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Each year on October 20th, Worldchefs celebrates International Chefs Day. In this episode, Ragnar talks with Vanessa Marquis, Worldchefs’ International Chefs Day Committee Chairperson, about how chefs can get involved.
International Chefs Day was created by the late and beloved Dr. Billy Gallagher in 2004 to celebrate the profession and to inspire culinary professionals to use their knowledge and skills for good. It is a day of both reflection and service to the important role that chefs play in society as educators, connecters and storytellers with a tremendous responsibility to both feed and nourish their communities.
“Progress is incremental so concentrate on what you can do today that you couldn’t do yesterday.” – Dr. Billy Gallagher
10 years after he introduced International Chefs Day, Nestlé Professional partnered with Worldchefs to help take the impact so much further. Together, we’ve helped chefs worldwide to teach kids about the importance of healthy eating by hosting fun-filled workshops.
Last year, even in the heart of the pandemic, chefs around the world came through for kids. With many chefs not able to have events, they got creative, making short videos to share with families on social media. The videos helped teach over 112,000 children about healthy eating. Vanessa Marquis, Worldchefs’ International Chefs Day Committee, led the charge. She’s seen firsthand how ‘the power of the white jacket’ can capture the imagination of both young industry professionals and young children alike.
Vanessa Marquis with Worldchefs President Thomas Gugler
Our friends at Nestlé Professional are committing to helping families have better nutrition habits through education, awareness, and their Nestlé for Healthy Kids initiative. Present in 40 countries and 19 different languages, they’ve reached more than 355 millions parents since November 2019, parents they hope will help spread the world about this year’s International Chefs Day theme, Healthy Food for the Future.
This year we have a new toolkit with even more activities to help chefs reach as many children as possible through safe in-person or online learning and social media. To help, Nestlé Professional has made fantastic adaptations to the toolkit to make online learning easy and accessible.
The 2021 toolkit has everything you need, from social media tips to playful recipe cards featuring recipes from Worldchefs members everywhere.
The best part: it’s not too late to get involved! While today may be International Chefs Day, we keep celebrating and inspiring, one workshop at a time.
How can you participate?
Download your toolkit today and join chefs from around the world by sharing and making a big impact with the children in your community! Big or small, online or in-person, every workshop helps reach our goal to prepare kids for a heathy life.
Learn more about the International Chefs Day 2021 toolkit at www.internationalchefsday.worldchefs.org. If you host a Healthy Food for the Future workshop this year, please let us know! Contact Vanessa at [email protected].
Don’t forget to tag us @worldchefs on Instagram, @wacsworldchefs on Facebook/Twitter and use #InternationalChefsDay #ThisIsWorldchefs #NestleProfessional on social media so that we can see and share your photos!
Acknowledgements
Special thanks to Vanessa Marquis for her tremendous hardwork and commitment to the cause, and for joining us as a guest.
We also would like to express our utmost appreciation to Nestlé Professional and their entire team for their continued support of International Chefs Day, Worldchefs, and the culinary community at large.
World on a Plate is supported by Nestlé Professional and our podcast sponsors.
