January
XX, 2005 - The Breast Cancer Alliance,
the fourth largest private non-profit organization funding
breast cancer research in the United States, has launched
a unique, multi-faceted health education initiative.
This initiative, styled Taste for Health and underwritten
by the upscale Ramze Zakka Restaurant Group, operating
in Westchester County, New York and Fairfield County,
Connecticut, and specialty olive oil importer/distributor
Monini North America, promotes the
benefits of a healthy “Mediterranean” diet
in preventing cancer and other diseases. The Mediterranean
diet tends to be high in Omega 3 fatty acids, rich in
anti-oxidants, high in protein, low in fat and saturated
fat, high in fiber, and foods not overly processed or
preserved. It is widely noted by doctors and nutritionists
as beneficial in preventing cancer and other diseases,
including breast cancer.
Zakka Restaurant Group Executive Chef DeAngelis and
Dr. Barry Boyd, Director of Integrated Medicine at Greenwich
Hospital and author of the upcoming book “The
Missing Link: Obesity, Insulin, and the Cancer Connection
– The True Basis for Integrative Cancer Care collaboratively
reviewed menus at all five of the Zakka restaurants
to identify items and ingredients proven beneficial
in assisting cancer prevention and treatment. These
items were then listed on stylishly designed table tent
cards prepared for each restaurant, featuring on one
side Mediterranean-style menu items, including known
“cancer-preventive” ingredients, with Dr.
Boyd’s statement that they are beneficial in assisting
cancer prevention.
On the opposite side, logos of all the Zakka restaurants
– Mediterraneo and Terra of Greenwich, Solé
of New Canaan, Acqua of Westport and Aurora, in Rye,
New York — appeared with the logo for Monini Olive
Oil (identified as the olive oil of choice at Ramze
Zakka’s fine restaurants) and the Breast Cancer
Alliance’s logo along with an invitation to diners
to contact the Breast Cancer Alliance for more information
concerning the topic of healthy eating.
Mark Murphy, General Manager at Mediterraneo,
whose own mother is a breast cancer survivor, says the
Taste for Health tent card promotion was a big hit with
restaurant patrons and generated a lot of interest in
the Breast Cancer Alliance. “We had to buy plastic
holders for the tent cards in all of our restaurants
because diners couldn’t keep their hands off of
them and they started to show wear and tear after only
a few days,” he said. All costs associated with
preparing, printing and displaying these insightful
cards generously were underwritten 100% by the Ramze
Zakka Restaurants for the benefit of the Breast Cancer
Alliance.
The tent cards were only the beginning.
On the weekend of January 7-9, all five of the Zakka
Restaurants made a donation to the Breast Cancer Alliance
for every meal served. This resulted in a banner weekend
where more than 180 diners ate healthy meals, including
Carpaccio of yellow fin tuna, grilled yellow wild striped
bass and grilled organic chicken paillard. Their patronage
resulted in a donation of $7,000 to the Breast Cancer
Alliance by the restaurants’ generous owner, Ramze
Zakka.
“This promotion was a novel way
to better establish our restaurants by involving them
in a community effort focused on health education. We
were pleased to be able to benefit the Breast Cancer
Alliance, a local, niche charity that has done a great
deal for our customers and our communities,” said
Executive Chef DeAngelis. “This was the perfect
opportunity for us to market our product in a constructive
way, focusing attention on the health benefits we bring
to everyone’s table,” added Petrini, who
graciously sent diners home with a gift bag containing
an olive oil tasting guide, menu tips, a sample bottle
of extra virgin olive oil, and a Breast Cancer Alliance
brochure.
Even more, diners got the message,
too. “It’s nice to know that eating a healthy
meal can be so tasty. It inspires me to look for simple,
healthier solutions when I cook at home,” said
Solé diner Madeleine Winkles. “I’m
very pleased to see this,” commented Patricia
Valenti while dining at Aurora in Rye. “I lost
my mom to breast cancer so this means a lot to me. I
love this restaurant, but this effort makes it go up
even more in my book.”
Tracy Holton, Alliance Board member
and champion of this initiative, said: “A significant
part of our mission is to educate people about breast
cancer. Not only will the money raised this weekend
help us fund important research projects, A Taste for
Health provided us an excellent forum to educate the
public about specific ingredients they can incorporate
into their daily meals.” Mary Ann Henry, Executive
Director of the Breast Cancer Alliance observed: “Taste
for Health is a novel partnership between a successful
restaurant group and a specialty olive oil importer
that shows clever marketing and health education can
be perfectly mated to do a lot of good.”
Founded in Greenwich in 1996, the Breast
Cancer Alliance is the fourth largest private non-corporate
organization providing funds for breast cancer research
in the United States. We raise over $1,200,000 annually
for research, education and outreach programs.
For further information, please call 203-861-0014 or
visit our web site, www.breastcanceralliance.org
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