Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs Takes YALE by storm!

It was story time in the Silverman house and New Haven’s Taste of the Nation Co-Chair Pierrette Silverman was reading Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs to her son Owen, when suddenly a light bulb went off! This should be the theme for Taste of the Nation New Haven 2010—with author Judi Barrett signing copies of the book!

Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs stormed into Yale Commons at Woolsey Hall on Wednesday, May 19, for Taste of the Nation New Haven! Giant replicas of the book’s pages lined the walls; cardboard mobiles with clouds, meatballs, and Yale umbrellas hung from the rafters. It truly was raining meatballs!

This year the Taste of the Nation New Haven event moved from our cozy home at the Omni Hotel to a much larger venue, Yale Commons Dining Hall. Imagine Hogwarts, and you will be there. Taste of the Nation New Haven has grown exponentially, and Commons was a venue that we could grow into.

Peter Salovey, Provost at Yale, was our Honorary Chair and Jacques Pepin, Honorary Chef Chair. Jazz by Nicole Zuraitis Band. Stella Artois, international wine and great spirits accompanied 30 of the finest restaurants from the New Haven area.

Attendees raved that the food was exceptional, the drinks divine, and the location perfect. Chocolate covered foie gras; chilled mussels with tarragon and yellow chile remoulade; and miso gravlax with granulated honey were among the offerings. The live auction and silent auction combined helped us surpass funds raised last year.

Overall we ROCKED the house! Thanks to everyone who Shared Their Strength to make this an event to remember!

Why do we do this?

We all come together to put on this fantastic night of great food and great drink to raise money to help put an end to childhood hunger.

Almost one in four children on the playground outside my office window is food insecure, meaning they lack access to healthy, nutritious foods. These same children are the kids that rely on school meals for their ONLY nutrition of the day. In 2009 The Connecticut Food Bank distributed almost 19 million pounds of food compared to 15 million pounds in 2007; that’s an increase of almost 4 million pounds of food in two years! We live in the richest country in the world, yet almost 17 million children in this country don’t know if they’ll have a nutritious meal every day! These are just some of the reasons why this work is so important.

Cheers,

Chef Timothy Cipriano Co-Chair, Taste of the Nation New Haven 2010