Hanoi Pan-Fried Fish with Turmeric and Dill (Chả Cá)...

Chả Cá is Northern Vietnam Hanoi's most beloved dish. There is actually an entire street named after it, riddled with restaurants serving only this specialty fare. Curious to try Northern Vietnamese cuisine, I first came across this gorgeous and perfumey fish dish over a decade ago at Hanoi Three Seasons in the heart of Toronto's East Chinatown. They've since opened a second location in Leslieville. I grew up with friends who were from South Vietnam and I was accustomed to eating their range of gloriously fresh and intoxicating food; venturing into their neighbouring North was only a matter of time and this rare restaurant find piqued my interest and taste buds immensely. When the owner recommended I try their signature pan-fried fish with turmeric and dill I was instantly hooked. This rich aromatic traditional dish combines turmeric and fish sauce to marinate the fish, that is seared with lots of dill and green onions, served over a bed of thin rice noodles. Seasoned fish sauce, bean sprouts, herbs, sliced chilies and crunchy peanuts adds texture and more pow to a super flavourful dish. Inspired to make it for my family finally, I consulted a few amazing Vietnamese cookbooks and borrowed a little here and there to come up with my own version. You can buy fish fillets frozen or fresh-- you don't need to work it from whole like I did. I used yogurt for a moist tasting fish, but if you prefer a more seared fish, omit it from ingredients.

Visiting the Southern parts of Vietnam in 2004 with my husband and father-in-law. Eating delicious food, people watching, riding on the back of motorbikes and visiting the markets filled our days with wonderful sights, sounds, smells that can only be Vietnam's distinct seductive charm. 

Hanoi Pan-Fried Fish with Turmeric and Dill (Chả Cá)
Makes 4 to 6 servings

1 lb. boneless firm fish fillets, with skin-on (red snapper, rock fish or catfish are good options)
4 green onions, divided
2 garlic cloves, minced
1-inch knob fresh galangal, skin peeled and chopped
1 Tbsp. ground turmeric
1/2 cup plain yogurt (omit if you prefer a seared fish)
3 Tbsp. fish sauce
1/2 tsp. shrimp paste
1 Tbsp. sugar
4 Tbsp. cooking oil, divided
1/2 bunch dill, thick stems removed, roughly chopped and divided
1/2 lemon
1 package vermicelli, cooked according to package instructions
bean sprouts
cilantro and rau ram
1/4 cup roasted peanuts, chopped
3/4 cup Nước mắm cham (see note below)

NOTE: To make Nước mắm cham:  i) Dissolve 1/4 cup granulated sugar in 1/3 cup boiling water; ii) Mix in 3 Tbsp. fish sauce and 3 Tbsp. white vinegar or fresh lime juice; leave to cool; iii) To season, add 2 finely chopped garlic cloves and 1 tsp. of Vietnamese chili sauce (sambal oelek) or 1 finely chopped Thai or hot red chili to taste.

I like to chill the fish sauce mixture until ready to serve.

If you are filleting a whole fish (you can get it gutted and cleaned at the supermarket), run the knife (best to use a boning knife) down the spine to the tail in a gentle slicing - not sawing - action, working the blade between the spine and the flesh. Repeat until the fillet begins to come away - lift the fillet to see where you're working. Repeat on other side to achieve two nice fillets. I took it a step further as I wanted to eat the rest of the fish- fried. I worked with two whole rose fish (a rock fish species)-- lopped off the head on one for its skeleton, and kept the head and the other fish skeleton intact to freeze for a future fish broth. Their breast areas with pectoral fins were dissected as well for frying.

When filleting, slice close against the bone to render the maximum meat.

Slice the fillets into several bite-size pieces.

Chop the green onion whites, reserving the green parts. Place into a bowl with garlic and galangal and with the handle end of a chef's knife or cleaver, pound to a paste. If you have a mortar and pestle, the more easier this is to do or grind into a paste with your food processor. Make a mixture with the green onion paste, turmeric, yogurt, fish sauce, shrimp paste, sugar and 2 Tbsp. oil to coat the fish. Gently mix 1/3 of chopped dill with fish. Cover and marinate for one hour.

