America Cooks With Chefs Launches The 800 Calorie Challenge, A New Cross-Platform Health & Wellness Initiative

WASHINGTON, Aug. 12, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- America Cooks With Chefs today announced the launch of its 800 Calorie Challenge, a first-of-its-kind health and wellness initiative. America Cooks With Chefs is a collaboration between Palisades Media Ventures, The Clinton Foundation, and the James Beard Foundation, and is sponsored by Deloitte and Weight Watchers.

Through an educational and entertaining format, America Cooks With Chefs will address a dilemma facing millions of Americans today: how to incorporate healthy and nutritious food into their daily lives. Six selected contestants will be paired with James Beard Award-winning chefs for a one-day "Kitchen Camp," during which time they will learn tips and tricks for turning raw ingredients into healthy, delicious, and easy-to-prepare meals containing fewer than 800 calories. Entries will be accepted through the initiative website, www.americacookswithchefs.com, from August 12, 2014 through September 3, 2014.

Chefs include Maria Hines (Seattle, WA), Jimmy Schmidt (La Quinta, CA), and Tory Miller (Madison, WI), as well as Top Chef participants Tony Mantuano (Chicago, IL), Mary Sue Milliken (Los Angeles, CA), and Michelle Bernstein (Miami, FL). Each participating chef has received the coveted James Beard Award. "We all know that today's families – whether they are single parents, retirees, or young couples – want to eat better, but don't have the skills," said Susan Ungaro, President of the James Beard Foundation. "We believe our James Beard chefs can be instrumental in inspiring Americans to get back to cooking and better health."

Following the Kitchen Camps, contestants will compete in a Live Cooking Challenge at the Clinton Health Matters Initiative (CHMI) Conference scheduled for January 26, 2015. Conference attendees and online viewers will watch as a panel of celebrity judges selects the winning contestant and recipe.

According to CHMI CEO Rain Henderson, "America Cooks With Chefs is a key contribution to activating wellness in every generation. We look forward to empowering families with the essential ingredients to cook and eat healthier, and we are thrilled to be hosting the live challenge next year at our annual conference."

The presenting sponsors of America Cooks With Chefs are Deloitte and Weight Watchers, two innovative institutions dedicated to empowering others through their leadership and commitment to health and wellness. America Cooks With Chefs is also working in partnership with Good Housekeeping.

Deloitte is incorporating the America Cooks With Chefs initiative into its wellness programs for its professionals by hosting an America Cooks With Chefs event series at Deloitte University in Westlake, TX. "Deloitte is committed to helping our people successfully manage their work-life fit, and a key component of that is supporting their well-being," said Christie Smith, managing principal – Deloitte University Leadership Center for Inclusion, Deloitte LLP. "America Cooks With Chefs presents a unique opportunity for us to take an innovative approach and to lead in this area while also making an impact in the lives of our professionals."

Weight Watchers is bringing to viewers and participants its expertise in helping people to develop healthier lifestyles. "Cooking can be an incredibly empowering and helpful part of a weight loss journey – but it can also be an intimidating barrier," said Lesya Lysyj, President, North America, Weight Watchers. "We hope that America Cooks With Chefs helps the contestants and viewers to see that cooking healthier can be an essential part of changing your relationship with food for the better and achieving your goals."

Palisades Media Ventures President Ken Stern noted, "Palisades Media Ventures is thrilled to have brought together such a remarkable group of partners, sponsors, and chefs to create a new and exciting way to involve the American public in cooking well and cooking healthfully."

About America Cooks With Chefs
America Cooks With Chefs is a year-round, cross-platform health and wellness initiative centered around a next generation cooking competition featuring celebrity chefs and influential partners. Through an educational and entertaining format, it is designed to reach the broadest number of Americans and demonstrate the benefits and importance of healthy cooking and eating in everyday life.

About Palisades Media Ventures
Palisades Media Ventures (PMV) is an innovative media development company with a focus on content-creation, media partnerships and original content. We link ideas, resources and partners to produce high-quality, creative content that spans digital media and television platforms around the world. We specialize in taking major public policy issues and framing innovative productions that advance conversations among thought leaders, senior policy makers, and the public. Our media content projects resonate through digital services, events and media partnerships.

About The Clinton Health Matters Initiative
The Clinton Health Matters Initiative (CHMI) works to improve the health and wellbeing of all people by activating individuals, communities, and organizations to make meaningful contributions to the health of others. The goals of CHMI are to reduce the prevalence of preventable health outcomes, close health inequity and disparity gaps, and reduce health care costs by improving access to key contributors to health for all people.

About the James Beard Foundation
Founded in 1986, the James Beard Foundation's mission is to celebrate, nurture, and honor America's diverse culinary heritage through programs that educate and inspire. A cookbook author and teacher with an encyclopedic knowledge about food, James Beard, who died in 1985, was a champion of American cuisine. He helped educate and mentor generations of professional chefs and food enthusiasts, instilling in them the value of wholesome, healthful and delicious food. Today the Beard Foundation continues in the same spirit by administering a number of diverse programs that include educational initiatives, food industry awards, scholarships for culinary students, publications, chef advocacy training, and thought-leader convening. For more information, please visit www.jamesbeard.org.

About Deloitte
As used in this document, “Deloitte” means Deloitte LLP and its subsidiaries. Please see www.deloitte.com/us/about for a detailed description of the legal structure of Deloitte LLP and its subsidiaries. Certain services may not be available to attest clients under the rules and regulations of public accounting. 

About Weight Watchers International, Inc.
Weight Watchers International, Inc. is the world's leading provider of weight management services, operating globally through a network of Company-owned and franchise operations. Weight Watchers holds more than 40,000 meetings each week where members receive group support and learn about healthy eating patterns, behavior modification and physical activity. WeightWatchers.com provides innovative, subscription weight management products over the Internet and is the leading Internet-based weight management provider in the world. In addition, Weight Watchers offers a wide range of products, publications and programs for those interested in weight loss and weight control.

About Good Housekeeping
Since its inception over 128 years ago, Good Housekeeping has been the brand that women turn to for tested and trusted information. Powered by the Good Housekeeping Research Institute and the Good Housekeeping Seal and Green Good Housekeeping Seal, she can be confident that she will find quality and value for every aspect of her life. Content that delivers the "service of discovery" -- innovative features, tips, and tools designed to delight, surprise and enrich her everyday routine. Good Housekeeping's distinctive coverage of food, beauty, style, health and home is presented to the reader in a colorful and contemporary package. In a world inundated with misinformation, Good Housekeeping empowers our audience to be smart consumers and always in-the-know women.

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