wrote about this already, but in case you haven't seen it, I'm also offering a personally autographed copy of my book, The Foodie Handbook: the (almost) definitive guide to gastronomy, plus six jars of my own line of jam and marmalade.  I'll pick you some of my favorite varieties and personally sign the copy of my book for you, plus, I'll ship them anywhere in the world even.  Did I say I'll ship them anywhere in the world?  I did?  Good!  Because I really will ship them anywhere in the world (though any Customs problems will be between you and your Customs agents.)  More about this prize here. 

UW07  Four months subscription to Citizen Bean, plus the Welcome Kit

I've been a fan of Citizen Bean service for almost two years now.  They have beans from some of the best names like Victrola, Gimme, and Counter Culture.  But the best part about Citizen Bean is how they introduce me to tiny roasters from faraway places I would never otherwise know about, like Doma in Post Falls, Idaho ( their Ruby's Organic Espresso is on my favorite list) and Kickapoo in Viroqua, Wisconsin which has just been named Roast Magazine 2010 Roaster of the year.  Citizen Bean sent me beans from Kickapoo long before this top honor.  Mal, the proprietor of Citizen Bean, who's also become a friend, has a nose for this kind of thing.  For your $10 donation to Menu for Hope, plus a little luck, Mal will send you four months subscription, and also the welcome kit which has just about everything you'll need to be properly caffeinated every morning.

UW08  *emera Camera Tote Bag

Get an *emera bag of your own!  Tote your favorite DSLR in style in my favorite camera bag, the one-and-only *emera Bag!   It's a camera bag that doesn't look at all like a camera bag.  Instead, it's a very comfortable, stylish tote bag that comes with the kind of protection you'd expect from any good camera bag, plus there's enough room for my purse, keys, and even my magic make-up pouch.  I took the bag with me to Tokyo on my recent trip, and I can't tell you how many timesI was stopped and asked where I got my gorgeous camera bag.  I might have opened a whole new market for them! You'll love one too, I'm sure.

UW09  Two spots in a hands-on butchering class by Ryan Farr of "4505 Meats" in San Francisco

Haven't you heard?  Butchers are the new rock stars!  Or maybe it's butchers are the new black.  Ok, whatever.  But butchers are sure hot right now.  Julie Powell wrote a book about it.  So did my friend Tea.  Even Epicurious agrees.  And if you want to try your hands at being one, or just get a little closer to learning where the meats we eat come from, you'll love to join one of Ryan's classes at 4505 Meats in San Francisco.  You can learn how to butcher a whole pig, or a lamb, or how to make your own sausages.  You'll learn lots and even become a little more hip in the process.  How can you beat that? 

For the full raffle item list organized by theme, go to this post.

For the donation form and our spiffy bid selector tool, go here.

Or if you want to browse the list by region, visit our regional host blogs:

Europe (hosted by David Lebovitz)
Asia Pacific (hosted by Ed of Tomato)
USA: East Coast (hosted by Helen of Tartelette)
USA: West Coast (hosted by Shauna of Gluten Free Girl)
Canada (hosted by Tara of Seven Spoons)

plusour special wine blog host: plus Alder of Vinography

Menu for Hope 6 - the delectable list

[You may also jump directly to our donation form where you will find the list of all the raffle items, showing hot items and cold items (which means you have a better chance to win).]

Here it is ladies and gentleman, the official list of delectable items for your bidding pleasure.  Donate to Menu for Hope 6 in support of the UN World Food Programme and good karma might help you win one.

Once again, food and wine bloggers from all over the world united to offer up a list of these delectable items for the Menu fro Hope raffle.  We've got something for everyone. 

Dining is your pleasure? One of these meals might suit you. 

Love to try delicious foods from all over the world?  We've got just about everything for your appetite. 

If chocolate is your vice, we've got just the list for you.  

Or maybe some wine? We have stuff here that'll impress even the geekiest of wine geeks.

Need another culinary book?  We've got many, and some even autographed. 