While the fish was marinating, I began to fry the fish. I salted then coated the fin pieces and the beheaded fish skeleton in 3/4 cup potato starch, shaking off the excess and shallow-fried them in hot oil in skillet with a cup or so of cooking oil (oil is ready when a skewer inserted in the centre emits bubbles shooting up its sides). Both sides were fried until golden brown- crispy, then drained on paper towels before being plated to serve. Extra kosher salt was sprinkled on top. Succulent meat bits, cartilage, blubber and crispy fins to enjoy!!

Deep-fried fish heaven! No waste!

Finely shred the green onion parts. Heat remaining 2 Tbsp. oil in a large skillet or pan over medium heat; removing excess marinade, pan-fry the fish fillets about two minutes on both sides (discard marinade). Squeeze lemon into the pan, add some of the dill and green onions, gently toss and cook until fish is cooked through for about a minute more.

Let the dill and green onions cook until wilted.

Divide the noodles into serving bowls and top with the fish. Serve up the remaining bean sprouts, green onions, herbs (dill, cilantro and rau ram), peanuts and nước mắm cham for the family and guests to help themselves.

There we have it- a delightful classic Northern Vietnamese fish dish for a Sunday family dinner and crispy bones to go with it too!

Just love these work, play and rest images.

Photo Credits: Real Vietnamese Cooking by Lister and Pohl

Still riding Vietnam's simplicity and sophisticated food inspirations... up next, Fried Shrimp Mousse on Sugarcane or Lemongrass...

Go Easy Beef Stroganoff...

Walking through Sobeys bright midtown store, I felt an absolute blank on what to make for dinner tonight-- losing my mojo momentarily... until in my aimless wandering I caught glimpses of beef, sour cream and mushrooms. Bingo! Beef stroganoff came roaring to mind-- soft noodles nestled in a creamy savoury slightly tangy sauce with tender beef slices and earthy mushrooms. Eyeing a bunch of asparagus and a stick of French baguette, a complete meal quickly came together.

Go Easy Beef Stroganoff
Makes 6 servings

1 package egg noodles, cooked according to package instructions
1 Tbsp. oil
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1/2 tsp. salt
1-1/2 lbs. beef tenderloin or loin steak, sliced across the grain into strips
1 Tbsp. butter
1 clove garlic, minced
250 g mushrooms, sliced (or use a combination of cremini, shiitakes, white and oyster)
2 cups beef broth, divided 
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
3 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
1 cup sour cream or plain yogurt

NOTE: Partially freeze beef for two hours to ease cutting.

Meanwhile, I prepared the asparagus. Snap off hard part of stems; single layer on a baking tray and drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with a little salt and pepper. Bake in preheated 400F oven for 10 to 15 minutes. Remove onto serving platter and finish with a pinch of coarse sea salt.

Heat oil in a skillet and cook onions over medium high until golden about two minutes. Add butter and cook beef with salt over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until brown. 

Stir in the garlic and mushrooms and cook another three minutes. Add 1-3/4 cups of the broth, bay leaf and thyme; cover and simmer for two minutes. Mix the flour with the remaining 1/4 cup broth until lump-free and gradually stir into beef mixture. Heat to boiling for one minute, stirring constantly; reduce heat. Stir in sour cream; heat until hot. Remove bay leaf.

Garlic bread is super easy to make- a family favourite and is perfect served with this noodle dish.The French baguette is sliced into diagonals just enough to leave the bottom still intact; with each side swiped with a mixture of olive oil, minced garlic, salt and dried oregano, then baked up on the middle oven rack until warm and crusty for about 8 to 10 minutes at 325 F.

Add cooked noodles to the beef mixture and stir until well-incorporated. Serve with roasted asparagus spears and baked garlic bread. Simple, quick, this is a great go-to meal when you've run out of ideas, or in my case, have a temporary what-to-cook lapse. Cheers!

Baking up Toronto's Finest Baklava For Eighteen Years-- Patisserie Royale...

