Diabetes and great food. Not always mentioned in the same sentence? This Monday will be the 9th year where top local chefs will do just that: offer up great eats that’s also good for you. (For recipes — a savory chicken meatloaf from Ming Tsai and peanut butter chocolate chunk cookies from Harvard Sweet Boutique, go here.)
Jose Duarte, a chef at Taranta, didn’t know much about diabetes until six years ago when his wife, Anna, was diagnosed with Gestational Diabetes while pregnant with their son Diego. Duarte, a chef at Taranta, helped his wife learn everything they could about the disease.
“After being diagnosed, Anna had to be very strict with her diet,” said Duarte, who was honored at another Joslin event in September. “She was required to monitor her food intake and measure her sugar several times a day so that she and the baby stayed healthy throughout the pregnancy. It was the first time I think I realized the complications of living a life with diabetes.”
That same year, Duarte’s friend and fellow North End restaurateur Carla Gomes asked him to participate in her annual CityFeast fundraiser for Joslin, and he’s participated every year since. In 2010, he joined other chefs in Joslin’s “A Spoonful of Ginger.”
Joslin celebrated Chef Duarte’s work at its “ritmos de salud” (“healthy rhythms”) concert benefiting Joslin’s Latino Diabetes Initiative (LDI). The chef sees how Latinos’ traditional dinner of rice, beans, and a small portion of protein has evolved into processed foods, increased corn syrup and sugar consumption, and larger meal portions, a sure recipe for a rise in diabetes rates.
On Monday, March 18, Joslin turns its focus again on another ethnic community, Asian Americans. The 9th annual Spoonful of Ginger hosted by Joslin Diabetes Center, the world’s top diabetes research and clinical care organization. Held at the Art of the Americas Wing at the Museum of Fine Arts, guests will enjoy an evening of gourmet dishes prepared by some of Boston’s most renowned chefs, including Joanne Chang, Andy Husbands, Ming Tsai, and Jasper White. Joslin will honor Eva and Nick Chau, Dr. C. Ronald Kahn, M.D., and celebrity chef Ming Tsai for their contributions to the AADI’s mission and the Asian American community.
Proceeds benefit Joslin Diabetes Center’s Asian American Diabetes Initiative (AADI), which strives to enhance the quality of life and health outcomes for the rising number of Asian Americans living with diabetes, as well as working with Joslin in their commitment to finding a cure.
COST: Tickets are $250 each.
WHEN: Monday, March 18th, 2013, 6:30 – 9:30 p.m.
WHERE: Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Art of the Americas Wing, 465 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02115
FOR TICKETS: Call 617.309.2512, e-mail Kevin.Hudson@joslin.harvard.edu or visit: www.joslin.org/ginger
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