Events

A Hot Dog Eating Contest Just For Women?

by Slashfood Editor, Posted Apr 21st 2011 @ 2:00PM

hot dog eating contest Photo: Theo Zierock, AFP / Getty Images

If you're a female competitive eater, your chances of winning the Nathan's Famous hot dog-eating contest just got slightly easier. CNN reports that this year, Major League Eating, the event sponsor, has decided to separate the contest by gender, allowing the likes of Sonya "Black Widow" Thomas (personal record: 36 hot dogs and buns) and 100-pound hair salon-owner Juliet Lee (personal record: 34) to compete against other females, rather than four-time winner Joey Chestnut (personal record: 54).

CNN explains, "The women's competition will abide by the same rules, with at least 10 female contestants required to eat as many hot dogs and buns as they can in 10 minutes." However, the men's grand prize is $20,000 while the women's grand prize is only $5,000.

Major League Eating chairman George Shea explains that the instant celebrity for the first female hot dog-eating champion will make up for the dollar disparity, and that the overall prize money will be more than in previous years.

Filed under: Events

Food Cart Hero Prompts Vendy Award Category

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by Slashfood Editor, Posted Apr 20th 2011 @ 5:00PM

Demonstrators hold a portrait of Tunisian protest hero Mohammed Bouazizi on January 20, 2011. Photo: Fred Dufour, AFP / Getty Images

Street vendors in New York do a lot more than sell falafel and knishes. They're heroes -- from uncomommon acts such as spotting a car bomber in Times Square, to everyday gestures of kindness such as helping an elderly person cross the street. So the Vendy Awards, the annual prizes given to Big Apple vendors, is getting a new "Most Heroic Vendor" category, reports the New York Daily News.

The award, says the Vendys website, was inspired by Tunisian fruit vendor Mohammed Bouazizi, whose dramatic act of protest against the Tunisian officials that confiscated his produce and harassed him set the stage for the Tunisian Revolution. (On December 17, 2010, Bouazizi set himself on fire, leading to protests that shook the Tunisian government.)

While the Vendy Award winner is chosen by judges, the heroes among us are chosen by the people themselves.

Want to nominate a New York City street-vendor hero? Cast your vote here.

Filed under: Newspapers, Events

Royal Wedding Menu Heavy on the Appetizers, Light on Everything Else

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by Slashfood Editor, Posted Apr 20th 2011 @ 2:00PM

Royal Wedding canapes from Buckingham Palace Photo: Nick Ansell, AFP / Getty Images

With 650 guests invited to celebrate Kate and Wills' big day, and the Buckingham Palace kitchens only equipped for formal dinner service for around 150, the menu for the Royal Wedding will not exactly be a five-course affair. In fact, it will consist of nothing more than a "modest spread of Champagne, wedding cake and two-bite appetizers, or canapes," reports the New York Times.

The 21-chef kitchen plans to make 10,000 appetizers, which comes to about 15 canapes per guest. Among them, mini Yorkshire puddings with roast beef and horseradish cream (above left, being prepared by sous chef Mark Stewart), and bubble-and-squeak confit with lamb shoulder (above right, being arranged by Royal Chef Mark Flanagan, Head of Kitchens at Buckingham Palace). Other house specialties include smoked salmon, herbed crèpes and Cornish pasties. The two-bite factor is aimed at convenience, "should a guest need to put one away in order to greet a passing dignitary."

In the evening after the wedding, Prince Charles is hosting a three-course dinner for 300 guests in Buckingham Palace catered by London restaurateur Anton Mosimann.

Join in on the party -- the Los Angeles Times recommends these 22 canapes to make at home. Or to be made by your own Royal Chef.

Filed under: Celebrities, Events

Celebrate Earth Day at a National Earth Dinner Near You

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by Jessie Cacciola, Posted Apr 19th 2011 @ 3:00PM

Photo: Earth Dinner

We're all for putting things into the ground on Earth Day (April 22), but we also really love eating what comes out of it. For the third consecutive year, non-profit Chefs Collaborative is hosting fundraising Earth Dinners on dates surrounding Earth Day, where chefs from 65 restaurants (and counting) across the country will serve up the best that our early spring harvest has to offer -- think ramps, fiddleheads, and all your regional in-season produce.

