The Kansas City Chapter of AIWF sponsors the Days of Taste program by lining up schools, chefs, farmers and volunteers for four sessions with 4th grade classes in participating schools. This is an all-volunteer effort so we would love to hear from you if you are interested in helping 4th graders learn about how things taste different on different parts of the tongue, how taste changes as more ingredients are added to a dish such as a salad, how food looks 'in the raw' - where it comes from, how it journeys from the farm to their grocery store, market, restaurant or school cafeteria, and what to expect and do when visiting a restaurant, selecting from a menu, etc. On the last day of the program, they even have a special lunch in their chef's restaurant!
Although all our chefs and farmers so generously volunteer not only their time but also the food & work supplies, there are other items that it takes to complete the program. Our 'wish list' includes supplies (plastic plates, utensils, chop mats, etc), printing services (activity booklets, parent packets, certificates), volunteer appreciation items, photography/prints/cd, t-shirts, goody bags and goody bag stuff items. These can be donated by local businesses, or purchased using cash donations and benefit events.
Helping with Days of Taste is a very fun and rewarding experience. The kids are great. And it's fun to meet all the teachers, chefs, farmers and other volunteers who know it is important to help kids have these firsthand experiences to learn from the experts about tastes, farm products, restaurant work, food preparation and enjoyment!.
Please contact us if you are interested. Our Days of Taste chairman this year is Kathy Pelz (PELZ4@aol.com) and her helper is Nancy Potter at 816-651-3466 or npotter1@kc.rr.com.
2011 Days of Taste - Once again we are blessed with talented and generous chefs - this year from Rm39, Houlihan's, Starker's, Wine Flights and Le Fou Frog! See all Our Wonderful Volunteers - farmers, schools, printers, goody bag stuffers, etc. We absolutely could not do this program without each and every one of the 40 individuals and organizations shown, as well as the guests who attended our Days of Taste benefit events. Thank you one and all.
The diary:
Day 4 - Get on the bus and go to lunch! Le Fou Frog and Carter Holton hosted two classes from Academie Lafayette; the other two enjoyed The Rieger with Howard Hanna or Wine Flights with Nicco. One Gordon Parks class walked to Rm39, welcomed by Ted Habiger; while the other rode the bus to Houlihan's-Fairway to see Greg Starrette and assistant, Nick.
Day 3 - Salad Day! Some very tasty salads were served today - made and served by the kids in 4th grade at Gordon Parks and at Academie Lafayette under the direction of some very fun and able chefs in Kansas City. Also, the T-shirts have arrived, and Goodie Bag items are ready - including some mini-whisks generously donated by Pryde's of Westport. Next week is the big trip to the restaurants.
Day 1 and Day 2 successfully complete! The program is going well. Occasionally someone forgets, or something comes up (like a water main break!), and when that happens, we do our best to adapt really quickly. The kids and teachers are fantastic - nothing flaps them! Dave Crum and Deb Crum stepped up so graciously to fill a couple of unexpected open Farmer spots. Thank you! Our volunteers just jump in and do whatever is needed. And the chefs and farmers have been doing a super job of helping the kids to learn new things and try foods they may not have tasted before - such as truffle oil, kohlrabi, ginger, leeks, beets, etc. Chefs have brought samples to illustrate the 5 basic tastes (the 5th being "umami", otherwise known as "yummy" to the kids!). And farmers have brought produce for the kids to feel, smell & taste, and learn about how it is grown and how it is used. We even had some baked goods using green tomatoes from Suzanne Frisse. All sorts of questions pop up and other topics open up - such as how salt is used as a preservative and also a flavor enhancer and - back in the day - as "money".
We thank all the farmers - Tom, Suzanne, Thane, Deb & Dave for preparing for this and coming some distance - farms aren't right here in town of course!
T-shirts are ordered and we continue to work on getting Goody Bag items. We'll be "stuffing" them late next week. We have donations from Hen House, Truman Medical Center, Pryde's of Westport and Rabbit Creek Productions - thank you Kami, Bill, Brendan, Cici, Linda & Louise and Donna! We also received a gift card from Riverside Red-X - thank you!