Appearance-- flaky golden, nutty, scrumptiously-enticing... Taste-- crispy light, part pastry part chewy cookie, bursting with fresh nuts, just the right sweetness with hints of rose water and orange blossom... Experience-- eyes-rolled-back heavenly... Enter-- Patisserie Royale, baking up Toronto's finest baklava in central east Scarborough for nearly two decades. In their shiny new relocation in a commercial plaza on Kennedy near Ellesmere, I had the privilege of speaking to the owner's charming son, Azmi Jamous who I've known for a long time, having been a loyal and frequent customer for 14 years. My parents live in the area, and visiting them often means a visit to PR. They offer a variety of fresh, daily-made hand-crafted two to three bite-sized Lebanese and Syrian pastries from petit fours, cookies, macaroons, nougat  and mammoul, but its their exceptional baklava (pronounced baklava with a "w" in Arabic) that keeps me coming back.

Assorted Tray Mix reposted from Patisserie Royale

Rapid production in the facility happens early in the morning on their second floor; unfortunately I wasn't able to capture staff in action by the time I waltzed in. Entering their back kitchen, a rack of fresh delectable treats greeted me. I have to say it took some willpower not to grab a piece, turn away and stuff my face. The store's owner Mounzer Jamous was busying on the phone with his suppliers and I was invited to self-stroll around the store and help myself to photo-taking and inquiries with his son Azmi.

Only real clarified butter is used in their baklava.

An array of popular Middle Eastern cookies and pastries dazzles!

Pretty gift boxes makes hostess gifts a breeze!

As early as 9:30, a steady stream of customers were already walking in getting their morning pastry fix, or a little treat for the office. This happy man is a regular.

Azmi has been working at his father's store since 13. As we were talking, I can feel his tremendous respect for his father and pride for the family business. Prior to opening Pâtisserie Royale in Scarborough, the owner, Mounzer Jamous managed Pâtisserie Mahrousé in Montreal’s Park Extension, a bakery owned by the great-great-great grandson of Syria’s legendary Mahrousé family. After learning the secret art of making the tastiest pastries possible from the biggest name in Middle Eastern baking, Mounzer brought that knowledge with him to Toronto in 1997. Fast-forward 18 years, Patisserie Royale has been well-established as Toronto's best in Middle Eastern pastries. 

The impressive spread of baklava stuffed with almonds, cashews, walnuts and pistachios.

Not only are they delicious but this store's baklava look gorgeous-- each a work of art. My favourite of all-- Wardeh made with crispy phyllo shaped into pretty petals and filled with whole plump Iranian pistachios. There's no skimping here and you can certainly taste the premium quality of ingredients used!

From top left clockwise: Kolshkor (made with cashew nuts), Swar (pistachios), Baklava with Walnuts and Assabeh (almonds). As you can see the fine phyllo pastry is skilfully handled to create such distinct and attractive pastries. Swar for example is created by wrapping phyllo around a tube and delicately worked to resemble a pretty bracelet.

Reposted from Patisserie Royale

Another variation on their baklava are made with shredded Kataef (a special dough) resembling vermicelli rice noodles. This one-- Balaurieh is filled with crushed pistachios and a hint of rose water; its exquisite aesthetic composition takes precision and is treated like art to achieve.

Azmi tells me Borma, meaning twisted, is the most challenging one to make. It gets its name from the delicate art of twisting the pistachio filled shredded Kataef (a special dough). It is then lightly fried in cylindrical tubes to give it that rich colour and crispy bite, then sliced to sell. So phyllo or Kataef to make the crispy baklava base, real clarified butter removing the solids to create a light taste, superior quality nuts as a filling, rose water and orange essence provides hints of exotic flavour... but how about the syrup to make it sweet? Sorry, Azmi exclaims, that the family secret. All he could tell me is that it is a sugar & water-based solution.... Hmmm?

Classified as Mammoul-- shortbread cookies made with semolina wheat, Karabiges Madd is a scrumptious treat created in layers served with their homemade marshmallow syrup, fresh pistachio paste and ground pistachio topping. This was a first for me, and it was delicious-- nice texturally layered with a soft marshmallow surface giving way to a dense sweet pistachio centre ending with a crumbly cookie base. A similar textured confection but made in a pan called Mafroukeh- a true traditional Lebanese favourite eaten regularly by locals back home -- part baklava, part deconstructed pie, part pudding, is a sell-out at their store. They even ship orders to U.S. customers who find them on-line. It is such a popular everyday dessert in Lebanon but so rare to find in North America. They're more than happy to fill these traditional sweet orders to give their customers a moment to relive their nostalgic taste.