Not quite enough tools in your kitchen, we've got some amazing stuff that'll turn you and your cuisine positively pro! 

Your life is getting too much and you could use a getaway?  We've got the most perfectly delicious places to hide.

Want to improve your photography skills? Of course you do!

We've also got other miscellaneous cool gifts you want to check out.

So check them out and head over to First Giving to donate - the more you donate, the better karma, and the bigger chance to take one of these delicious things home.

Menu for Hope 6

 

(The full list of bid items is now up, click here to go directly there.)

Welcome to Menu for Hope 6.  Yes, it's been six years since our first little-campaign-that-could was born, banding together food and wine bloggers from all over the world to raise funds in support of worthy causes.  For the past three years we've worked with the UN World Food Programme and raised nearly a quarter of a million dollars in support of their school lunch program.  This year, we're once again working with WFP, this time to highlight the Purchase for Progress

What is Menu for Hope?

Menu for Hope is an annual fundraising campaign hosted by me and a revolving group of food bloggers around the world.  Five years ago, the devastating tsunami in Southeast Asia inspired me to find a way to help, and the very first Menu for Hope was born. The campaign has since become a yearly affair.

Each December, food bloggers from all over the world join the campaign by offering a delectable array of food-related items for the Menu for Hope raffle. Anyone – and that means you too - can participate. For every $10 donated, you earn one virtual ticket to bid on an item of your choice. At the end of the two-week campaign, the tickets are drawn and the results announced on Chez Pim on Monday, January 18.

In the past three years, Menu for Hope have raised nearly a quarter of a million dollars to help the WFP end world hunger.

Who is the beneficiary of this year's campaign?


Menu for Hope (for three years and counting) supports the good work of the UN World Food Programme.  WFP is the world’s largest food aid agency, working with over 1,000 other organizations in over 75 countries. In addition to providing food, the World Food Program helps hungry people to become self-reliant so that they escape hunger for good. 

In the last two campaigns, we helped support a school lunch program in Lesotho.  This year we're changing our direction a tiny bit.  We're highlighting a new initiative at the WFP called Purchase for Progress (P4P).  P4P enables smallholder and low-income farmers to supply food to WFP’s global operation.  P4P helps farmers improves farming practices and puts more cash directly into their pockets in return for their crops.  This will also help buoy local economy by creating jobs and income locally.  We food bloggers understand the importance of buying locally and supporting our local farms, P4P helps do the same for farmers in low income countries around the world.  More on P4P at http://www.wfp.org/purchase-progress. 

Also, in a symbolic move, we're joining the WFP's A Billion for A Billion campaign.  For the first time ever, over a billion people are chronically hungry worldwide. There are also over a billion people who, like you and I, are in the position to help.  Taking part in the Menu for Hope raffle and you can join the billion who chose to make a difference.  Find out more about A Billion for A Billion here: http://wfp.org/1billion.  You can make a donation directly to WFP there, but if you want to join the Menu for Hope 6 raffle you'll have to play here with us.

Who collects the money?  The local hosts?  Pim?

Definitely not me.  Nor any other bloggers participating in the program.  We use a third party site called First Giving who collects the donation and send the money directly to the WFP.  No one's sending me a check or money order, and no one on the Menu for Hope team is making a dime out of this - unless you count good karma dimes, in which case we've made aplenty.  Find out more about how FirstGiving works here.

How can you help?

Browse the amazing array of delectable items offered by food and wine bloggers from all over the world.  You may also browse the bid items by region:

Europe (hosted by David Lebovitz)
Asia Pacific (hosted by Ed of Tomatom)
USA: East Coast (hosted by Helen of Tartelette)
USA: West Coast (hosted by Shauna of Gluten Free Girl)
Canada (hosted by Tara of Seven Spoons)

or if you're a wine geek you might want to head directly to see Alder at Vinography for the wine related bit items.

(The full list of worldwide raffle bid items will be up in just a little bit.  Check back here soon!) is now up!

