San Jose, CA – Burger season just got better. The Mushroom Council is kicking off the Better Burger Project™ just in time to heat up the grill. In partnership with the James Beard Foundation the Better Burger Project is challenging chefs and restaurants nationwide to create a delicious, healthier, and more sustainable hamburger by blending ground meat with finely chopped, cultivated mushrooms.
Chefs competing in the Better Burger Project™ will feature their “better burger” on menus from Memorial Day, 2015, through July 31, 2015, and America will vote for their favorites through an Instagram-based social media challenge.
“As a chef, restaurateur, and chair of the D.C. Food Policy Committee, I’m thrilled to join the Better Burger Project™ in an effort to help educate diners across the country on the many benefits of blended burgers,” said Spike Mendelsohn. “We have an amazing opportunity to highlight how strategic food choices can reduce strain on the environment but also provide a variety of flavors and nutritional benefits. A blended burger is the perfect example of how a small change can make a significant impact on our food system.”
Diners across America can help their favorite chef win a chance to prepare their “better burger” at the official welcome reception for the annual JBF Food Conference this October at the historic James Beard House in New York City. The theme for this year’s conference will focus on the Future of Food.
To vote, diners across the United States can:
• Visit participating restaurants and order the “better burger”(see participating restaurants here)
• Post a photo of the burger on Instagram
• Use the hashtag #betterburgerproject and the handle of the restaurant and/or the chef who
created the burger
• Share what’s better about the burger in the caption
“The Mushroom Council is thrilled to partner with the James Beard Foundation to introduce this trending culinary technique to chefs and consumers across the country” said Mushroom Council President, Bart Minor, “We look forward to seeing restaurant chefs creatively add The Blend to their menus and for consumers to share their excitement through social media throughout the campaign.”
For Immediate Release
Kathleen Preis
408-477-6528 kathleen@mushroomcouncil.org
“Burgers are an iconic American food, particularly for summer grilling, so we are eager to host the Better Burger Project™ and explore how blending meat with mushrooms can create new versions of burgers that are healthier and more sustainable,” said Kris Moon, senior director strategy and development of the James Beard Foundation. “An exciting part of the future of food is creating better-for-you versions of beloved foods. The Better Burger Project is a great example of how we can work with chefs to make these healthier options a reality.”
Local chefs table events hosted by the Mushroom Council, Plate Magazine and Let’s Talk About Food will be held in Boston, Philadelphia, Nashville and San Francisco to promote the campaign with local chefs and generate local media.
For more information, a list of participating chefs and restaurants, and to learn how to get involved, visit BetterBurgerProject.org and follow #betterburgerproject on Twitter and Instagram.
About The Mushroom Council:
The Mushroom Council is composed of fresh market farmers or importers who average more than 500,000 pounds of mushrooms produced or imported annually. The mushroom program is authorized by the Mushroom Promotion, Research and Consumer Information Act of 1990 and is administered by the Mushroom Council under the supervision of the Agricultural Marketing Service. Research and promotion programs help to expand, maintain and develop markets for individual agricultural commodities in the United States and abroad. These industry self-help programs are requested and funded by the industry groups that they serve. The Blend, a Mushroom Council initiative that combines ground meat with finely chopped mushrooms, exists to make dishes better through unmatched flavor, inherent nutrition benefits and more sustainable cooking. For more information on the Mushroom Council, visit mushroomcouncil.org.
Source: The Mushroom Council