Asked whether they would ever spin off from their traditional baklava by injecting a combination of new or trendy flavours, it is a possibility but nothing too out there-- perhaps a drizzle of chocolate on the surface or mixed-in with the nuts for the stuffing. Time-honoured tradition over innovation preserves their conventional practices coupled with using only the best quality ingredients, which are why they have stood the test of time and still continues to stand out from the rest! Although at Susan's Savour-It! I am usually keen to take restaurant inspirations and turn them into my own home-style version, this is one exception where I gladly leave the "cooking" in the hands of the experts.

With Patisserie Royale owner's son Azmi Jamous

Visit Patisserie Royale at 1415 Kennedy Road Unit-26 (Southeast corner plaza Kennedy & Ellesmere) Scarborough to treat yourself or your guests. It really makes an impressive hostess gift. And if you see Azmi who's usually serving the counter, tell him I sent you. Cheers!

Food Revolution Day 2015 Wrap Up... Here and Around the World...

It's been a little over one week-- Food Revolution Day May 15th came and went... And I am still getting inspired catching up on my fellow ambassadors' amazing commitment, effort and energy organizing their events around the world; I thought what better way than to ask some of them to share with us how they celebrated the day in their home towns and communities. In summary, at the school level, we had an incredible 8,198 schools across 95 countries register to take part in Jamie’s Squash-it Sandwich lesson, from a whopping 3,170 schools in the UK to two brilliant schools in Zimbabwe. As well, countless other kinds of activities and events took part around the world.To date, Jamie's global petition has garnered over 1.5 million signatures, and we still have until October to round up much, much more. Jamie will take his remarkable petition in November to the G20 summit in Turkey urging our world leaders to embrace food literacy in all school systems. 

Here is just a short-list round up of amazing activities and events happening on Food Revolution Day capturing local Toronto ambassadors in action, and our friends abroad in Argentina, Dubai, Nairobi, Netherlands, Oregon U.S.A, Singapore, Taiwan and Uruguay.

Jamie with a mouthful of Super Ambassadors Jamie's Food Tube Channel covering Food Rev Day. 

First, recapping my three school events in Toronto on Food Revolution Day. One with a massive hands-on cooking lesson making Jamie's Squash-It Sandwich in a Northwest-end high school. It was a high energy day that began with racked nerves on May 15th cooking up with 1250 students- a majority of Northview Heights Secondary School (1500 student body)... and Jamie himself making a special live video appearance!! In addition, 200 eight graders came for a tour in the morning and enjoyed Jamie's oatmeal cookie tweaked into breakfast bars, which is baked up every morning by the staff in the baking class in fact- the school's best seller! With teachers, 30 third graders from their family school Wilmington and other guests invited to participate, there were about 1500 people taking part here on Food Revolution Day! A successful day indeed! See here for more.

Photos reposted from Happy Revolution Day post (read more for details).

A second school event was held at Henry Kelsey's Middle School in Scarborough. My elementary schoolmate Ming Won, a grade seven teacher championed getting his school involved; he was able to bring together three teachers (including himself) and their classes to join in the hands-on session making the Squash-It Sandwich, with a total of 84 students, cooking while watching Jamie's on-line lesson. He tells me the program was great and the kids enjoyed both the group activities (students worked in teams germinating alfalfa sprouts in sprouting glass jars donated from A. Vogel Canada) and eating the sandwich! Speaking to the school principal pre-event, he was encouraged to review the success of the day to consider participating at a broader level with more classes in 2016. With the great feedback, that potential is promising!