Once you find an item or items you want, then go and make a donation to Menu for Hope 6 at First Giving.  For every $10 you donate, you may select one raffle bid item.  The more you donate, the more chances to get the item(s) you want. 

Even if you don't have much to share, don't count us out just yet.  In the past three years, over 80% of our donors gave less than $50, and in the same period we raised nearly $250K.  That's a lot of ten dollar bills from people just like you to make up nearly a quarter million!

If you don't want to indulge yourself with our delicious raffle bid items, consider donating $10 in your friend's or family's name, pick something they might like from our raffle.  Who knew, your $10 might get them the chef's Grand Tasting men with wine pairing for two at the Michelin 2-star Manresa in Los Gatos!

Menu for Hope 6 - call for participation

 

Yes, it's that time of year again.  We are now preparing for our annual Menu for Hope, this year it's Menu for Hope 6, or Menu for Hope VI, whichever you prefer.  I can hardly believe it's been six years that we've been at this, and our fourth year now in partnership with the UN World Food Programme.  As always, Menu for Hope cannot exist without your help, see if you can lend a hand?

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Menu for Hope?
Menu for Hope is an annual fundraising campaign hosted by me and a revolving group of food bloggers around the world.  Five years ago, the devastating tsunami in Southeast Asia inspired me to find a way to help, and the very first Menu for Hope was born. The campaign has since become a yearly affair.  For the past three years, Menu for Hope raised nearly a quarter of million dollars in support of the good work of the UN World Food Programme, helping to feed hungry people worldwide.

Each December, food bloggers from all over the world join the campaign by offering a delectable array of food-related prizes for the Menu for Hope raffle. Anyone – and that means you too - can buy raffle tickets to bid on these prizes. For every $10 donated, you earn one virtual raffle ticket to bid on a prize of their choice. At the end of the two-week campaign, the raffle tickets are drawn and the results announced on Chez Pim.

When will this year's campaign take place?
December 14 through Christmas. 

Who is the beneficiary of this year's campaign?
Once again we've chosen to work with the UN World Food Programme. WFP is the world’s largest food aid agency, working with over 1,000 other organizations in over 75 countries. In addition to providing food, the World Food Program helps hungry people to become self-reliant so that they escape hunger for good.

This year, we are supporting a new initiative at the WFP called Purchase for Progress (P4P).  P4P enables smallholder and low-income farmers to supply food to WFP’s global operation.  P4P helps farmers improves farming practices and puts more cash directly into their pockets in return for their crops.  This will also help buoy local economy by creating jobs and income locally.  We food bloggers understand the importance of buying locally and supporting our local farms, P4P helps do the same for farmers in low income countries around the world.  More on P4P at http://www.wfp.org/purchase-progress.

Who collects the money?
Certainly not me, nor the other bloggers participating on the campaign. We know our readers trust us, but we also want to be completely transparent in our fundraising. So, we use a very good online fundraising company called FirstGiving, who has worked with us since the first Menu for Hope years ago.

Donors can make an online (tax deductible) donation with a credit card. FirstGiving collects and processes the payments and, at the end of the campaign, transfers the donations in one lump sum to the WFP. This is a win-win situation for all parties involved. The bloggers never touch the money. The WFP don't waste overheads on processing mini-donations, the majority of which were between $10-$50, that's a whole lot of tenners to make up $90K.  Firstgiving does all the work and collects a small fee, which include the credit card processing charges.

Last year, FirstGiving gave back 1% of the total amount raised in lieu of a discount on their processing fee. Thank you FirstGiving, we appreciated it very much!

How can you help?

If you are a blogger:
Participate in Menu for Hope VI by hosting a raffle prize or by promoting Menu for Hope on your blog.  Please contact the MfH host in your area (the list is below) to obtain a prize code and be listed on the official Menu for Hope prize list.  (Important: please do this before you list your prize on your blog, unrecognized prizes will not be added to the main list.) 

