Chefs Move to Schools

Last week, before heading to Aspen for the Food & Wine Classic I spoke to chef Cat Cora, who is currently on tour promoting her third cookbook, Classics With a Twist. Although she is a restaurant owner, chef, cookbook author, and television star, Cora is also the busy mother of four boys. In fact, the petite chef was nine months pregnant when she shot the cover photo of the book! To find out what Cora has to say about competing on Iron Chef America and see her tips for cooking with children, read more.

First Lady Michelle Obama has been working on her Let's Move! campaign for some time now. Last Friday, June 4, she kicked off a new part of the initiative, the Chefs Move! to Schools program, which encourages chefs to pair with local schools to provide cooking and nutrition advice. Despite the stagnant, 90-degree weather, more than 500 hundred participants, clad in their chef's whites, gathered on the South Lawn of the White House. Among those who attended? Media mogul Rachael Ray, Top Chef head judge Tom Colicchio, Iron Chef Cat Cora, nutritionist Ellie Krieger, and chefs Marcus Samuelsson and José Andrés.
“Children consume as many as half of their daily calories at school, and with more than 31 million children participating in the National School Lunch Program and more than 11 million participating in the National School Breakfast Program, good nutrition at school is more important than ever,” Mrs. Obama said in her remarks. “Chefs have tremendous power as leaders on this issue because of their deep knowledge of food and nutrition and their ability to deliver these messages in a fun and delicious way and I want to thank them for joining the Chefs Move to Schools campaign.”

Check out the first lady's (somewhat lengthy) address, and pictures of who was there, after the jump.

On June 4, at the South Lawn of the White House, Michelle Obama will officially launch the new Chefs Move to Schools Program, a call to action for the nation's chefs to partner with local schools, giving cooking and nutrition advice to educators, parents, and kids.

Chefs Move to Schools is a part of the First Lady's larger Let's Move! campaign to fight childhood obesity. The initiative, which Mrs. Obama and Food Initiative Coordinator Sam Kass announced on May 13, plans to match chefs with nearby schools. Hoping to spread the word, the administration has also employed the help of respected professional organizations such as the IACP and National Restaurant Association.

I was really bowled over by the success of Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution and believe this similar concept has a lot of promise, especially with its grassroots approach. Are you excited about the new program?