If this has already been posted, my apologies. I found it very interesting. http://www.fronterakitchens.com/rickbayless/whatsupwbk/

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Dear friends, colleagues and co-workers:
Many of you have asked me why I chose to do that ad for Burger King. It was very seriously thought-through, and here is my reasoning in a nutshell: I decided that it's time for those of us in the healthy food/sustainable food movement to applaud any positive steps we see in the behemoth quick-service restaurant chains. Seventy-five percent of our fellow Americans nourish themselves in their restaurants at least once a week (an even more serious statistic is that almost 20 percent eat fast food three or more time a week). I can no longer ignore these statistics, and I ask you not to either.

I can't take responsibility for feeding all those fast food customers in my restaurant. Besides, most of them couldn't even afford my restaurant. And since our culture has made a wrong turn, several generations now haven't even learned to cook. So my (or other's) cooking shows and cookbooks don't hit their radar screens. These are people who know little beyond processed food flavors. Helping them take steps toward honest, seasonal, natural flavors, means starting with them (accepting them) where they are.

These folks aren't going to change over night. And the fast food franchises aren't going to go away. But if my BK ad encourages a few hundred thousand people to experience a tasty, less-processed sandwich of crusty bread with grilled chicken, a sauce made from roasted tomatoes and poblano chiles, plus a topping of grilled fresh bell peppers and onions-that's huge. What realistic justification could one have for NOT promoting that?

So I choose to work on both ends of the spectrum. At Frontera/Topolobampo, we've developed an amazing team of talented chefs a who purchased just under half-million dollars from local, sustainable family farms last year. This year our Frontera Farmer Foundation has raised nearly $300,000 to distribute to small family farms in the form of capital improvement grants. Clearly, we're committed to promoting local, seasonal, sustainably raised products in the hand-crafted dishes at our fine-dining restaurants. But I refuse to limit myself to just this small-but-fast-growing segment, dismissing millions of Americans who are light-years from knowing the wonders of local organic produce. I want to help them along, too. Starting right where they are.

I know this bridging of categories makes some people uncomfortable. But that's honestly who I am. I'm both eco-chef and fast-food supporter, if I'm given a voice for positive change in both those camps. And I'm ethnic chef, bringing respect to a little-appreciated cuisine through restaurants, books and television shows. I'm co-author with my teenage daughter of a book out next fall exploring how cooking with folks in other countries develops a unique language of friendship and family. I'm a health writer, encouraging people to embrace the realistic role of fabulous food in healthy living. For me it is unconscionable to limit myself to one camp, since food touches our lives in so many ways.

Most people think I did the BK ad for the money. Well, that's not me-never has been. Besides, all the money is going to our Foundation to support small, sustainable family farms around Chicago. The Frontera Farmer Foundation is going to have a much bigger impact. And, I also believe, these new offerings at Burger King are, too.

Sincerely,

Rick Bayless


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Judy B, Rochester, NY