The prize you offer need not be of high monetary value, but it should appeal to your readership. A small rule of thumb we'd like to suggest is that each prize offered should have the potential to raise at least $200. That means, don't offer a prize unless you are pretty sure you could get at least twenty of your readers to donate $10 for a raffle ticket toward that prize.

Please do not solicit prizes from restaurants or producers whom you do not know. A big part of our success in prior years came from the personal connections between bloggers, food producers/restaurateurs/authors, and the readers who donate to the campaign. Basically, if they know your name, it's ok. If you pick up the phone and introduce yourself and the person at the other end of the line goes "huh?", you shouldn't be asking them.

Each blogger is also responsible for shipping their prize to the winning donor. Make sure you have enough in your budget to cover shipping. It's important that you specify where your shipping area will cover when you offer the prize.  Frankly, we prefer that you don't restrict shipping area, but if you must, then please be very clear in your blog post so as not to confuse our donors.

Forward this post to all other bloggers you know so they can participate too.

Here are your local hosts for this year's Menu for Hope

US: West Coast (If you are closer to SF than you are to NY then you belong here.)
Shauna of Gluten Free Girl (glutenfreegirl[at]gmail[dot]com)

US: East Coast
Helen of Tartelette (mytartelette[at]gmail[dot]com)

Europe *and* the UK
David Lebovitz (david.lebovitz[at]yahoo[dot]com)

Canada
Tara of Seven Spoons (tara[at]sevenspoons[dot]net)

Asia Pacific, Australia, New Zealand
Ed Charles of Tomato (gastrotom[at]gmail[dot]com)

and, last but not least, our special Wine Blog Host
Alder of Vinography (alder[at]vinography[dot]com)

If you'd like to participate, please send your prize information (plus two images 75x75 thumbnail and 200x200px) to your local host so that they can give you a prize code (important!) and more instructions on what to do for Monday.

If you are a restaurateur, author or food producers/sellers:
Consider offering your products and services as raffle prizes. If you have a corportate blog, you can host the prize yourself. If you don’t, find a food blogger to host your prize. If you don't know any, contact Pim (chezpim[at]gmail[dot]com) or the local host in your area.

If you are a food blog reader or a food lover:
Come back to Chez Pim on Monday December 14 when the campaign goes online. You can browse our amazing array of prizes by type, or find a prize near you by searching by region. Bid on as many prizes as you'd like. Buy raffle tickets as holiday gifts to your loved ones. Just come back and check us out on December 10. Help us help the WFP end world hunger.

 

Yes, it's that time of year again.  We are now preparing for our annual Menu for Hope, this year it's Menu for Hope 6, or Menu for Hope VI, whichever you prefer.  I can hardly believe it's been six years that we've been at this, and our fourth year now in partnership with the UN World Food Programme.  As always, Menu for Hope cannot exist without your help, see if you can lend a hand?

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Menu for Hope?
Menu for Hope is an annual fundraising campaign hosted by me and a revolving group of food bloggers around the world.  Five years ago, the devastating tsunami in Southeast Asia inspired me to find a way to help, and the very first Menu for Hope was born. The campaign has since become a yearly affair.  For the past three years, Menu for Hope raised nearly a quarter of million dollars in support of the good work of the UN World Food Programme, helping to feed hungry people worldwide.

Each December, food bloggers from all over the world join the campaign by offering a delectable array of food-related prizes for the Menu for Hope raffle. Anyone – and that means you too - can buy raffle tickets to bid on these prizes. For every $10 donated, you earn one virtual raffle ticket to bid on a prize of their choice. At the end of the two-week campaign, the raffle tickets are drawn and the results announced on Chez Pim.

When will this year's campaign take place?
December 14 through Christmas. 

Who is the beneficiary of this year's campaign?
Once again we've chosen to work with the UN World Food Programme. WFP is the world’s largest food aid agency, working with over 1,000 other organizations in over 75 countries. In addition to providing food, the World Food Program helps hungry people to become self-reliant so that they escape hunger for good.

