Austin Food Blogger Alliance 2nd Annual Colossal Curry Cook­-Off

AUSTIN FOOD BLOGGER ALLIANCE SPICES UP THE CITY WITH SECOND ANNUAL CURRY COOK-OFF

Colossal Curry Cook-­Off Brings the Community Together to Raise Funds for Local Non-­Profit

AUSTIN, TX (April 5, 2017):​ The Austin Food Blogger Alliance (AFBA) announces their second annual Colossal Curry Cook­-Off fundraiser, occurring Saturday, April 22, 2017, from 2:00pm­-4:00pm at Shangri­-La.
 
Open to the public, this irresistibly spicy event will give Austinites the chance to vie for the coveted title of Curry Champion of Austin. Everyone from professional chefs to home cooking enthusiasts are encouraged to enter the cook-off and compete for prizes by emailing AFBA at [email protected] by April 10, 2017. All curry styles from across the globe are welcome – entries will be judged based on taste.
 
For those who aren’t ready to flex their own curry cooking muscle, tickets to the Colossal Curry Cook­-Off are on sale now on EventBrite and cost $20 per person, or $25 at the door the day of event (venue restrictions limit attendees to 21+ only). Guests of the cook­-off will enjoy tastes of all the curry recipes and tunes from DJ Dolomike, and will cast their votes for the People’s Choice award.
 
“Everyone in the Austin Food Blogger Alliance is so excited for this cook­-off,” says Kristin Sheppard, President of AFBA. “We think this will be such a fun event for the community and a unique way to raise some funds for a quintessentially Austin non­profit. We appreciate our local friends’ support however they can provide it, whether it’s buying tickets to attend the cook­-off or entering as a contestant and showcasing their curry-­cooking chops!”
 
Sponsored by Shangri-La, American Lamb Board, Savory Spice Shop, Austin Gourmet Popcorn, Wheatsville Co-op, Central Market and Uchi, the Colossal Curry Cook-­Off is sure to be a flavorful afternoon no one will forget. To enter or get more information on this event, please email AFBA at [email protected].

 

About Austin Food Blogger Alliance:

The Austin Food Blogger Alliance (AFBA) seeks to support a local membership of food bloggers and the community through educational initiatives, social events, philanthropic endeavors, and by upholding a commonly shared code of ethics. Formed in 2011, AFBA has over 100 active members blogging on a range of topics, including:

∙ Cooking or baking
∙ Restaurant reviews
∙ Beverages
∙ Special diets, gluten ­free, vegan, vegetarian
∙ Food photography
∙ Food trailers
∙ Farming and gardening
∙ Sustainability

The Austin Food Blogger Alliance is an organization of local food bloggers that seeks to support one another and the community through educational initiatives, social events, philanthropic endeavors, and a shared code of ethics. AFBA is a 501(c)(7) nonprofit organization led by an all-volunteer Board of Directors. Benefits of membership include:

∙ Invitations to members­ only events, classes, and informational panels
∙ Volunteer opportunities within the Austin food community
. Opportunity to contribute to the AFBA City Guide, which averages about 15,000 views per month
∙ Blog promotion via the AFBA website, Twitter feed, and Facebook page
∙ Access to the members ­only Facebook group
∙ Monthly newsletter with news, event announcements, and job opportunities
∙ The opportunity to connect with more than 100 like­minded Austin food writers

. …and more!
 
To learn more about what the food­ loving group is up to, follow AFBA on Facebook (Austin Food Blogger Alliance) Twitter (@atxfoodblogs) or Instagram (@atxfoodblogs).

Confituras: Paying It Forward

Today launches day one of Confituras’ Kickstarter campaign to support their most ambitious venture to date: a community kitchen, a women-in-food educational incubator program, and a Jam & Biscuit retail showcase…all in one.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1133355970/confituras-is-building-a-community-kitchen-and-ret
 
Building community – Here in Austin we are part of a vibrant, local food community – we are proud members of Slow Food Austin, the Austin chapter of Les Dames d’Escoffier, and have been voted local heroes by the readers of Edible Austin in 2011, 2014, and 2015. We have also been recognized by the food community nationally, winning 4 Good Food Awards over the past 5 years for our seasonal preserves. The Austin Food & Wine Alliance awarded confituras a culinary grant in 2013 for our ‘Preserving Austin’ project, which is an emerging oral history program that refers to both preserving the local, seasonal bounty and preserving our own local canning history and heritage. We have cultivated meaningful relationships within our little food community and we’re making big plans to stick around and put more roots into it.

