menuforhope

Are you a Menu For Hope winner?

maki — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 14:15:18 +0100

Did you win prize EU01 of Menu For Hope V? If so, you still haven't gotten in touch! Please do so via here.

Two more days left for Menu For Hope V!

maki — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 13:24:31 +0100

[Update:] Menu For Hope has been extended to December 31st!

I’ve been sick with a cold since Friday. You know the usual stuff - headache, feverish, coughing, and above all that overwhelming grumpiness and desire to make the lives of everyone in my immediate vicinity (or, ‘meatspace’ as the hip kids call it) as miserable as I feel. In this kind of mood, the last thing I want to do is to go out and do any last-minute holiday shopping.

Maybe you feel the same way (about the shopping, hopefully not the cold part). The last couple of days before Christmas should be spent in your cozy home, decorating your kids, hugging your presents, and wrapping your tree. Or do I have that confused… Anywho, to take care of those last, difficult-to-shop-for people on your list, how about giving them a raffle ticket or two for Menu For Hope? If you need something to hand to them physically, Sara of Ms. Adventures in Italy, this year’s Europe host, has made some great printable ‘coupons’ and a 1-page explanation of the Menu For Hope program(me).

I’ve checked over the prizes from Just Hungry and Just Bento, and I think (though my eyes are so blurry they are a bit unreliable) that you still have pretty good odds for all 3 of them.

I’d especially like to draw the attention of European readers to EU01, the 50 GBP box of Japanese food goodies from Japan Centre. Think about it - you get to put together a selection of Japanese food with me, the self-styled Japanese food expert-type person, as well as the Tokumine family who own Japan Centre, as your virtual guides! If you’ve ever been to a Japanese grocery store and stood there flummoxed by what you see, or just grabbed something and taken it home to find out you don’t know what to do with it…or that was just wierd, this is the prize for you.

And yes, for all you chocolate fans out there, what can be better than a bar of Swiss chocolate for a whole year (or, a bar per week)? That would be prize code EU02. Details for prizes EU01 and EU02 are here.

And last but not least, if you want to kit yourself out with cool bento gear, or indeed anything cute/cool/odd from Japan that J-List sells, and get your hands on some bento books that I can vouch for personally (one of them even translated to English!) then EU03 is the one for you. Details for EU03 here.

So! Get thee over to the instructions page, click around a few minutes to take care of last-minute shopping, and relax back home with that towel draped over your head over a steaming bowl of sinus-clearing menthol water. Ahh, bliss.

Menu For Hope V: It's on!

maki — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 11:53:33 +0100

[Update:] Menu For Hope has been extended to December 31st!

Menu For Hope is an annual fundraising event, now in its 5th year, contributed to by food bloggers around the world. Last year, nearly US $100,000.00 was raised for the United Nations World Food Programme, to benefit the school lunch programme in Lesotho, Africa.

Menu For Hope’s creator and head organizer is Pim of Chez Pim, and this year’s regional Europe host is Sara of Ms. Adventures In Italy.

I’m happy to announce that Just Hungry is once again offering raffle prizes for Menu For Hope V. This year, we have two!

Raffle Code EU01: A Japanese food package worth 50 GBP from JapanCentre.com

Anyone who lives in the UK and is interested in Japanese food knows about Japan Centre, the great family-run Japanese food store (not to mention travel agency, bookstore, restaurant, recruitment centre…it’s a mini-Japanese conglomerate!) located in the hub of the action at Piccadilly Circus. They also have a terrific mailorder service. I’ve been a loyal customer myself for some time now. This prize is a 50 GBP (that’s British Pounds) value package of Japanese food products from Japan Centre online catalogue. I’ll select a good mix in consultation with Japan Centre, taking the winner’s wishes into account of course.

This prize can be sent to any country in Europe where Japan Centre delivers. Please check the list on this page to see if your country is eligible.

A big thanks to Simon Tokumine of Japan Centre for donating this great prize!

Raffle Code EU02: The Return Of The Big Box Of Swiss Chocolate

If you aren’t in Europe, there is no need to go away disappointed. This prize was very popular last year, and it’s back! The lucky winner will get 52 bars of Swiss chocolate. Yes that’s right, that’s one for every week of the year. The stack you see in the photo is just a representation, not the actual bars, because of course they will be procured just before shipping for maximum freshness. And, the winner’s tastes will be taken into account of course. No two bars will be the same! Yes, in Switzerland this is more than possible! (No, I’m not talking about candy bars, these are real chocolate bars.)