This year, we are supporting a new initiative at the WFP called Purchase for Progress (P4P).  P4P enables smallholder and low-income farmers to supply food to WFP’s global operation.  P4P helps farmers improves farming practices and puts more cash directly into their pockets in return for their crops.  This will also help buoy local economy by creating jobs and income locally.  We food bloggers understand the importance of buying locally and supporting our local farms, P4P helps do the same for farmers in low income countries around the world.  More on P4P at http://www.wfp.org/purchase-progress.

Who collects the money?
Certainly not me, nor the other bloggers participating on the campaign. We know our readers trust us, but we also want to be completely transparent in our fundraising. So, we use a very good online fundraising company called FirstGiving, who has worked with us since the first Menu for Hope years ago.

Donors can make an online (tax deductible) donation with a credit card. FirstGiving collects and processes the payments and, at the end of the campaign, transfers the donations in one lump sum to the WFP. This is a win-win situation for all parties involved. The bloggers never touch the money. The WFP don't waste overheads on processing mini-donations, the majority of which were between $10-$50, that's a whole lot of tenners to make up $90K.  Firstgiving does all the work and collects a small fee, which include the credit card processing charges.

Last year, FirstGiving gave back 1% of the total amount raised in lieu of a discount on their processing fee. Thank you FirstGiving, we appreciated it very much!

How can you help?

If you are a blogger:
Participate in Menu for Hope VI by hosting a raffle prize or by promoting Menu for Hope on your blog.  Please contact the MfH host in your area (the list is below) to obtain a prize code and be listed on the official Menu for Hope prize list.  (Important: please do this before you list your prize on your blog, unrecognized prizes will not be added to the main list.) 

The prize you offer need not be of high monetary value, but it should appeal to your readership. A small rule of thumb we'd like to suggest is that each prize offered should have the potential to raise at least $200. That means, don't offer a prize unless you are pretty sure you could get at least twenty of your readers to donate $10 for a raffle ticket toward that prize.

Please do not solicit prizes from restaurants or producers whom you do not know. A big part of our success in prior years came from the personal connections between bloggers, food producers/restaurateurs/authors, and the readers who donate to the campaign. Basically, if they know your name, it's ok. If you pick up the phone and introduce yourself and the person at the other end of the line goes "huh?", you shouldn't be asking them.

Each blogger is also responsible for shipping their prize to the winning donor. Make sure you have enough in your budget to cover shipping. It's important that you specify where your shipping area will cover when you offer the prize.  Frankly, we prefer that you don't restrict shipping area, but if you must, then please be very clear in your blog post so as not to confuse our donors.

Forward this post to all other bloggers you know so they can participate too.

Here are your local hosts for this year's Menu for Hope

US: West Coast (If you are closer to SF than you are to NY then you belong here.)
Shauna of Gluten Free Girl (glutenfreegirl[at]gmail[dot]com)

US: East Coast
Helen of Tartelette (mytartelette[at]gmail[dot]com)

Europe *and* the UK
David Lebovitz (david.lebovitz[at]yahoo[dot]com)

Canada
Tara of Seven Spoons (tara[at]sevenspoons[dot]net)

Asia Pacific, Australia, New Zealand
Ed Charles of Tomato (gastrotom[at]gmail[dot]com)

and, last but not least, our special Wine Blog Host
Alder of Vinography (alder[at]vinography[dot]com)

If you'd like to participate, please send your prize information (plus two images 75x75 thumbnail and 200x200px) to your local host so that they can give you a prize code (important!) and more instructions on what to do for Monday.

If you are a restaurateur, author or food producers/sellers:
Consider offering your products and services as raffle prizes. If you have a corportate blog, you can host the prize yourself. If you don’t, find a food blogger to host your prize. If you don't know any, contact Pim (chezpim[at]gmail[dot]com) or the local host in your area.

