Top Chef All-Stars Winner Richard Blais Heats up New York City With One-Day Pork® Inspiration Cafe

NEW YORK, April 11, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- To celebrate the recent launch of the new Pork® Be inspired(SM) campaign, on April 14, Top Chef All-Stars winner, Richard Blais, is joining America's pork producers to open the one-day-only Pork Inspiration Cafe in New York City. In addition to inspiring home cooks in New York City and nationwide to embrace all the possibilities that pork offers, the opening of the cafe also kicks off a nationwide partnership with Feeding America® that will help provide over 125,000 servings of fresh pork to families in need.

A fan of the world's most popular protein, Chef Blais has created six signature pork dishes specifically for the Pork Inspiration Cafe. "Pork is my go-to ingredient when I want to experiment with flavors – or create a terrific meal for family and friends."

Known for his avant-garde culinary techniques, the newly crowned Top Chef is bringing his passion for culinary innovation to home kitchens everywhere by sharing his original Pork Inspiration Cafe recipes on PorkBeinspired.com. Take your next meal from traditional to inspirational by trying one of Chef Blais' recipes, including:

• Pear-Brined Pork Chop: With a double hit of pear – from pear juice brine to an innovative pear puree – the all-star pork chop gets an easy and delicious twist.
• Slow-Roasted Ginger Ale Pork Ribs: Slowly-coated ribs are lacquered in a ginger ale barbeque sauce and topped with shredded celery root to create an unexpected new version of a BBQ classic.

Be Inspired: New York City and Beyond

On April 14, Blais will be serving up these and other inspired pork dishes free of charge at the Pork Inspiration Cafe, in New York City. Blais' inspired pork dishes will be served at the cafe, located at 470 Park Avenue South at the following times: 10:30 a.m., 2:30 p.m., 4:30 p.m. or 6:30 p.m. – no reservations required. An anticipated 600 to 700 consumers will be served over four meal services, with each service featuring a different pork cut and recipe from Chef Blais.

"My hope is that everyone who comes through the Pork Inspiration Cafe will leave inspired to recreate the dishes at home and even put their own spin on the recipes," said Blais. "This one-day, exclusive restaurant really shows people the many unexpected ways to cook with pork."

For those unable to stop by the cafe – no matter where they live – all the action will be on PorkBeinspired.com and Facebook.com/PorkBeInspired:

• Tune in for a live cooking demo where Chef Blais will show how to cook his newest favorite pork chop recipe.
• Download all the recipes from the Pork Inspiration Cafe.
• Meet some of America's proud pork producers and learn more about their family farms.
• Help Feeding America provide fresh pork to families in need.

Inspiration to Help Feed America

Inspired to help more Americans enjoy a juicy, tender, flavorful pork meal, America's pork producers are teaming up with Feeding America to help those in need. For every meal served at the Pork Inspiration Cafe, one serving will be donated to a local food bank. The effort will continue through the National Pork Board's online food drive, with the goal of donating 125,000 servings of fresh pork to Feeding America. Until May 31, 2011, help us meet the goal by simply clicking "Like" on Facebook.com/PorkBeInspired or visiting www.PorkBeInspired.com.

In addition, as part of the celebration and an ongoing commitment to hunger relief, pork producers from across the country are hosting similar events to meet the Feeding America goal. "Bringing the Pork Inspiration Cafe to our area is a great way to make an even bigger impact on our local community," said Dianne Bettin, a Minnesota-based pork producer. "Many pork producers are already involved in local donations, so we're thrilled to help Feeding America make a difference nationwide."

Looking for even more inspiration?  How about free pork for a year? For a chance to win, information on how you can help feed America and more inspirational pork recipes, visit the newly-launched website PorkBeinspired.com.  Also, be sure to "like" us at Facebook.com/PorkBeInspired and follow @AllAboutPork on Twitter.  

About The National Pork Board

The National Pork Board has responsibility for Checkoff-funded research, promotion and consumer information projects and for communicating with pork producers and the public. Through a legislative national Pork Checkoff, pork producers invest $0.40 for each $100 value of hogs sold. The Pork Checkoff funds national and state programs in advertising, consumer information, retail and foodservice marketing, export market promotion, production improvement, technology, swine health, pork safety and environmental management.

About Feeding America

Feeding America provides low-income individuals and families with the fuel to survive and even thrive. As the nation's leading domestic hunger-relief charity, our network members supply food to more than 37 million Americans each year, including 14 million children and 3 million seniors. Serving the entire United States, more than 200 member food banks support 61,000 agencies that address hunger in all of its forms. For more information on how you can fight hunger in your community and across the country, visit http://www.feedingamerica.org. Find us on Facebook at facebook.com/FeedingAmerica or follow our news on Twitter at twitter.com/FeedingAmerica.

About Richard Blais

Celebrity chef, reality TV star and restaurateur Richard Blais has been an influential and innovative force in the culinary industry for the last 15 years. Most recently, he was announced as the winner of BRAVO's Emmy Award winning show 'Top Chef' for the 'All-Star' season. Chef Blais has also appeared on 'Top Chef Chicago' and on the Food Network's 'Iron Chef America' and 'Food Detectives.' He is the owner and operator of Trail Blais, a creative culinary company that has consulted on, designed and operated three and four star restaurants in Atlanta including three wildly popular Flip Burger Boutiques.  Chef Blais' creative take on American cuisine has been featured in The New York Times, Sports Illustrated and Food & Wine magazine.

SOURCE National Pork Board