Now through January 29th, Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts will sell a variety of delicious soups in the student run Café Bleu for $2 each, with all proceeds going directly to Ronald McDonald House Charities of Oregon and Southwest Washington to celebrate the Souper Bowl of Caring. The cafe is located in downtown Portland at 600 SW 10th AVE.

And the winner is!

Congratulations to our friends at Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts, who threw a celebratory cooking competition on January 14 to mark their official name change from Western Culinary Institute. Proceeds from the event benefited Ronald McDonald House Charities.

Request a booklet of Helping Hearts, and help raise money for Ronald McDonald House by selling the $1 heart-shaped paper Valentine’s in your office, school, or neighborhood. Each booklet comes with 50 Valentine’s, which can help raise $50 for Ronald McDonald House Charities.

Selling one booklet would cover the cost for two families to stay at Ronald McDonald House for one night. Requesting a booklet is free. If you’d like to sell Helping Hearts, contact Nanda McCormick at nanda.mccormick@rmhcoregon.org or 971-230-6709.

Students at Kelso High School became the first school to raise more than $2,700 for Ronald McDonald House this past semester, in a campus-wide fundraising effort organized by the school’s DECA marketing program. Through “miracle minute” coin drives and by selling paper, heart-shaped decorations called Helping Hearts, the Kelso students succeeded in collecting $2721.06 for RMHC.

The group worked closely with local McDonald’s Owner/Operators Val and Matt Hadwin from North Star Restaurants, who helped the group secure a special appearance by Ronald McDonald at a Kelso High School football game, where more than $800 was raised.

The amount raised by the Kelso DECA students can cover the cost of one family’s stay at Ronald McDonald House for 32 days, but they aren’t done yet. The Kelso group has set a goal to raise $5,000 for RMHC this year, and is planning more fundraising events for the winter sports season.

You can read about Kelso DECA and their fundraising for RMHC in the Longview Daily News by clicking here.

In case you missed it during the Golden Globe Awards, here is the RMHC ad that ran last weekend.

You can join Trail Blazers small forward Nicolas Batum and some of Portland’s best chefs at the Le Cordon Bleu Cooking Challenge this Thursday, January 14, a gastronomic celebration that benefits Ronald McDonald House.

Growing up in France, Batum probably knows a thing or two about fine cuisine. He’ll put that knowledge to good use, as teams of chefs and students compete to create the best tasting entree and dessert.

The evening includes a cocktail reception, appetizers, and three tastings of the featured entree and dessert, held at the Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts, formerly Western Culinary Institute.

The complete roster of celebrity judges and chefs includes:

Chef Chris Carriker, The Gilt Club
Piper Davis, Co-owner of Grand Central Baking Company
Christian Joly, Owner of Chez Joly and Capers Cafe
Chef Matt Christianson, Urban Farmer
Nicolas Batum – Small Forward, Portland Trail Blazers

Tickets: $25 per person

When: Thursday, January 14, 2010, 7:00-9:00 pm

RSVP Information:
To purchase tickets, please click here.

For more information, contact Renee Manlove at 503.414.8354 or email rmanlove@portland.chefs.edu.

We want to thank the employees at Bimbo Bakeries, makers of Oroweat products, who raised $1,000 for Ronald McDonald House through their payroll giving program. The company contributed a matching donation, which brought their total gift to $2,000 for Ronald McDonald House!

NBA video from the Blazer’s visit in December: