All-America Selections is now promoting AAS winners through cooking videos using vegetables/edibles that have performed extremely well in the AAS Trials.
After 82 years of conducting trials where only the best performers are declared AAS Winners, the organization now has more than 325 individual varieties that have been “Tested Nationally & Proven Locally.” It is some of these many varieties that culinary storyteller, entertainer and horticulture industry veteran, Jonathan Bardzik will use in a series of five videos demonstrating cooking techniques with AAS Winning herbs and vegetables.
“I am excited to partner with All-America Selections to show people across the country that AAS Winners perform as well in the kitchen as they do in the garden,” Bardzik says. “Combining my passion for cooking with garden and farm fresh ingredients with recipes specially developed for AAS winning varieties will help people have more fun cooking at home and sharing that joy with friends and family.”
The vegetables and produce for the AAS videos are being raised by Arcadia Farms, a non-profit organization dedicated to creating a more equitable and sustainable local food system in the Washington, D.C., area. Through this partnership, Arcadia will also introduce a new generation of gardeners to AAS Winners during their summer farm camps where kids discover where their food comes from through hands-on farming, cooking and eating.
As a bonus, some AAS Winners from the ornamentals trial will be used as décor and props in the video backgrounds.
All five videos will be released and available for distribution by the end of 2015. All-America Selections will prepare an online resource where garden retailers can download the videos and related materials to help supplement sales of AAS Winners in their respective stores.