If you are a food blog reader or a food lover:
Come back to Chez Pim on Monday December 14 when the campaign goes online. You can browse our amazing array of prizes by type, or find a prize near you by searching by region. Bid on as many prizes as you'd like. Buy raffle tickets as holiday gifts to your loved ones. Just come back and check us out on December 10. Help us help the WFP end world hunger.

 

Yes, it's that time of year again.  We are now preparing for our annual Menu for Hope, this year it's Menu for Hope 6, or Menu for Hope VI, whichever you prefer.  I can hardly believe it's been six years that we've been at this, and our fourth year now in partnership with the UN World Food Programme.  As always, Menu for Hope cannot exist without your help, see if you can lend a hand?

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Menu for Hope?
Menu for Hope is an annual fundraising campaign hosted by me and a revolving group of food bloggers around the world.  Five years ago, the devastating tsunami in Southeast Asia inspired me to find a way to help, and the very first Menu for Hope was born. The campaign has since become a yearly affair.  For the past three years, Menu for Hope raised nearly a quarter of million dollars in support of the good work of the UN World Food Programme, helping to feed hungry people worldwide.

Each December, food bloggers from all over the world join the campaign by offering a delectable array of food-related prizes for the Menu for Hope raffle. Anyone – and that means you too - can buy raffle tickets to bid on these prizes. For every $10 donated, you earn one virtual raffle ticket to bid on a prize of their choice. At the end of the two-week campaign, the raffle tickets are drawn and the results announced on Chez Pim.

When will this year's campaign take place?
December 14 through Christmas. 

Who is the beneficiary of this year's campaign?
Once again we've chosen to work with the UN World Food Programme. WFP is the world’s largest food aid agency, working with over 1,000 other organizations in over 75 countries. In addition to providing food, the World Food Program helps hungry people to become self-reliant so that they escape hunger for good.

This year, we are supporting a new initiative at the WFP called Purchase for Progress (P4P).  P4P enables smallholder and low-income farmers to supply food to WFP’s global operation.  P4P helps farmers improves farming practices and puts more cash directly into their pockets in return for their crops.  This will also help buoy local economy by creating jobs and income locally.  We food bloggers understand the importance of buying locally and supporting our local farms, P4P helps do the same for farmers in low income countries around the world.  More on P4P at http://www.wfp.org/purchase-progress.

Who collects the money?
Certainly not me, nor the other bloggers participating on the campaign. We know our readers trust us, but we also want to be completely transparent in our fundraising. So, we use a very good online fundraising company called FirstGiving, who has worked with us since the first Menu for Hope years ago.

Donors can make an online (tax deductible) donation with a credit card. FirstGiving collects and processes the payments and, at the end of the campaign, transfers the donations in one lump sum to the WFP. This is a win-win situation for all parties involved. The bloggers never touch the money. The WFP don't waste overheads on processing mini-donations, the majority of which were between $10-$50, that's a whole lot of tenners to make up $90K.  Firstgiving does all the work and collects a small fee, which include the credit card processing charges.

Last year, FirstGiving gave back 1% of the total amount raised in lieu of a discount on their processing fee. Thank you FirstGiving, we appreciated it very much!

How can you help?

If you are a blogger:
Participate in Menu for Hope VI by hosting a raffle prize or by promoting Menu for Hope on your blog.  Please contact the MfH host in your area (the list is below) to obtain a prize code and be listed on the official Menu for Hope prize list.  (Important: please do this before you list your prize on your blog, unrecognized prizes will not be added to the main list.) 

The prize you offer need not be of high monetary value, but it should appeal to your readership. A small rule of thumb we'd like to suggest is that each prize offered should have the potential to raise at least $200. That means, don't offer a prize unless you are pretty sure you could get at least twenty of your readers to donate $10 for a raffle ticket toward that prize.

Please do not solicit prizes from restaurants or producers whom you do not know. A big part of our success in prior years came from the personal connections between bloggers, food producers/restaurateurs/authors, and the readers who donate to the campaign. Basically, if they know your name, it's ok. If you pick up the phone and introduce yourself and the person at the other end of the line goes "huh?", you shouldn't be asking them.

