Menu for Hope VI : French gourmet delicacies

(Pour les non-anglophones, une explication est fournie à la suite de mon message.)

Dear Readers,

This is a very special occasion for me. I know that I have not been very active on this blog lately (well, ok, 4 months is maybe a little more than “lately”), but you’re always there for the subjects closest to my heart.
My last entry was meant to share with you my respect for locally grown, fresh, natural produces, and the hard work of farmers and producers. This helps me to trust food again, and accept that it represents life.

And this is the most important point: yes, food is life. But millions of people in the world don’t have access to the food they need. We can’t let them starve without doing anything.
I’ve felt concerned about this subject ever since I saw this campaign from Action against Hunger in 1998 (their website is there in English, or in French).

So of course, the sixth edition of the Menu for Hope, started by Chez Pim, is a wonderful occasion for everyone, including you, to win a food related prize while feeling good about raising money for a great cause!

Menu for Hope is an annual fund raising campaign that support the UN World Food Programm. As Pim explains, “each December, food bloggers from all over the world join the campaign by offering a delectable array of food-related prizes for the Menu for Hope raffle. Anyone – and that means you too – can buy raffle tickets to bid on these prizes. For every $10 donated, you earn one virtual raffle ticket to bid on a prize of your choice. At the end of the two-week campaign, the raffle tickets are drawn and the results announced on Chez Pim.”
For more details on this fundraiser, please visit Chez Pim .
You can make your (tax-deductible) donation online through FirstGiving. We, bloggers, never touch the money. But we will send to the winners some delicious packages, such as :

A basket full of French Gourmet Delicacies (a 80$ value).
Bid Item Code : EU28

Start your culinary travel in Brittany with hand harvested fleur de sel from Guérande and sea salt toffees, and continue in Burgundy with this 3 kinds of Dijon mustard from Edmond Fallot. In addition to the classical Dijon mustard and the mustard seeds, the tarragon perfumed one will add an unexpected touch of color to your dressing .
You’ll also find a beautiful box of Marco Polo tea from the famous Mariage Frères (yes, the one Blair’s mother brought back from Paris on Monday’s episode of Gossip Girl), along with heart shaped sugars.
And of course, you wouldn’t think of a box without chocolate! You’ll find 3 different kinds of Valrhona dark (Caraïbe and Manjari Orange) and milk chocolate (Jivara pecan) (total 400g), as well as a box of pure cocoa powder. I don’t need to tell you that Valrhona is THE chocolate used by the best pastry chefs in the world. Once you’ll taste them, you’ll know why.

This prize ships worldwide.

I have no doubt you’ll enjoy it. Believe me, the toughest will be to do without them once the packages are finished!

Please go to the Firstgiving Donation Site to bid on this. Last year, Menu for Hope raised about $90,000. Help us do even better this year! You can check David's site to find out the other bid item for the European region.

Thank you so much for your support!

(A little explanation in French, and you’ll find the bidding instructions at the bottom of this post.)


Ce message est une participation à Menu For Hope. C'est une grande campagne de récolte de fond pour le programme alimentaire de l'ONU, pour financer leur projet "Purchase for Progress" (brochure en français).

Pour recueillir un maximum de dons, cette campagne prend la forme d'une grande loterie : tous les ans les bloggeurs culinaires du monde entier se "rassemblent" virtuellement pour offrir des lots à gagner.
Chacun d'entre vous peut participer sous la forme de dons, qui vont permettent d’avoir une chance de gagner un des lots. Chaque don de 10$ (environ 7€) donne une chance. Il suffit de préciser le code du lot qu’on souhaite gagner dans le commentaire du site de donation Firstgiving. Le code de mon lot est EU28.
De toute manière, ce qu'il faut garder à l'esprit, c'est que même si vous ne gagnez pas, ce n'est pas de l'argent perdu : vous avez aidé à lutter contre la faim dans les pays en voie de développement.

Il faut être très clair, nous (bloggeurs) ne touchons rien sur votre participation. Les dons sont récoltés par un organisme contrôlé et sont directement versés à l'ONU. Je n'ai rien à gagner. J'espère juste que mon lot vous plaira et vous incitera à donner. Aidez-nous à dépasser les 90 000$ récoltés l'année dernière.

Alors justement, ce lot.... Cette année, j'offre la possibilité de gagner un coffret composé de plusieurs luxueux produits français :
Un sachet de 250g de fleur de sel de Guérande.
Pour continuer en Bretagne, une boite de caramel au beurre salé
Dijon maintenant, avec trois pots de moutarde Edmont Fallot. Outre la moutarde de Dijon classique et celle avec les graines, vous pourrez varier les plaisirs et surprendre vos invités avec une moutarde verte, parfumée à l'estragon.
Vous trouverez également une boite du thé star de Mariage Frère, le Marco Polo
Pour l'accompagner, ces jolis sucres blancs et roses en forme de cœur (Canasuc)
Et bien sur, du chocolat! Vous pourrez gouter 3 sortes de chocolat Valrhona, le Jivara Pécan (lait), Manjari Orange (noir) et Caraïbe. Le tout à accompagner d'un chocolat chaud à base de Valrhona pur cacao...

Croyez moi, dans tout ca, le plus dur sera de s'en passer une fois les paquets finis! J'espère que vous en profiterez bien...



Bid Item Code : EU28

To Donate and Enter the Menu for Hope Raffle

Here's what you need to do:
1. Choose a bid item or bid items of your choice from our Menu for Hope main bid item list.
2. Go to the donation site at Firstgiving and make a donation.
3. Please specify which bid item you'd like in the 'Personal Message' section in the donation form when confirming your donation. You must write-in how many tickets per bid item, and please use the bid item code.
Each $10 you donate will give you one raffle ticket toward a bid item of your choice. For example, a donation of $50 can be 2 tickets for EU01 and 3 tickets for EU02 - 2xEU01, 3xEU02.
4. If your company matches your charity donation, please check the box and fill in the information so we could claim the corporate match.
5. Please check the box to allow us to see your email address so that we can contact you in case you win. Your email address will not be shared with anyone.

La suite, please