Proceeds will benefit the national chefs' network Chefs Collaborative, which works to build education around sustainable practices through events like this. What's more, dairy conglomerate Organic Valley is sponsoring the events and will be matching donations up to $10,000.

"Chefs in cities and towns across the country have really stepped up to the plate to hold delicious dinners in celebration of Earth Day -- and in particular, to put a spotlight on sustainable and organic choices," said Melissa Kogut, executive director of Chefs Collaborative, in a statement.

Filed under: Events, Eco-Friendly

April Food Festivals

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by Jose Ralat Maldonado, Posted Apr 1st 2011 @ 12:00PM

variety of mushrooms Photo: Alamy

Spring has sprung and with it a slew of festivals that even April showers can't hinder. Among the best this month are an Appalachian mushroom festival, a firey eating contest, and a celebration of beer and cheese.

Beer, Bourbon & BBQ, Cary, NC, April 5-6: Pig pickings are a culinary rite of passage in the Carolinas, and this traveling festival is bringing one to the Triangle area. Admission gets attendees a souvenir glass, unlimited tastings of the more than 60 beers and 40 bourbons as well as BBQ not restricted to pulled pork. There will be briskets, ribs, sausages and more. For those interested in a 'cue education, there will be seminars and lectures. The only thing missing to perfect the fete would be bluegrass acts and eating contests. Oh, wait! There's will be those, too!

Pear Blossom Festival, Medford, Ore., April 8-9: This festival, now in its 58th year, includes Pear-A-Fare, the opening event that pairs food and beverages from local artisans. Also part of the celebration is Dare-To-Pear, for which the public may visit downtown business to sample pear recipes paired with local wines. Square dancers, a race, a ballroom dancing competition, and a stamp show round out the weekend.

Prairie Dog Chili Cookoff, Grand Prairie, Tex., April 9: While this 36th annual competition is ostensibly centered around the Lone Star State's official dish, the real draw is the jalapeño-soaked pickled quail egg eating contest. This insanity involves consuming as many fireballs as one can in 60 seconds. It's a must-see if you're in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

Filed under: Events

A National Bakesale for Japan

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by Jessie Cacciola, Posted Mar 21st 2011 @ 11:00AM

bakesale for japan earthquake relief Photo: Ciao Samin

Call it a cross-country sugar train for charity and get on it. On April 2nd, Bakesale for Japan hits California, New York, Seattle, Boston, D.C., Portland, Austin, Philadelphia and everywhere else on this list -- and more if you're up for it. The organizer? A chef with a talent for corralling community philanthropy.

Eleven days after Haiti's massive earthquake last January, Bay Area chef Samin Nosrat raised $23,000 by holding bake sales in the Bay Area to benefit the victims. For all those glass-half-empty folks who deemed playing with cake batter post-quake frivolous, Nosrat says the money speaks for itself: "There's something to be said for a bake sale." Since she earned more than quadruple her donation goal for Haiti, when the quake hit Japan, she thought, 'why not take it national?'

Filed under: Food News, Events

Whole Foods Launches a Film Festival

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by Nanette Maxim, Posted Mar 17th 2011 @ 3:00PM

Video Still from the film Urban Roots, Do Something Reel

Starting April 1, you can catch Juno's Ellen Page trading in her Hard Candy routine to narrate Vanishing of the Bees. No, it's not a sequel to horror flick Black Swarm; it's an intriguing documentary about the disappearance of the insects that pollinate most of our crops. And it's one of six films collected and being shown as part of the Whole Foods Do Something Reel Film Festival, presented in 70 cities across the country to celebrate Earth Month. (Did we even know that April was Earth Month, in addition to Earth Day, on the 22nd?)

"Through our [ ...] Do Something Reel Film Festival we want to raise awareness of environmental and food issues, and support filmmakers who are creating films that inspire people to question the impact our choices have on our health, body and environment," said Walter Robb, co-CEO of Whole Foods Market, in a company press release. Ticket proceeds from the fest are going towards a grant program for filmmakers who want to go green in their art.