This prize can be delivered anywhere in the world. However, please check your country’s requirements regarding receiving gifts of food from overseas to avoid disappointment.

How to Bid for a Prize

Note down one of the prize codes above, either EU01 or EU02. Check out the great prize offered on Just Bento too. Or choose another prize from the list at Chez Pim, or the regional European list at Ms. Adventures In Italy.
Go to the donation site at First Giving and make a donation.
Each $10 you donate will give you one raffle ticket toward a prize of your choice. You must 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 code. For example, a donation of $50 can be 2 tickets for EU01 and 3 tickets for EU02. Please write 2xEU01, 3xEU02 and so on.
If your company matches your charity donation, please check the box and fill in the information so we could claim the corporate match.
Please allow us to see your email address so that we could contact you in case you win. Your email address will not be shared with anyone.

The last day for donations has been extended to December 31.

I know that this is a tough holiday season for a lot of us, but just keep in mind that there are many people, especially children, around the world that are in far worse situations than most of us are. For as little as $10, you not only would be donating to a great cause, but you could win something great, for yourself or a loved one!

Good luck and thank you to everyone who enters!

Menu For Hope raffle results

maki — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 07:43:55 +0100

The raffle results for Menu For Hope have been announced on Chez Pim. This year, $91,188.00 was raised. Wow. Thank you to everyone who bought raffle tickets, and to my fellow food bloggers who offered such a great variety of prizes - a collective pat on our well padded backs!

The winner of the Just Hungry prize of a box of 53 bars of Swiss chocolate is Sonja. Sonja please get in touch with me at maki at makikoitoh dot com so we can discuss the where, how and whats of your prize. (I will not, however, be responsible for Sonja’s dental bills at the end of the year :))

Last day for Menu For Hope, and Happy Holidays

maki — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 16:18:19 +0100

This is the very last day you can donate to Menu For Hope! And a nice bonus - take a look at the beautiful poem about Lesotho here by Rethabile. (Yes, if you also read Just Bento you’re getting this in double…but it’s a poem worth visiting more than once!)

Just Bento and Just Hungry (which is mostly me anyway) are taking a few days off to take care of a ton of offline duties. (Thank you for your nice emails…we’re hanging in around here.)

We decided not to get a tree this year, so the only Christmas decoration of sorts we have up is this wallhanging/advent calendar, that I finally finished last week.

In this day and age when things I have made or worked on exist only in digital form, it’s really grounding and satisfying to create something that has a physical form and presence, that I can touch and hold. That includes food too. There’s nothing better than the warm feeling you get when your friends and family’s faces light up when you present them with delicious food that you made with your own hands. Especially around the holidays.

Happy Holidays everyone!

Menu for Hope IV: Think Chocolate

maki — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 03:03:39 +0100

Just Hungry is happy to announce that once again, we’re donating a prize for Menu For Hope, now in its 4th year. Menu for Hope is an annual charity event contributed to by food bloggers around the world. It was instigated by Pim of Chez Pim, and this year’s regional European host is Fanny of foodbeam.

Menu For Hope IV will benefit the United Nations World Food Programme; this year’s donations have been earmarked for the school lunch programme in Lesotho, Africa.

The Just Hungry prize: A Leap Year’s Worth of Swiss Chocolate

The code for the Just Hungry prize is EU13. Note that down!

In case you hadn’t noticed, the current JHHQ is in beautiful, tranquil Switzerland. What is Switzerland known for? Heidi? Alps? Yodelers? Crazy dadaists? Discreet bankers? Modern architects? Cheese? Unfortunately none of those things can be shipped too far (or too easily). But chocolate can. 53 full size bars of Swiss chocolate, in fact (52 plus 1 for leap year) could be yours by bidding on EU13. They will be from local and small producers as well as popular brands; artisanal as well as a few mass market. All Swiss made, mostly varieties not sold outside of Switzerland, and all tested for quality at JH HQ. And, unless you have many dietary restrictions, 53 different kinds. (Yes, they make hundreds of different kinds of chocolate bars here.)

And that’s not all! This prize will be personally selected. The winner will be able to let us know in advance if they have any dietary or taste restrictions, such as nut allergies, a dislike for white chocolate, etc., within reason.

The approximate monetary value of this prize package is US $250.

The photo shows just a small representative selection of chocolates that you might get.

Important Fine Print

Shipping will be prepaid, and the box will be sent as a gift. In most cases you should not have to pay any duties - or if so they will be minimal. We’ve sent many similar packages to various countries around the world and have never had problems. In the event that there are any duties, they will be the responsibility of the recipient.

