All-America Selections releases #Garden2Table cooking videos

DOWNERS GROVE, Ill. – Nov. 19, 2015 – All-America Selection announces their newest endeavor to help the gardening industry promote AAS Edible Winners with five #Garden2Table custom cooking videos. These five cooking videos are created with AAS Edible Winners that have performed extremely well in the AAS Trials.

After eighty-two years of conducting trials where only the best performers are declared AAS Winners, the organization now has more than 330 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 has used in a series of five videos demonstrating cooking techniques with AAS Winning vegetables.

Video for Carmen pepper in Caponata Quinoa Salad

Video for Chef’s Choice Orange tomato in Sweet Corn Tomato Gazpacho

Video for Fairy Tale Eggplant Fries

Video for Fantastico tomato in Italian Sweet and Sour Cherry Tomato Sauce

Video for Mascotte Beans with Tomatoes

Videos can also be viewed from the AAS Website or downloaded from the AAS Dropbox account. Videos will be promoted to consumers on Social Media starting in 2016 using the hashtag #Garden2Table.

Garden retailers, mail order retailers and other garden supporters can download and use these videos for no charge. In addition to the videos, there are recipe cards available for printing and distribution. There are several promotional opportunities for retailers:

• Feature the videos on your website
• Host “Cooking with AAS Winners” Ladies Nights at your garden center
• Conduct seminars on edible gardening and feature these videos
• Use recipe cards as free give-aways with featured AAS Winner plants or seeds
• Hold an mid-harvest recipe contest highlighting these AAS Winners

These days, a love of gardening is directly related to a passion for cooking. Tying the two together is a natural when marketing joys of cooking with fresh vegetables from the garden and farm market.

The vegetables and produce for the AAS videos were grown 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 also introduced a new generation of gardeners to AAS Winners during their summer farm camps where kids discovered where their food comes from through hands-on farming, cooking, and eating.