#potluckchallenge

Have you ever hosted a Potluck? If not, now is your chance to try!

Jamie Oliver has partnered with Sobeys to inspire Canadians of all ages to get cooking. From now until Food Revolution Day on May 16, YOU are invited to join in iggest Potluck Party.

Host a potluck party and share a photo of your #Potluckchallenge. For every photo of a potluck with the hashtag #PotluckChallenge shared, Sobeys will donate $1 to the Cooking Toward Independence Project. The new initiative run by the Children’s Aid Foundation will improve the lives of young people leaving the child welfare system across Canada when they turn 18 by funding cooking skills workshops and creating access to healthy food.

My idea of a potluck is to keep it simple and laid-back so that your guests can bring the dish without needing any extra preparation. Otherwise the kitchen becomes chaotic!

I hosted a simple yet delicious potluck party. The menu? Pulled pork sandwiches (mine on a gluten-free ‘bun’), creamy cole slaw, sweet potato mash, red potato fries, hummus and a green salad. Perfect Sunday afternoon menu while enjoying the game on TV.

How to Have a Great Potluck:

1. Prepare a list of what you’d like to have during your potluck. Assign your guests a specific food or dish. Or asks each guest to cook from a specific category—appetizers, salads, main courses or desserts. Laura brings a side, Uncle Bob a main dish, Nana a dessert, you’ll be set. If you don’t work out who is bringing what before the potluck, you’ll end up with a bunch of sides and no main dishes. If you don’t mind telling people what to bring, ask for specific dishes!

2. Choose a theme – make it Mexican fiesta or an Italian feast. Be specific with your requests otherwise you might get a mish mash of cuisines and recipes.

3. If you’re bringing a dish, ask your host how she’d like you to bring your dish. Some hosts would prefer you bring everything you need to serve your dish to make it easier. On the other hand, your host may prefer to keep things looking uniform and may choose to use her own serving plates.

4. Try to make something you can either keep warm or that can be served at room temperature. The last thing you need is your guest to need to take over your kitchen to prepare his/her meal.

5. Make a dish that you’ve made before. Now’s not the time to try out a new recipe. Make your tried, tested and true recipe that you know will be a hit.

6. If you’re not the best cook, politely tell your host that you’d be happy to bring drinks, a dessert from the local bakery or for larger no-fuss gatherings, paper plates, cups, utensils and napkins.

7. It’s always nice to offer guests to pack leftovers to-go so have some take-out boxes or containers handy. Or guests can pile on leftovers on their own serving tray so have extra plastic wrap or tin foil handy to cover up their plates.

Need some more tips and tricks? Sobeys has shared some “”.

Join us for Food Revolution Day on May 16 and remember to “host, share and donate” to help out the Children’s Aid Foundation and remember to share your photo with the hashtagse and #PotluckChallenge and #FRD2014!

Do you like to cook? Do your kids participate in cooking family meals?

Some of my fondest childhood memories are of my mom cooking in the kitchen and little me watching and as I grew older, helping her. I owe it to my mom and my older sister for my love of cooking and baking, and my dad for his mad grilling skills!

Fifty-seven per cent of Canadians say cooking with their parents played a role in the development of their own cooking abilities. When cooking skills are passed down from generation to generation, there’s more enjoyment and collaboration in the kitchen.

Canadians who cooked with their parents as children are much more likely to love cooking as adults and involve others in meal preparation, according to new research conducted by Sobeys.

But only 18 per cent of Canadians are consuming at least one meal per day made with basic ingredients or from scratch. During a typical week, Canadians on average only prepare about FOUR meals from basic ingredients. That’s it!

There is a generation gap when it comes to food knowledge and confidence in cooking skills too. Only 31 per cent of 18 to 29 year olds feel confident in the kitchen.

The findings in the national survey point to a trend that could lead to significant health consequences. A 2012 study showed that approximately 62 per cent of dietary energy in Canada comes from ultra-processed products, which are significantly higher in fat, sugar and sodium.

To encourage more Canadians to get cooking, Sobeys is participating in Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution Day, a global day of action for people to make a stand for good food and essential cooking skills.

Jamie Oliver is passionate about sharing his food knowledge and inspiring people of all ages to get cooking. So on April 28, 2014, Sobeys will launch Canada’s Biggest Potluck Party challenging Canadians to host a potluck leading up to Food Revolution Day on May 16.

When participants share a post or photo of their potluck with the hashtag #PotluckChallenge, Sobeys will donate $1 to the Cooking Toward Independence Project. The new initiative run by the Children’s Aid Foundation will improve the lives of young people leaving the child welfare system across Canada when they turn 18 by funding cooking skills workshops and creating access to healthy food.

Food Revolution Day is all about cooking from scratch and sharing cooking skills and food knowledge. Sobeys’ research proves it – not enough Canadians have cooking skills to pass down. I’m excited to be working together to change that. ~ Jamie Oliver.

Canadians are invited to test their own kitchen savvy and compare their skills against others with an interactive quiz available at BetterFoodForAll.com through April 28, 2014. The website also includes information about Food Revolution Day and, later this month, will feature potluck inspiration and the #PotluckChallenge photo stream.

Get cooking and join me, Jamie Oliver and Canadians by following @Sobeys and tweeting with #FRD2014 and #PotLuckChallenge!

The author has received consideration from Sobeys or Sobeys’ media partners in exchange for this content. Sobeys has not reviewed these claims and is not responsible for the content.

How to Have a Great Potluck #PotluckChallenge

Join Sobeys and Jamie Oliver and Get Cooking!