Student chefs and their instructors at cookbook launch party
Jan 03, 2018
MEXICO CITY, MEXICO -- Just in time for the holiday season here, USA Rice unveiled two new cookbooks full of exciting rice recipes: a student chefs’ magazine, “Futuros Chefs Cocinando con Arroz” (Future Chefs Cooking with Rice, Volume 2), and “Lo Mejor del Arroz por Los Mejores Chefs de México” (The Best of Rice by The Best Chefs in Mexico), featuring gourmet holiday dishes created by some of the most renowned professional chefs in Mexico.
Sixty guests attended the cookbook launch party on December 18, including several chefs included in the holiday magazine, chef instructors from various institutions where USA Rice conducts activities, publishers of the magazine, student chefs, and media. The guests participated in a roundtable discussion about their experiences cooking with U.S.-grown rice, the importance of rice in foodservice, and the impact of USA Rice activities on their industry.
The professional chefs said USA Rice events such as the chefs’ competitions, foodservice seminars and contests, trade shows, gourmet TV Shows, social media content, and particularly the arrozgourmet.com.mx website have significantly increased their use of U.S.-grown rice in their restaurants, hotels, and businesses. They are incorporating U.S. rice more frequently in their menus because of its versatility, ease of preparation, and superior quality.
Chef instructors echoed the sentiment that USA Rice activities at their schools have positively impacted their students, and are effective in influencing the prospective chefs to use U.S. rice in their future jobs.
“We target culinary students because they will be in key decision-making roles in the future,” said Sarah Moran, USA Rice vice president international promotion. “Students said USA Rice tutorial activities awaken their creativity and help them think about preparing rice in more varied ways.”
The roundtable discussion also included feedback on how to continue promoting U.S. rice and reaching a larger audience in 2018.
“USA Rice cookbooks sell out fast because consumers want to learn how to make gourmet main dishes and desserts for Christmas and New Year’s that can be replicated at home for holiday meals,” said Rocio Navarro, Editorial Mango magazine editor.
In the first ten months of 2017, the U.S. exported more than 750,000 MT ($234 million) of rice to Mexico, 12 percent more than the same time period in 2016. USA Rice’s varied promotional activities have helped play a part in this increase in exports that benefit the entire industry.