Swiss chard was the celebrated vegetable for Princeton University chefs from its Campus Dining department who led off the 2014-15 program, newly expanded (thanks to generous funding from PU Community and Regional Affairs. In advance of the events at all four elementary schools, we took photographs of local celebrities and business owners with chard, then published them on our Facebook page and on Twitter.
Fran McManus, PSGC co-founder, board member and coordinator for GSOYP, also worked with Jennifer Cohan of Savory PR and Mimi Omiecinski of Princeton Tour Company to create a town-wide publicity program that resulted in chard dish on menus of local restaurants, Garden State on Your Plate poster in downtown store windows, chard in store displays and Twitter postings with #GSOYP.
A few partipants’ efforts:
-bent spoon made chard ice cream and displayed a big chard leaves painted by Maria Evans at the Arts Council of Princeton;
-Mediterra, whose chef, Terry Strong, is one of the Garden State on Your Plate chefs, featured chard dish on the menu;
-indigo featured an in-store chard display
-jaZams had a Chard and the Bard window display, displayed a small wheelbarrow planted with chard, and displayed a Maria Evans chard leaf;
-Princeton Corkscrew displayed a potted chard plant on the counter; and
-Olsson’s Fine Foods added a chard sandwich to its October menu.
Fran also provided an information sheet for students’ parents, posters for classrooms and halls, and a postcard.
Jess Niederer of Chickadee Creek Farm grew the Swiss chard for the tastings. Participating chefs from Campus Dining (under the direction of Smitha Haneef): Rob Harbison, Brad Ortega, Rick Piancone.