Special note for U.S. residents: Due to the uncertainties of what customs or Homeland Security’s policies du jour are, we would prefer to ship the prize to you in the first quarter of 2008 when one of us will be going to the U.S., unless you specify otherwise.

How to bid

Go to the donation page at http://www.firstgiving.com/menuforhope4.
Make a donation! Each $10 will give you one raffle ticket toward a prize of your choice.
Please specify which prize you’d like in the ‘Personal Message’ section in the donation form when confirming your donation. The prize code for the Just Hungry package is EU13. Please specify which prize or prizes you’d like in the ‘Personal Message’ section in the donation form when confirming your donation. Specify how many tickets per prize, and please use the prize code - for example, a donation of $50 can be 2 tickets for EU13 and 3 for EU14. Be sure to check the “I am happy for the page owner to see my email address …” box at the bottom! This will allow the organizers to contact winners.

Here’s an example:

The deadline for donating is December 21.
Check back on Chez Pim on January 9 when the result of the raffle will be announced.

Last year, Menu For Hope raised an amazing $62,925. I hope you will take the time this year to donate to a very worthy cause, with a chance to indulge yourself with Swiss chocolate for the whole year!

And, if 2008 will perchance be a year of abstinence and healthy eating for you, perhaps you’ll be interested in the bento-supplies-galore package being offered by Just Bento….or donate for both! You can also check out the list of great prizes offered by Europe-based food bloggers, or complete worldwide list.

Calling Menu For Hope winner "johanna"!

maki — Thu, 18 Jan 2007 16:10:58 +0100

Quick note: The winners of the Menu For Hope prizes have been announced! If you're the "johanna" that won EU07 (the hamper) please contact me so we can arrange things. :)

Menu For Hope III: Last day, last chance

maki — Fri, 22 Dec 2006 10:32:32 +0100

Just a short reminder: Menu For Hope III bidding ends at 6 PM PST, which translates to 3 AM tomorrow morning (the 23rd) for those of us in the CET, midnight EST, 2 AM in Britain, 4 AM in Eastern Europe, etc. More than $46,000 has been raised already for the World Food Programme - sure to go over $50,000 don't you think? Bid on my Food Hamper (fortified with even more nutritious and restorative Swiss chocolate, of course), or any of the other fabulous prizes offered by food bloggers in Europe and around the world. If you fancy a box of goodies, edible and otherwise, arriving at your door, consult this terrific list put together by Kat of Kungfoodie of prizes that can be shipped around the world (the list includes, of course, The Hamper).

Good luck everyone, and thank you for donating to such a worthy cause!

Menu For Hope III: Still time to donate!

maki — Mon, 18 Dec 2006 09:56:57 +0100

Wow. As of right now, more than $24,000 has been donated to the World Food Programme through Menu for Hope III. If you haven't send in your donation yet, there's still time! For a minimum of US $10 you have a chance to win one of a whole bunch of fantastic prizes - including, of course, the Just Hungry Eclectic Food Hamper. Several people have been bidding on it already (thank you!) but hey - you've got to be in it to win it, as an old New York State Lottery ad slogan said. And yep, there will be even more delectable Swiss chocolate in the hamper than what's shown in the original photo!

You can see all the Menu For Hope prizes being offered at the Chez Pim; or the Europe list at DavidLebovitz.com. Good luck to all bidders!

Menu For Hope III

maki — Mon, 11 Dec 2006 17:37:41 +0100

[Update 2:] The auction is now over! Thank you everyone who donated!

[Update:] I've just signed up to take yet another chocolate making class this Saturday at Insler Torten, the same place where I made these adorable Easter Bunnies. One of my handmade chocolate creations will also be included in the hamper! Insler Torten uses the most delicious milk chocolate...

Menu For Hope is an annual charity event, now in its third year, to raise money for worthy causes. This year's beneficiary is the United Nations World Food Programme. The European Host for this event is David Lebovitz, and the overall host and originator of this wonderful event is Pim of Chez Pim.

I'm happy to announce that Just Hungry is donating an Eclectic Food Hamper for the auction. For as little as $10, you'll not only be buying a chance to win a box of goodies hand-picked by me, you will also be supporting a very good cause. The prize code for this package is EU07. Below are details on how to enter to win, but first let me tell you all the delicious goodies that you'll get....

Click on the photo to see everything larger on flickr, with notes!

