UK children’s health charity BDF Newlife has joined forces with the Dutch Produce Association to promote a competition aimed at increasing consumption of chicory in this country.
The Chicory Challenge has put up a prize of a £5,000 charity donation to cooks who create the best new chicory recipe. Cooks can either donate the cash to BDF or another charity of their choice, or even a school or college.
The promotion aims to build sales of chicory and raise awareness of the benefits of the vegetable. It is regarded as an excellent source of folate - a source of folic acid -which is a key nutritional requirement during pregnancy.
BDF is hoping to get the message across that that consumption of folate during pregnancy can help reduce the risk of neural tube defects such as spina bifida.
In spite of this, organisers have insisted that the Chicory Challenge is not simply a health campaign. Instead they hope to show it as a versatile vegetable that can be used raw in salads or cooked in a wide variety of dishes.
Three short-listed cooks will be flown to the Netherlands, where they will see chicory being grown and meet some of the growers. Next they will prepare their own recipe for a panel of British and Dutch judges.
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