Join Confituras tonight to start off their Kickstarter fundraiser with a bang!
Hosted by Salt and Time Butcher Shop and Salumeria
at 1912 East Seventh Street, Austin
Wednesday, September 23rd, 5-7 pm

Read more at Farmhouse Delivery

The Seeds of Vandana Shiva

Do we want what we grow and what we eat to be determined by a few giant corporations whose first and foremost agenda is profit before people and planetary well-being?

Imagine a world where small farmers are respected as experts in the processes of nature and are honored as stewards of our arable land.

What about a world where farmers are no longer replaced by massive machines force-feeding toxic chemicals into vast monocultures of GMO seeds?

The film is important because Vandana Shiva articulately and scientifically presents the alternative: Ecological agriculture that restores biodiversity, organic seed freedom, healthy soil, fresh water and clean air.

http://kck.st/1N9AOkN
 
How did the willful daughter of a Himalayan forest conservator become the world’s most powerful opponent of Monsanto? The Seeds of Vandana Shiva, a feature-length documentary, presents the remarkable life story of the Gandhian eco-activist and agro-ecologist, Vandana Shiva. A classic David versus Goliath tale, the film shows how Vandana, a brilliant scientist, became Monsanto’s worst nightmare and a rock star of the international sustainable food movement.

The Seeds of Vandana Shiva

Austin Fermentation Festival 2015

Austin Fermentation Festival 2015

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MEDIA CONTACT: Kate Payne, 347-933-0403 [email protected]

Austin Fermentation Festival, October 25th, 2015, Austin, TX

Keynote Speaker: Jennifer McGruther of Nourished Kitchen

October 25, 2015 (AUSTIN, TX) – Texas Farmers’ Market and Presenting Sponsor Barr Mansion announce the 2015 Austin Fermentation Festival with keynote speaker, blogger, author, and traditional foods advocate Jennifer McGruther.

The Austin Fermentation Festival is an educational event that celebrates all things fermented in Central Texas and will run from 9am – 4pm at Barr Mansion (10463 Sprinkle Road, Austin, TX 78754). Proceeds from this event will benefit the Texas Farmers’ Market Farmer Emergency Fund, which offers financial assistance to TFM farmers and ranchers in times of environmental, personal or other crisis.

The day will include a series of fermentation workshops (covering topics such as kimchi, kefir, cheese making, charcuterie, beer, sourdough, vinegars and lacto-fermented vegetables); a community culture swap; a kraut mob; fermented foods and product vendors; book sales; festival-inspired lunch for purchase from local purveyors; fermented beverages and alcohol; a mini farmers’ market; and live music.

Attend by securing general admission or VIP tickets at http://fermentatx2015.eventbrite.com, where online donations to this fundraiser event are also accepted. Vendor applications are accepted here bit.ly/AFFVendorApplication2015 and workshop presenter applications accepted here bit.ly/AFFWorkshopApplication2015.

For more information, please visit http://texasfarmersmarket.org/austin-fermentation-festival/.

Chef Rick Bayless’ Stewardship Helps Farm to Table Take Flight

By Bob Benenson and Jim Slama, FamilyFarmed

Rick BaylessChicago on Monday hosted the annual James Beard Foundation culinary awards ceremony for the first time, and Rick Bayless — one of the city’s most decorated and highest profile chefs — was frequently on the stage as one of the event’s co-chairmen.

He has a long-running public television show (Mexico: One Plate at a Time), won the Bravo network’s Top Chef Masters competition in 2009, and has written several cookbooks, including More Mexican Everyday, which was just released on April 27.Famed for popularizing regional Mexican cuisine in the city at his Frontera Grill and Topolobampo restaurants, Bayless won his first James Beard award — Best Chef Midwest — at the organization’s inaugural ceremony in 1991, and his most recent this year for Best Podcast (The Feed, which he co-hosts with Chicago food critic Steve Dolinsky). In between, he received James Beard medallions as National Chef of the Year in 1995 and Humanitarian of the Year in 1998, and Frontera Grill received the organization’s Outstanding Restaurant award in 2007.

Yet it is Bayless’ role as a pioneer in helping establish a market for local, sustainably produced — and delicious — food in the Chicago region that, to advocates of the Good Food movement, is one of his greatest lifetime achievements.