Japan, Switzerland and Provence

Readers of this site might have noticed that my food tastes are rather eclectic, but there are three regions to which I gravitate most often, culinarically speaking. First of course is Japan, where I was born. Second is Switzerland, where I live now. And third is a relatively recent love, Provence in the south of France. The call for Menu for Hope donations came through while I was in Provence, and that's where the idea came to me to me to put together a sampler of the foods that I love from those three regions. All items are either impossible or very hard to obtain outside of each country. And here is what you will get! All items will be accompanied by explanatory notes, and there will be a couple of original recipes too.

From Japan:

A packet of green tea (sencha) made from tiny young tea leaves (shincha). I beg my mother to send me this brand of tea whenever she can, and I am parting with one of her most recent shipments with great reluctance...all for a good cause!
A pack of dashi stock 'tea bags': I've never seen these sold outside of Japan. They contain a mixture of bonito flakes, dried anchovies, konbu seaweed and other things. Just put one pack in 4-5 cups of cold water, bring to a simmer and you have delicious dashi stock, the basis for most Japanese cooking. (Note: this is the only non-vegetarian item in this package. If you'd rather not receive it I can substitute a vegetarian item instead.)

From Switzerland:

Obscured by international chocolate conglomerates like Lindt and Nestlé-Cailler are many small Swiss artisanal chocolatiers who create small batches of delicious chocolates, often using traditional methods and equipment. Most of their production rarely makes it outside of the Swiss borders, since the Swiss (and hungry expat residents) gobble them up. Varietals (chocolate whose cacao beans come from specific sources) are very popular now.I will include several different kinds of chocolate bars, a packet of chocolate couverture (chocolate buttons suitable for cooking, or just for nibbling on), and one more chocolate surprise. They'll make you want to jump on the next plane to Zürich for more.
Optionally, I will include a jar of Cenovis, the Swiss Marmite-like yeast spread. If you've ever had Marmite or Vegemite and hated it, I'll leave this out. If on the other hand you do like black salty yeasty spreads, or just feel adventurous...it's yours!

From Provence:

I just came back from Provence on Sunday. I wish that I could ship you the fragrant herbs, the pungent cheeses, the fine wines, and the fruit bursting with ripeness. But alas, bothersome import restrictions won't allow this. I'll try to whet your appetite though by including a small jar of tapenade made from the delicious A.O.C. black olives of Nyons; a packet of handmade calissons (ground almond and melon syrup confections) from my favorite small Boulangerie-Patisserie in Montsegur sur Laozon in the Drôme Provençal; a small can of extra virgin olive oil; a can of truffle and cêpe (porcini) mushroom flavored oil; a hand-signed container of fleur de sel salt from the Camargue; and last but not least, an olive wood salad fork and spoon set plus a matching spatula, for mixing up your summer salads and stirring your vegetable ragouts.

All of the above will be shipped to you in a bright yellow box by efficient Swiss Post. The estimated value is at least US $180, excluding shipping.

Important Fine Print

I will pay the shipping, and send this box as a gift, so in most cases you should not have to pay any duties - or if so they will be minimal. I've sent many similar packages to various countries around the world and have never had problems but in the event that there are any duties, they will be the responsibility of the recipient.

Special note for U.S. residents: The country that may have the most draconian customs regulations at the moment that I've had experience with is the U.S. If you'd like to bid from the U.S., you don't need be too concerned, since I'm very careful about not shipping things that could cause a problem. BUT if you'd rather be 100% safe, I will ship the box to you from the U.S. when I'm next scheduled to be there (probably in March, but not later than May, of 2007). If you bid and win please let me know your preferences.

How to bid!

Go to the donation page at http://www.firstgiving.com/menuforhopeIII.
Make a donation! Each $10 will give you one raffle ticket toward a prize of your choice. The prize code for this package is EU07. Please specify which prize or prizes you'd like in the 'Personal Message' section in the donation form when confirming your donation. Do tell us how many tickets per prize, and please use the prize code-for example, a donation of $50 can be 2 tickets for EU01 and 3 for EU07. If your company matches your charity donation, please remember to check the box and fill in the information so we could claim the corporate match.
Please also check the box to allow us to see your email address so that we could contact you in case you win. Your email address will not be shared with anyone.
The deadline for donating is December 22nd.
Check back on Chez Pim on January 15 when we announce the result of the raffle. The drawing will be done electronically. Our friend the code wizard Derrick at Obsession with Food is responsible for the application that will do the job.

I hope you will take the time to donate to a very worthy cause, with a chance of indulging yourself in many delicious ways if you win this box. Good luck!