Lajollacooks4u Marks Fourth Year in Business with Record Growth
January 31st, 2012 Lajollacooks4u, a San Diego, CA cooking and dining experience, ranked #1 by Trip Advisor, celebrated its four-year milestone by posting record revenues in 2011.
What began as an idea has manifested itself into a growing business with a worldwide following. Jodi Abel, Founder and Chef of Lajollacooks4u, said she continues to draw inspiration from her guests who participate in the four-hour hands-on cooking and culinary adventure. Each class is unique unto itself, Abel said. I get to meet people from all over the world , each has a story to tell and some have even come back : Abel said.
Lajollacooks4u has made a name for itself by offering companies a unique team building experience. Major corporations such as Kellogg’s, Elsevier, Luxury Retail, the luxury division of Lens Crafters, Novo Nordisk, AACE, and several biotech companies, have all passed through Chef Jodi’s kitchen. Lajollacooks4u also hosted Southern Cross Cable Network a telecommunications company from New Zealand.
In addition to companies, Lajollacooks4u was also a top attraction for couples and local San Diegans who wanted a very unique and intimate activity for celebrating special occasions. Lajollacooks4u has hosted some very special birthday celebrations, rehearsal dinners, luncheons and dinners.
Busy Pro Bono Year for Malman Law
The slogan of the Chicago-based Law Offices of Steven J. Malman & Associates PC ? ?Protecting the Rights of the Injured? ? always speaks for itself, but it speaks loudest and clearest when attorney Steven Malman and his staff take on pro-bono cases.
The firm doesn?t have a specific pro bono division, but ?if we can help someone, we do it,? its namesake noted. While every client is entitled to Malman Law?s ?zero fee guarantee? ? there?s no fee unless and until client compensation is collected ? it has been known to offer services gratis to those who need it most.
In 2011, the firm handled more free-of-charge cases than ever before, citing not only the rights but the needs of clients stung by the arrows of the treacherous economy.
?With the recession just beginning to turn around, there are a lot of people out there in serious financial straits,? Steven Malman said. ?We?re always happy to see if we can help them out.
?We don?t always do it; it depends on the case,? he added. ?But the truth is, current and former clients tend to call us with various personal injury-related questions and other matters, and even if it?s something we don?t normally handle, we?re happy to see what we can do.?
Joint Chocolatier of the Year and Thorntons’ Master Chocolatier – Keith Hurdman
Thorntons recruited Keith Hurdman to join their staff in 2008. Decades of experience and numerous awards made Keith extremely appealing to the popular, high-end British chocolate maker. Keith Hurdman now holds the title of Master Chocolatier at Thorntons.
Keith is responsible for managing a team of chocolatiers and developing products for the company. Keith also works on promotional campaigns such as the launch of the Continental City Boxes chocolates, themed after the major French cities of Paris and Milan. As part of this campaign, a giant replica of the Eiffel Tower was constructed entirely of chocolate for public display.
Since his arrival at Thorntons, Keith has won two gold medals for his chocolate art, one at the Salon Culinaire at the British Open Culinary Championship and the second at the Scottish Culinary Championship, where he also won best in class.
In 2010 Thorntons won three medals at the Academy of Chocolate awards ? one silver for its Venezuela milk chocolate with tonka bean and two bronzes for its Venezuela milk chocolate and its Dominican Republic dark chocolate with lightly salted macadamias. Just months later, the chocolatiers won two further awards at the Great Taste Awards, this time two golds for their Madagascar milk chocolate with strawberry and Madagascar milk chocolate with salted pistachios.
TableFare Owner Spices up the New Year Teaching Spice 101 Class
For being such common items found in most every kitchen, spices bewilder and intimidate many cooks. Spice 101: Spice Basics is an introductory class to explore the flavor and uses of common spices. The class is offered by World Spice Merchants in Seattle, WA and will be taught by TableFare owner, Carol Peterman.
?Once you have a sense for the flavors of different spices, it?s easy to use them to add your own creative twist to the dishes you cook. Seasoning dishes to your palate is not only fun, but the end results are better because it reflects your own culinary style,? says Carol Peterman, owner of TableFare. Peterman describes herself as having a spice fetish. Her extensive collection of spices along with frustration over how to keep them organized and accessible was the impetus behind designing TableFare?s flagship product, SpiceCare spice storage.
?It was experimentation and practice that helped me breakthrough my spice intimidation. The more I cooked with quality spices that had their full range of flavors and aromas intact, the more I began to understand how to put those flavors together with other spices and foods.?Carol Peterman goes on to explain, ?The flavors and aromas of basic spices is the focus of the Spice 101 class.?
Global Million Dollar Match propels Mercy Ships through End of Year Giving
Garden Valley, Texas (PRWEB) December 12, 2011
Global partners of Mercy Ships have come together, uniting resources and support, to continue their mission of helping the world?s forgotten poor. Mercy Ships? 16 national offices located in North America, Europe, Africa and Asia have secured a matching grant in which all general donations, up to $ 1 million, will be doubled if received by December 31, 2011.
?The success of this grant has one purpose,? says Jeff Kramer, Vice President of Resource Development at Mercy Ships. ?To serve more people in need through our state-of-the-art hospital ship, the Africa Mercy. I am excited that our global offices have worked together to secure this match. Because of our generous partners, more people in West Africa will receive life-saving surgeries?and that is something to celebrate this holiday season!?
Mercy Ships has been serving the forgotten poor through the use of hospital ships since 1978. A faith-based health care organization, Mercy Ships follows biblical principals in their treatment of individuals: helping the blind to see and the lame to walk.