Photo Credits: Ming Won

At the third school, Forest Grove Montessori attended by my youngest son Matias', two classes- 40 students participated (this was their second year getting involved). The children donned Food Revolution Day tattoos, ate cookies I baked up-- Susan's Crispy Chewy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Raisin Cookies and learned about germination and photosynthesis by growing sprouts with sprouting jars generously donated by A Vogel to Canadian-wide ambassadors. Their goal, through the Food Revolution ambassadors, was to encourage food literacy and consumption of nutrient dense fresh foods, by teaching 1000 kids and their families to sprout. When I went to pick up my son at the end of the long day, I was swarmed with his classmates showing off their tattoos, telling me my cookies were yummy and that they had a fun day! My heart glowed and made me smile ear to ear.

Photo Credits: Tammy Ghajar

No rest for the wicked-- The next day after Food Revolution Day, I assisted fellow Toronto Ambassador Linda Matarasso at her successful public Veggie Cooking Demo venue at Hendrix Restaurant Supplies & Equipment's brand new showroom in North York. Her menu consisted of homemade pita flatbreads, Mediterranean grilled veggie flatbread sandwiches and spicy carrot soup. With Linda's thorough demo, participants taking part in dough rolling, savouring delicious food and great prizes at the end, everyone had a fantastic time! To read more, see my account of the day's activities and Linda's post @starvingfoodie.

Photo Credits: Alex @hypebelly

Mardi Michels, fellow Super Ambassador for Canada and Food Revolution Toronto had a super busy week. She tells us, "I’ve done large in-school events to celebrate getting kids and their parents cooking for Food Revolution Day in 2012, 2013 and 2014 – it’s been amazing to see the larger school community join me in standing up for real food!  This year, I wanted to go a different route, though. Since Jamie Oliver’s push was all about getting food education onto the curriculum, I wanted to see if I couldn’t work some Food Revolution activities into my own – to make it a little more organic, less “one big one-off event” and more activities that will spark conversation at home and school about eating better and cooking. 

I’m lucky to have a little wiggle room in my curriculum around about now and the week of Food Revolution Day I was able to insert a few lessons based on Jamie’s official Food Revolution sandwich – the Squash It Sandwich – into all my classes from Grades 3-6. We all started out by watching the Mr Bean episode where he makes a strange sandwich on a park bench We talked about his ingredients, the boys drew his sandwich and labelled it and the older guys talked about the odd utensils he used (scissors to cut the bread, credit card to spread the butter etc…). Then we brainstormed sandwich ingredients and the boys then drew their dream sandwich – they had to choose a spread, a meat/ cheese or fish and some vegetables (oh and yes, Nutella and jam totally made it into the “spreads” column!). We grew the sprouts (using the ‪#‎BioSnackySprouts kits generously donated by A.Vogel Canada!) and then we got cooking with our sprouts – making Jamie’s Squash it Sandwich – as much en français as we could! In the lesson after our cooking session we wrapped up by drawing and talking about our version of the sandwich aux légumes écrasés!  Read more about my in-school Food Revolution Week activities, here and my public events here."

Photo Credits: Mardi Michels

Registered Dietitian and fellow Food Revolution Toronto Ambassador Carol Harrison took an opportunity during a cooking with kids TV segment on the Rogers Daytime Show to highlight Food Revolution Day and encourage folks to sign the petition. The segment airs three times a day each reaching 600,000 viewers. Parents' barriers and concerns about cooking with kids were addressed while providing concrete ideas for how to involve children at different ages including making the themed squashed sandwich. These one through three graders in Toronto's east end lost no time jumping right in to make a 20 item salad bar with Carol.  All the while, the children learned how to wash, peel, grate and chop vegetables safely as well as make a home made salad dressing. Their plates were practically licked clean, proof that if children are involved in preparing food and have choice in what and how much they eat, they are much more likely to eat well. 

Photo Credits: Carol Harrison

Julie Cockburn, Super Ambassador from Bend Oregon, details her special day growing with the community locals: "I loved being able to offer real, practical support to a garden project here in Central Oregon. With the assistance of Central Oregon Seed Exchange, we were able to source donations for seeds and soil that were delivered to Crawmer’s in April. During the morning of May 15th, a handful of Food Revolution volunteers cleaned up their garden, and helped the kids get their seed starts into the ground.

