Mario Batali Is Asking Restaurants To Turn RED To Fight AIDS
Calling all chefs and restaurant owners! Chef Mario Batali and Pat LaFrieda of Pat LaFreida Meat Purveyors have released a call-to-action video urging the culinary world to join the fight against AIDS in the new "EAT (RED). DRINK (RED). SAVE LIVES" campaign (viral hashtag #86AIDS.) Although the campaign won't officially begin until June, chefs and restaurateurs are being asked to "turn red" to raise money and awareness in the fight to end AIDS.
"If we want to see an AIDs-free generation in the future we all have a role to play," said chef Batali in the video released by RED. "Turn your restaurant red, whether you're a Michelin star restaurant, food stop on the freeway, or a food truck selling delicious doughnuts."
There are a few ways you can get involved. Batali explained in the video that you can add a red-inspired dish or Belvedere cocktail (one of the sponsors of the campaign) to the menu, or a donation line to your checks. As an extra incentive, Pat LaFrieda said that he will be offering a 50 percent discount to any food establishment that buys one of the three special "red" cuts of meat from him. The campaign will occur from June 1st through the 10th.
To date, the RED campaign has raised more than $250 million in the fight against AIDS.
Joanna Fantozzi is an Associate Editor with The Daily Meal. Follow her on Twitter @JoannaFantozzi