Pancakes for a Cause!

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            Do you count your blessings? 
I have so many things to be thankful for that there are not enough fingers or toes amongst the number of people that surround me have to count. There are many ways to give back to the community and it's not just by giving money but also your time and abilities. 
        Pancake Day 2015 was put on by my favorite charity and non-profit organization, Feeding Hong Kong, 樂餉社 at the University of Hong Kong's Haking Wong Podium.  Once again, they are the bridge between the food and beverage industry with the hungry people of this city that we call "The Pearl of the East". There are hungry people who cannot afford a meal and Feeding Hong Kong is a food bank that redistributes surplus food to those in need. 
          This day was equipped with many activities including a pancake relay that had participants toss and run with pancakes for charity. I was there with my pancakes with ingredients donated by Pizza Express and we were on a roll to sell pancakes by donation. I even had a handsome boy sous-chef giving me help with the distribution. 
           Thanks to the generous donations, we were able to serve up many fruit toppings with a spread of sauces made from strawberries, blueberries and raspberries, mixed berries, as well as lemon and sugar with a dollop of Crème fraîche. The donation box slowly but surely filled up during the event and as we were wrapping up, a continuous line formed with hungry bystanders. 

           I am very honored to be a part of this event again this second year in the running, and it felt great being able to use my skills to help out a charity that really provides a service for a need in Hong Kong. Check out the Hong Kong Cable TV coverage of this event here: https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=929294630435754&fref=nf

Feeding Hong Kong One Step at a Time

             As a way to spread healthy eating and cooking, we need to start young and I believe that many families in such a fast paced city do not focus enough on the importance of doing it at home.  There are more ways to contribute for a cause than just buying a ticket to an Equestrian Event at the Longines Masters Grand Slam that occurred at the Asia World Expo this past February. 
               I had the opportunity to work with Feeding Hong Kong 樂餉社,  to host a healthy cooking demo for young kids who attended the Grand Slam with their parents.  Feeding Hong Kong is the food bank in Hong Kong that redistributes surplus food to people in need. There are so many times that I have taken my food for granted and do not think twice how many people are starving in this city and in other places around the world. Working with a charity like this one, helps the first world connect with the third as they work to raise awareness about poverty and food insecurity in Hong Kong as well as promote healthy eating and nutrition education to the most vulnerable groups in the city. 
        We created vegetable summer rolls together with a asian peanut dipping sauce. 
The ingredients were colorful and easy to identify. The kids were very excited to play with their own share. 

        I always love to have each and every participant have a chance to make their own so they were encouraged to come up closer to me to have a better chance to interact with me and each other. 
        With the help of our amazing volunteers, we were able to make sure everyone had their share of creating a fun, colorful and delicious summer roll for themselves. 
     My favorite part was watching these kids eat their summer rolls. I had so much fun teaching them! I hopefully gave them motivation to initiate helping in the kitchen more often in their homes. Through this experience, we successfully provided a fun-filled nutritional education afternoon to 12 individuals of the future generation. Changes happen one step at a time!