Savory Spice Shop Bend generously supported the campaign by donating a portion of their proceeds from May 15th to the project, allowing us to give Crawmer’s a gift of over $200 to go toward their garden. The little kiddos, whose garden we helped plant on May 15th, are off to a great start – learning where their food comes from, and getting excited about growing it themselves! Our public outreach at Savory Spice Shop Bend was a huge success! Several hundred people visited with us, tasted REAL food samples, chatted with some of our amazing local producers, purchased seeds, learned about a local CSA, grabbed a free copy of the 2015 Food & Farm directory for Central Oregon from the High Desert Food & Farm Alliance, got a chair massage from Hands Of Healing Bend, and generally got excited about growing and eating REAL food!

In the first two hours, we gave out 100 free, local, non-gmo veggie seed packs provided by Central Oregon Seed Exchange, and sold many more throughout the day. A highlight was the beautiful enclosed viewing bee hive from Bend Bee Company. Young and old alike loved seeing the bees, while tasting a bite of their high desert honey.

I personally loved handing out pieces of Bloomsdale spinach harvested fresh the day before from one of our local farms - Juniper Jungle. I would have never thought samples of spinach would be a hit, but this spinach was so seriously tasty! Almost everyone who tasted it said it was the best spinach they ever tried – just one more reason to eat fresh, local produce! I’m already looking ahead to making the 2016 Food Revolution Day even better!" Read more on Julie's event.

Photo Credits: Julie Cockburn

Prachi Grover, Super Ambassador in Dubai had this to tell us: "A little more than a week since the Food Revolution Day and though a part of me is happy and content that everything went off well (finally I can put up my legs on the coffee table and ponder about the beautiful memories we created together); if you were to ask me to be really really honest I am terribly missing all those days (read the last five months).Endless planning, organizing, exchanging hundreds of emails, eating up each other heads, agreeing, disagreeing, sleepless nights because I was too excited to sleep before each of the events, those wonderfully generous people who came together to make this happen and those happy faces of all the little ones who made Food Revolution Day 2015 so very special.

We began with the 100 children coming together at the Indian High School, followed by another 100 along with their parents at Jamie’s Italian and 120 of them with parents at Lafayette Gourmet. Subscribers of dinnertime service also cooked with us and there was a virtual event on the blog. When so many of these little chefs took a pledge together it gave me Goosebumps. We cooked, tasted and tested. Played and Pledged. Danced and Sang. What a memorable month it has been. Much thanks to all the partners, media, parents and little ones who made this happen. 

At the last event one little girl came and told me she really really had fun today and when would be the next Food Revolution Day. I whispered in her ear, guess what it is tomorrow! That’s right. Every day is a Food Revolution Day!" Read here for more.

I told Prachi I absolutely loved this photo (one of her favourites)-- she sums it up beautifully, by saying, "Isn't it just like everyone is rising together and going out hand in hand to accomplish something meaningful?"

Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much-- Helen Keller. Photo Credit: Prachi Grover.

Netherlands' Super Ambassador Terri Salminen took part in a multitude of events leading up to FRD, on FRD and beyond. "This year was my second time organizing a FRD event. My first event took place at the beautiful NeighbourFood Market in Amsterdam on April 19th. Amidst more than 50 local chefs and organic food entrepreneurs, I demonstrated the “Squash It” sandwich, gave tastings of the main ingredients of the theme recipe and engaged hundreds of market visitors in discussions about real food, the importance of sharing food knowledge and spoke avidly about the food education petition! It was a very fulfilling day, full of promise. Next year, I envision organizing cooking lessons for children and at the NeighbourFood Market to celebrate a new year of Food Revolution.

From May 8th through May 13th I executed a Food Revolution Line-up, visiting three diverse corporate restaurants of renowned international companies. I asked head chefs Damien Taylor, Joris Hendriks, Fong Yee Wong and Edwin Kwakernaak to cook from the heart and to share a favorite recipe with their guests by demonstrating easily imitated cooking techniques during lunch services. My goal was to inspire a wave of home cooking from scratch. In a little less than a week, with the passionate assistance of participating chefs I was able to reach more than 700 people.

