...back to the French Quarter, NOLA, that is: Next Monday the 12th from 6-8 pm at ACME Bar and Grill, join forces with the Culinary Corps, a group wielding a powerful combination of outreach, philanthropy, and culinary prowess -- something their website has dubbed “culanthropy.” In order to raise funds for their inaugural service-oriented trip to New Orleans taking place later this month, the group will host a light-duty fund-raiser at ACME; door prizes, such as a mind-blowing, year-long subscription to the “cookie of the month club,” and a dinner for two at L’Ecole at the French Culinary Institute with Sommelier’s Choice wine pairing, will be up for grabs. Snacks and one free drink are included with the $20 donation price of entry.

Founding director Christine Carroll describes the first New Orleans traveling Culinary Corps crew to as an “eclectic collection of students, culinary alumni, cooks, cheesemongresses, wine consultants and bakery owners.” Culinary Corps participants, some of whom are New Yorkers, will be spending time trailing in the kitchens of various New Orleans restaurants such as Cochon, but will spend most of their time manning the stoves for groups like the Katrina relief Emergency Communities. Next week’s fund-raiser will also benefit The Edible Schoolyard, which seeks to combine the ideas of sustainable and organic gardening with a K-8 curriculum; the event will additionally help defray the cost of a public address system to be used at a Crescent City Farmer’s Market for cooking demonstrations. While future week-long Culinary Corps trips to New Orleans are booked solid (one in the beginning of June will consist almost exclusively of alumni and current students of New York's Institute for Culinary Education), other opportunities to help support the "rebuilding and fortification" of New Orleans are in the works. Carroll quotes New Orleans food advocate Poppy Tooker -- "Eat it to save it," -- as part of the Corps' NOLA game plan. Save it, indeed. And save the date.

Culinary Corps
Acme Bar and Grill
Monday March 12th, 6-8 pm
$20 tax-deductible donation

“Crawfish Boil” photo by Jamie Tiampo