Calling All Cooks: Help Wanted In Fight Against Breast Cancer

BENTON HARBOR, Mich., June 25, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Love to cook?  Interested in helping fight breast cancer?  If so, Susan G. Komen for the Cure®, KitchenAid and legendary PBS cooking show host Jacques Pepin urge you to channel your passion and make a difference by hosting a party with a purpose this July.

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The idea is simplicity itself.  Invite family, friends or colleagues for a dinner party, barbecue, office party, dessert sampling or any kind of get-together during July 20-29.  Instead of wine, flowers or other gifts, ask guests to bring a donation in any amount for Susan G. Komen.  The funds can be designated for either the organization's national efforts or local breast cancer initiatives.

Called 1,000 Cooks for the Cure, this nationwide event is part of Cook for the Cure®, an 11-year partnership between Komen and KitchenAid that has raised over $8 million for the cause through the sale of pink cooking products, celebrity chef auctions and grass-roots efforts.  While Cook for the Cure offers ways to support the cause year-round, the goal of this initiative is to enlist 1,000 cooks to host gatherings during July 20-29.

As a thank you from KitchenAid and Pepin, a longtime supporter of the program, the host of any party registered at CookfortheCure.com that raises more than $50 will receive a thank you gift and be entered into a drawing for a very special culinary experience.

The gift is a Villeroy & Boch "Pass the Plate" serving platter (valued at $24.95) sent by mail upon receipt of contributions.  Designed with artwork by Pepin, the platters are likely to be a tempting keepsake.  But they were created for a greater purpose: to be "re-gifted" again and again, along with a homemade culinary creation from the giver.  Each time the individually numbered plates are registered online at CookfortheCure.com and passed along to others, KitchenAid will make an additional $5 donation to Komen, ensuring that parties keep on giving long after guests have gone home.

In addition, every host who registers their party and raises at least $50 will be entered into a random drawing for the ultimate thank you: a three-day trip to New York to attend one of Pepin's professional cooking classes at the French Culinary Institute, a set of personally autographed Pepin cookbooks and dinner at the Institute's famed L'Ecole restaurant.  As with the free Pass the Plate offer, all hosts must register at CookfortheCure.com by July 29 and submit their donations by August 31, 2012.

In connection with the Cook for the Cure® program, KitchenAid will donate a minimum of $450,000 to Komen in 2012.  In recent years the program has earned two Gold Halo awards from the Cause Marketing Forum, been favorably covered by NBC Nightly News and other major media, and garnered the support of dozens of celebrity chefs, including Mario Batali, Paula Deen, Guy Fieri, Bobby Flay, Emeril Lagasse and many others.

About KitchenAid: Since the introduction of its legendary stand mixer in 1919 and first dishwasher in 1949, KitchenAid has built on the legacy of these icons to create a complete line of products designed for cooks.  Today, the KitchenAid brand offers virtually every essential for the well-equipped kitchen with a collection that includes everything from countertop appliances to cookware, ranges to refrigerators, and whisks to wine cellars. Cook for the Cure^®, a partnership with Susan G. Komen for the Cure^® has raised over $8 million to help find the cures for breast cancer. To learn why chefs choose KitchenAid for their homes more than any other brand*, visit www.KitchenAid.com.

About Susan G. Komen for the Cure®: Nancy G. Brinker promised her dying sister, Susan G. Komen, she would do everything in her power to end breast cancer.  Today, Susan G. Komen for the Cure® works to end breast cancer in the U.S. and throughout the world through ground-breaking research, community health outreach, advocacy and programs in more than 50 countries.  Visit komen.org.  Connect with us on Facebook and Twitter.

Cook for the Cure® is a registered trademark of Susan G. Komen for the Cure

* Based on a 2010 survey, KitchenAid was found to be the home kitchen appliance brand chosen most often by members of the International Association of Culinary Professionals.

SOURCE KitchenAid