During the week prior to Food Revolution Day, Hutten Business Catering made the “Squash It” sandwich, showing their support for the mission of FRD in more than 100 corporate restaurant locations. Although a few events were cancelled at the last minute, on Friday May 15th, I was invited to assist in a Food Revolution event at the Alkmaar soccer stadium, where 70 youth athletes took part in a taste testing and cooking lesson making a healthy vegetable wraps.

With Food Revolution Day at a close, I am posting the participating chefs’ stories and recipes through social media — working on my plan for next year. Meanwhile, my next “Food Revolution” event will take place this summer in Grayslake, Illinois where I am teaming up with Super ambassador Lindsey Shifley to teach cooking to a group of teenaged students at the working organic farm of the Liberty Prairie Foundation. My weeks will be filled up until my flight to the U.S. on Independence Day (July 4th) with the writing of a book of cooking basics where ingredients will be interchangeable and sharing essential cooking techniques will be our main purpose." Incredible work Terri!

"My dream is to make a difference. My passion is to inspire others to love good food made from their own hands." 
Photo Credits: Terri Salminen

Sandra Mukidza, Super Ambassador in Nairobi, Kenya shares these wonderful smiley photos cooking up Jamie's champion sandwich. Follow her pictorial post to see more smiles on her incredible FR day.

“Tell me what you eat and I’ll tell you who you are.” Photo Credits: Sandra Mukidza

In Argentina, several FRD events took place. Starting with a public awareness presentation in Buenos Aires, Super Ambassador Maria Elena Ledesma gave a cooking demonstration along with a tasting. She emphasized the importance of using healthy foods and local ingredients, consistent with Jamie Oliver's message to promote local cuisine with sustainable and healthy foods. Maria delighted the audience by cooking a recipe with the ancient seed quinoa that contains powerful nutritional properties harvested from north western Argentina. 

In late May, post FRD, her work also unified efforts with another Ambassador, the renowned chef Perla Buenos Herro, where both shared an outdoor program in an important organic market with families and children. All those who came with their recyclable cups shared a delicious vegetable soup in a friendly and festive atmosphere, accompanied with the radiance of the sun. Maria Elena Ledesma also gave interviews and appeared in articles of important newspapers, magazines and on radio in Argentina, bringing awareness to Food Revolution Day, and Jamie Oliver's global petition on food education. This commitment will continue throughout the year, with more planned actions to support the message of the Food Revolution campaign.

Photo Credits: Maria Elena Ledesma

Photo Credit: Way Ling Wiesser, Singapore

Singapore Ambassador, Way Ling Wiesser spent some time in school, speaking to a class of 24 about making healthier choices and opening their eyes to the shocking reality of processed foods.

The school also switched their normal sweet treats on Feast Friday to a whole spread of fruits and vegetables, and Way introduced them to freshly roasted kale chips - which some called grass, but all loved! Jamie's Food Revolution Day song was well enjoyed.








Diego Ruete is Montevideo, Uruguay's Super Ambassador living and breathing Food Revolution 365 days a year with his Petit Gourmet cooking school and advocacy work with Fooducation. Diego says, "our #FoodRevolution goes on, we are having three actions cooking with parents and children in a hospital. On Monday, we are going to a public high school 60km away from the capital city to share our kitchen skills with 80 students. That's our short term schedule-- our aim is to reach 800 kids before the end of the year. Hope we can reach more!" I believe and know you can-- go Diego go!

Photo Credit: Diego Ruete

Kate Chou, Ambassador in Taiwan had loads of fun engaging kids in creative food educational games. I'm inspired to adapt similar activities in future events with my own community!

Another year of Jamie Oliver's Annual Food Revolution Day is over but indeed not our spirit of committing to keep the momentum going and keeping cooking skills alive to help drive increased food education across schools around the world. If you haven't sign the petition, it runs until October! 

A HUGE thank you to everyone here who shared their incredible accomplishments and for giving me continued inspiration as a member of our ambassador family.  I feel lucky to have the opportunity to round up such an amazing compilation of your special activities here and around the globe.  Let's keep our candles burning for our great cause as we all know food Revolution day is not just one day, but everyday!

Super Ambassadors from around the world.

For more on what happened in your country and around the world, check out Food Revolution Day.