Pre-Day1: The program starts tomorrow (Oct 5th) in 6 classrooms. All these businesses and their owners or representatives are volunteering their time, talent, produce, etc to help these kids learn something about taste - how good fresh food tastes, how it's grown, what it is used to make, how it gets to the market and their table, etc. The kids love it and so do we. Thank you to these wonderful people, as well as to the numerous AIWF friends and volunteers who help out in organizing and in the classroom.
Our schools are Gordon Parks Elementary and Academie Lafayette this year - both are in Kansas City, MO.
Our benefit 9/25 at Le Creuset was a smash! See the update on the chapter's home page on this site. Thank you to all who made it happen and all who came and made it a successful party/benefit for Days of Taste.
2010 Days of Taste Congratulations to Kathy Pelz, the Chefs, the Farmers and the classroom Volunteers. Our schools are Gordon Parks and Carver Dual Language. Outstanding chefs, Ted Habiger of Rm39 and John McClure of Starkers return for another DoT, and Celina Tio and Sous Chef Ryan Spruhan of Julian, and Greg Starrette of Houlihan's complete the chefs roster. We are also lucky to have these volunteer farmers who come a distance and bring lots of produce examples for the kids to see, smell and taste: Thane Palmberg, Suzanne Frisse, Tom Ruggieri and Dennis Smith. We really appreciate that Print Time will again do our Activity Booklets updates. And our volunteers will put together goodie bags and help out in all the classroom activities. Thanks to all! We are looking forward to the faces of those kids!
2006 was our first AIWF-KC Days of Taste - - scroll down
To see some pictures and a fine article on the DAYS OF TASTE events, go to the PRESENT magazine's website for the article at http://www.presentmagazine.com/full_content.php?article_id=104&full=yes&pbr=1 or see www.presentmagazine.com and search on "days of taste".
To see even more pictures, go to the Photo Gallery on this www.aiwf.org/kansascitysite and click on the "Days of Taste" album.
Days of Taste is quite an undertaking! We want to give a big "THANK YOU" to our hard-working volunteers, to our sponsor, the American Dairy Association & Dairy Council, and to our participating restaurants (see links below). Please remember all these wonderful organizations and give them your support too.
Sponsor:
American Dairy Association "3-A-Day Dairy" site- http://www.3aday.org/3aDay/
Restaurants:
bluestem - http://www.kansascitymenus.com/bluestem/
Room 39 - http://www.rm39.com/
Starker's Private Reserve - http://starkersreserve.com/
The American Restaurant - http://www.theamericanrestaurantkc.com/
also two which, sadly, no longer exist:
40 Sardines - http://www.40sardines.com/
Frondizi's Ristorante - http://www.frondizis.com/
Keep reading..... this is how we got started ...... our first outreach for Days of Taste volunteers - February, 2006
February 21, 2006
Dear AIWF members and friends:
I am excited to inform you of the participation by the Kansas City chapter of AIWF in the Days of Taste being held at some of our local public schools.
Teaming up with farmers, chefs, food professionals, teachers and parents, The American Institute of Wine and Food reaches out to fourth and fifth grade students across the nation with its Days of Taste program.
Days of Taste was modeled after a French program called "Journee de Gout" (Day of Taste). This program began in the U.S. in 1994 under the auspices of the French Consulate and The AIWF’s New York chapter. With the belief that taste and health go hand-in-hand, Days of taste provide AIWF with a vehicle to teach students in an engaging way about the importance of fresh food and how ingredients weave their way through daily life, from farm to table.
This program will be held in October on four consecutive Wednesdays with a visit from a chef who will explain the five tastes (sweet, salty, sour, bitter and unami); a visit with a local farmer; the preparation of a harvest salad; and a visit to a chef’s restaurant.
Ted Habiger of Room 39 has agreed to partner with AWIF-KC and spearhead the restaurant/farmer side of the program. He has had experience working with this program when he lived in New York and is anxious to see it happen in Kansas City. So far he has been able to secure commitments from Celine Tio of The American, Debbie Gold of 40 Sardines, Colby Garret of Bluestem and John with Starkers in addition to his own restaurant Room 39.
During these four Wednesdays, a volunteer is needed to assist in the classroom. The time spent in the classroom will be from 1 to 1½ hours. I am asking for your help in putting together this exciting program. If you can volunteer to help in the classroom and/or on the steering committee, please e-mail me at artfulevents@aol.com or phone me at 913-897-1921.
Sincerely,
Kathy Pelz, Chairman