Among the "Do Something" films is Mark MacInnis's Urban Roots, a close-up of Motor City residents trying to grow it for themselves in the concrete jungle. Suzan Beraza's Bag It! follows an anti-plastics crusader, and Shelley Lee Davis and Or Shlomi's PLANEAT takes a hard look at our love affair with meat and dairy, through the eyes of scientists, farmers, and chefs.

See what's playing and where to catch the Do Something Reel Film Festival.

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Filed under: Events, Chain Stores / Restaurants

Sustainable Seafood for Lent

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by Clare Leschin-Hoar, Posted Mar 9th 2011 @ 1:00PM

Fish baked in foil with tomatoes Photo: New Media Publishing / Flat Art Studios.com

Time to tuck away those shiny Mardi Gras beads. Lent is officially underway, and for many observant eaters, that means several fish-focused Fridays. Lucky for you, we found some folks offering tasty specials where the spotlight shines only on sustainable seafood. That makes it easy to leave your guilty conscience at home.

While Wisconsin throws a mighty tasty fish-fry, they're not the only ones. At Jackson 20 in Alexandria, Va., chef Dennis Marron says they're adding U.S. farmed channel catfish to their traditional fried chicken offering during Lent, making it "Fryday". (He said it, not us!) "We try and stay true to our Southern-influenced concept, and we like to get our fish from as close to home as possible. We track our carbon "fish-print"," he says. The catfish he serves is raised in closed containment systems and fed a mostly vegetarian diet which garners it a Seafood Watch best choice rating. Pass the tarter sauce, would ya?

While Louisville is deep in the heart of the fried-food South, chef Edward Lee of 610 Magnolia steers clear of a fryolator. His Fruits de Maine is a play on the traditional French dish, fruits de mer. "We try and embody the entire North Atlantic in one dish by incorporating four or five different seafood items from the coast of Maine." Depending on what Maine fishermen bring in each week, that could mean line-caught cod, Maine lobster or fresh clams.

Other chefs are making thoughtful choices too.

Filed under: Restaurants, Events

Giant Citrus Sculptures Featured at French Lemon Festival

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by Slashfood Editor, Posted Mar 8th 2011 @ 1:00PM

Giant sculptures made of lemons and oranges Photos: WENN.com

A Sphinx made of oranges? An Egyptian pyramid of lemons? Yep, these enormous citrus creations exist, but you'll have to visit the 2011 Lemon Festival in Menton, France, to see them. Artists at the annual celebration are using local orange and lemon crops to design impressive sculptures for this year's theme: "The Great Civilizations." The festival, which ends tomorrow, attracts more than 300,000 visitors and also features a moonlight parade and a "Garden of Light." Sounds pretty sweet to us.

Feeling a little tart? Get new lemon recipes from KitchenDaily.com

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Filed under: Events

Best Mardi Gras Food

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by Nanette Maxim, Posted Mar 7th 2011 @ 3:00PM

Mardi Gras Shrimp and Sausage Jambalaya recipe Photo: Brown Eyed Baker, Flickr

"Fat Tuesday" may be tomorrow, but Mardi Gras celebrations are already in full swing, from Rio to New Orleans to New York. On this Fat Monday the Hurricanes are flowing, the King Cakes are being baked and frosted, and gumbo is simmering in more than a few pots. (For more on the history of the day, see "Mardi Gras 2011: Fat Tuesday and Carnival Explained," at AOL News.) Take some ideas from these cooks, and get your own Cajun-Creole party started.

Louisiana native (and KitchenDaily contributor) Alexis Touchet lays out all the essentials for Mardi Gras, including quintessentially southern recipes for Creole Chicken Fricassee, Crawfish Pie, Chicken-and-Shrimp File Gumbo, Shrimp Remoulade Garlic Toasts, and Coconut Rum Cream Tarts. No New Orleans Mardi Gras feast would be complete without a big old dish of red beans and rice. Alexis adds spicy andouille sausage to her recipe to amp up the flavor.

In New Orleans, so popular are red beans and rice that now there's a Redbeans Parade (held today), with 60 members of a krewe that has honored the dish by spending months creating their costumes using the legumes (uncooked, natch).

Filed under: Chefs, Events