Each blogger is also responsible for shipping their prize to the winning donor. Make sure you have enough in your budget to cover shipping. It's important that you specify where your shipping area will cover when you offer the prize.  Frankly, we prefer that you don't restrict shipping area, but if you must, then please be very clear in your blog post so as not to confuse our donors.

Forward this post to all other bloggers you know so they can participate too.

Here are your local hosts for this year's Menu for Hope

US: West Coast (If you are closer to SF than you are to NY then you belong here.)
Shauna of Gluten Free Girl (glutenfreegirl[at]gmail[dot]com)

US: East Coast
Helen of Tartelette (mytartelette[at]gmail[dot]com)

Europe *and* the UK
David Lebovitz (david.lebovitz[at]yahoo[dot]com)

Canada
Tara of Seven Spoons (tara[at]sevenspoons[dot]net)

Asia Pacific, Australia, New Zealand
Ed Charles of Tomato (gastrotom[at]gmail[dot]com)

and, last but not least, our special Wine Blog Host
Alder of Vinography (alder[at]vinography[dot]com)

If you'd like to participate, please send your prize information (plus two images 75x75 thumbnail and 200x200px) to your local host so that they can give you a prize code (important!) and more instructions on what to do for Monday.

If you are a restaurateur, author or food producers/sellers:
Consider offering your products and services as raffle prizes. If you have a corportate blog, you can host the prize yourself. If you don’t, find a food blogger to host your prize. If you don't know any, contact Pim (chezpim[at]gmail[dot]com) or the local host in your area.

If you are a food blog reader or a food lover:
Come back to Chez Pim on Monday December 14 when the campaign goes online. You can browse our amazing array of prizes by type, or find a prize near you by searching by region. Bid on as many prizes as you'd like. Buy raffle tickets as holiday gifts to your loved ones. Just come back and check us out on December 10. Help us help the WFP end world hunger.

Menu for Hope V, raffle results

So here it is, the list of the lucky winners in our Menu for Hope V raffle.  This campaign raised exactly US$ 62,206.86 in support of the UN World Food Program.  Considering the economic climate we've found ourselves in, this is absolutely amazing.  And for this, I have all of you to thank, the generous donors who came back year after year to lend a hand, and food bloggers all over the world who have adopted this as our communal cause. But I owe a particularly huge thank you to the six local Menu for Hope hosts, Alder of Vinography, Ed of Tomato, Jaden of Steamy Kitchen, Matt of MattBites, Meena of Hooked on Heat, and Sara of Ms.Adventure in Italy.  I wouldn't have been able to pull off this campaign without their help.  Another big thank you goes to Derrick of Obsession with Food, who wrote and administered the program we use to pick the raffle winners for the past three years.

I'm sure you're very eager to see if you've won anything, so I won't hold you up any longer.  The list of winners is at the end of this post.

If you found yourself one of the very lucky winners, please contact the blogger who offered the prize or the local host for the prize if you don't know how to contact the blogger directly.  Please make sure you use the same email address you gave us when you bid to contact them, that's how we can make sure you're actually you! 

Of Last Chances and Best Odds. Also, How to Fix Your Screw-ups.

Today is the last day of our Menu for Hope V.  If you haven't donated yet, this would be the time.  And if you need a little help nudging, here's the list of our fabulous prizes that will give you the best odds at winning in our raffle.  Take a quick look?  These are really wonderful prizes that have somehow gotten a little lost in our big list, so if you want them, you have really good odds at getting them.  $10 a pop, as usual, and we will thank you, the WFP will thank you, and the kids and farmers in Lesotho will really thank you!

(By the way, I've been answering emails from donors who made a mistake in the donation form and either didn't tell us which prize they want or gave us the wrong prize number.  No worries, we can fix it easily.  Email your problems to support@firstgiving.com and we'll get it all straight for you.)

