Make-a-Wish with PastaMagic cookbook
Irish pasta company, Leaves Pure Food, and celebrity chefs, broadcasters, journalists, business and opinion leaders came together at the RHA Gallery to launch a new cookbook, 'PastaMagic' to raise funds and awareness for the Make-A-Wish Foundation Ireland. More than a cookbook, the publication features a childhood wish or dream each contributor had as a child.
The brainchild of Leaves founders, Nico and Sabine, the cookbook, sponsored by SuperValu, has 22 pasta recipes presented by some of Ireland’s leading chefs including Kevin Dundon, Rachel Allen, Neven Maguire, Donal Skehan and Clodagh McKenna as well as contributions from Brent Pope, Norah Casey, Laura Bermingham, Alison Canavan, Bobby Kerr, Lucy Kennedy, Jackie Lavin, Lorraine Keane, Peter Devlin, Ken Doherty, Indy Power and Tony Keogh.
Nico explained: “To make this book more interesting and personal we have asked each of the contributors to write a wish that they recall having themselves as a child – we received some beautiful insights and are thrilled to share them in our book. This is a great cook book that is helping a great cause.'
Make-A-Wish CEO, Susan O’Dwyer said: “At Make-A-Wish Ireland we believe that it takes more than medicine to help children and their families to heal. Thanks to initiatives such as the publication of PastaMagic, we will be able to grant more wishes in 2016. As we receive no government funding at all, we are so grateful to Nico and Sabine as well as our wonderful celebrity chefs and friends. It’s through collaborative campaigns like this that the Make-A-Wish family as we like to call it can have a transformative impact on families across Ireland. We are so grateful to everybody involved and hope that this cookbook brings joy and culinary delight to your dinner table.”
Nico continued: 'We had a vision to create a healthy pasta, a tasty product that was full of nourishment and goodness. We like the idea that, with this cookbook, people will be able to support Make-A-Wish while feeling great too: the recipes are delicious and our PastaMagic is very special, rich in protein and it is even one of your 5-a-day! All proceeds from the sale of the cookbook will go to the Make-A-Wish Foundation. As parents of our young 19 months old son Aidan we wanted to find a way of bringing our pasta product to life for people and at the same time to help this this worthy cause.'
The cookbook will be available in SuperValu stores nationwide, rrp €5.99 with all proceeds going to Make-A-Wish Foundation Ireland.
Leaves is a family business run by Nico, an Italian chef, and his wife Sabine, a Dutch health researcher. The company's vision is to make a healthier lifestyle more attractive and easier to achieve.
Leaves recently won as Best Irish Food & Drink Startup of the year 2015 at the prestigious Bank of Ireland Startup Awards, Leaves PastaMagic was runner-up in the Product of the Show Award by Speciality Fine Food Fair Ireland, Sabine won as Best Female Entrepreneur 2014 awarded by the Local Enterprise Office Dublin City and Nico has been a finalist as Irish Best Young Entrepreneur 2014 for Dublin City.
Make-A-Wish Foundation Ireland has one simple aim to grant the wishes of children aged between 3 and 17 years living with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength and joy. A wish granted is true magic for the child, providing respite from their normal routines of hospitals, doctors and treatment.
Clare Brennan is the talented designer behind the cookbook. She decided to contribute free of charge to support Make a Wish’s noble cause. Her personal style is noticeable throughout the whole book and contributes to make it a very lovely and special purchase.