Rainforest Alliance

MEDIA ALERT & INTERVIEW OPPORTUNITIES for September 2013
Contact: Anna Clark, aclark@ra.org, 646-452-1939

What?

Celebrity chefs representing cuisines from around the world and neighborhoods across New York City are coming together to talk about food and the importance of choosing sustainable ingredients. Chefs are available for phone and in-person interviews now. They’ll also gather at the Union Square Greenmarket September 21 to share recipes and discuss their tips for cooking sustainably, even when locally sourced ingredients aren’t an option.

The chefs’ collaboration is part of “Follow the Frog Week,” an international awareness-raising campaign organized by the Rainforest Alliance, with creative strategy by WiT Media. The Rainforest Alliance is a nonprofit organization working with farms around the world to implement practices that protect the environment and the well-being of farmers, workers and their communities. The Rainforest Alliance Certified™ green frog seal indicates products sourced from farms and forests that are certified to meet rigorous, independent standards for environmental and social sustainability. The seal is a familiar sight in grocery stores, coffee chains and specialty stores throughout the city, and certified sustainable ingredients are increasingly important in the kitchens of New York’s leading restaurants.

“Sourcing sustainable food is mission-critical in my kitchen,” said Chef Marco Moreira of Tocqueville. “We buy from local farmers whenever we can. Other things that come from far away, and that we tend to take for granted, from coffee and tea to cocoa and tropical fruits, have a huge environmental and social footprint. Climate change is already threatening yields for some of them. It’s important to us that we serve sustainably grown foods. It’s also the best way to assure quality and future supply of many ingredients we love. Availability of all kinds of sustainable foods is one of the great things about living in New York, and you don’t need to be a professional chef to access it.”

Who?

Here are some of the leading New York chefs and restaurateurs who will appear at the September 21 Union Square Greenmarket talk-back event, moderated by Rainforest Alliance founder and board chair Daniel Katz. They are available for interviews now:

• Chef Galen Zamarra of Mas Farmhouse
• Chef Marco Moreira of Tocqueville
• Chef Larissa Raphael of Telepan
• Mixologist Karl Franz Williams owner of 67 Orange Street and Society Coffee
• Daniel Katz, chair, Rainforest Alliance

Where & When?

The chefs, Daniel Katz and other sustainable food experts are based in New York and available for in-person or phone interviews now. The “Follow the Frog” event takes place September 21, 10 AM to 4 PM at Manhattan’s Union Square North Pavilion, along 17th Street between Union Square West and Park Avenue. The event is free and open to the public and includes giveaways, contests, speakers and more. The chefs will appear there together on a sustainable food panel noon to 1 PM.

For more information or to request an interview, contact Anna Clark, aclark@ra.org, 646-452-1939.