UW09 Blogher '09 conference pass
UW35 Rancho Gordo gift basket
UW17 "I Wanna Be A Food Writer" Package
UW41 two tickets to the Lexus Grand Tasting, the finale event at Pebble Beach Food & Wine
UW31 Three Cookbooks from Ten Speed Press
UW29 Gourmet Gift Basket
UW06 Popcorn Gift Set
UW42 Barrel Tasting & Vineyard Tour at Windy Oaks
UW39 Autographed book by Amy Goldman

a few more great prizes and the final days of Menu for Hope V

Menu for Hope has quietly crept up to over $47K now, with just under three more days to go.  I am blown away and also ever-so-humbled by the generosity of everyone even in times like these. 

We have four more prizes to add to the West Coast and Wine blog list today.  I think these are fantastic prizes that should be enough to entice more of you to donate $10 or $20 (or another $10 if you've already given) to help us help the WFP this year.  These prize entries might be late, but they are really favorite

UW40: Dinner for two with wine pairings at Michelin-2-star Coi in San Francisco

My friend the talented chef (and also a contributor to the NY Times Food Section) Daniel Patterson will treat a lucky winner of this Menu for Hope prize (plus her/his even luckier friend) to a scrumptious tasting menu at Daniel's two Michelin stars restaurant Coi in San Francisco.  The post dinner sojourn next door is on you, however - wink, wink.  If you've never been to Coi, this is your chance to try.  I know I'm biased, Daniel and his gorgeous wife Alexandra are very dear friends of ours, but I'm telling you, Coi is the most exciting restaurant in San Francisco--there is nowhere else I'd rather eat at the moment.  Drop a tenner and try your chance?

UW42 Barrel Tasting & Vineyard Tour at Windy Oaks

Windy Oaks Estate Winery and Vineyards is located at the southern, coastal end of the Santa Cruz Mountains appellation, 1,000 feet up on a ridge overlooking the Monterey Bay.  They also happens to be one of my favorite wine makers, not locally but anywhere.  They make delicate, elegant wines with judicious use of oak and fruit.  Just delicious, delicious stuff that's also very food-friendly.  They are offerring to host a private cheese and barrel tasting of their award-winning, highly rated estate Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, for 8 people.  Judy & Jim Schultze, the proprietors and winemakers, will lead the tour and provide the barrel tasting.  The afternoon will consist of a walking tour of the beautiful 15-acre vineyard, with wine tasting on the ridge overlooking the Monterey Bay.  Artisanal cheeses and local breads to complement the wines will accompany the sample tasting.   After the walk, you will return to the winery, nestled in the redwoods, and taste from our unreleased vintages still in their French oak barrels. Jim, the master winemaker, will explain his Burgundian style, innovative all-gravity winemaking techniques, from harvest and crush, through to barrel aging.  The event will last approximately 2 hours.  This is a perfect event for anyone who is interested in how premier grapes are grown, and artisan wine is made, in a small family estate vineyard and winery.

UW41: two tickets to the Lexus Grand Tasting, the finale event at Pebble Beach Food & Wine

Sunday's Lexus Grand Tasting at Pebble Beach Food & Wine is the final event of this sure-to-be fantastic weekend.  The impressive chef line-ups include Traci Des Jardin of Jardiniere in San Francisco; Bill Corbett, Pastry Chef at Restaurant Michael Mina in San Francisco; Michael Mina; David Myers of Sona in Los Angeles; Nancy Oakes of Boulevard in San Francisco; and Michel Richard of Citronelle in Washington DC.  Enjoy over 300 wines from 200 of the world's most prestigious wineries.  There will also be opportunities for book signings and photo sessions with some of the weekend's chefs.  I look forward to be at the event and hopefully meet the lucky winners of this prize!

UW35 Rancho Gordo gift set

Our good friend the rancho gordo Steve himself offer this prize, which includes a selection of his world-renown beans plus his fantabulous new book, Heirloom Beans.  He's promised to sign it for you too, in the most elaborate Rancho Gordo manner, even.