Join James Beard Award-winning Chef Andy Ricker Jan. 8 for event to free journalist Austin Tice
Join James Beard Award-winning Chef Andy Ricker at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 8, who will lead a remote cooking demonstration from his kitchen in Thailand to help highlight the case of Austin Tice, the Marine veteran and award-winning journalist who was detained at a checkpoint in Syria while covering the unrest there in 2012.
Ricker, the chef and owner of the popular Pok Pok restaurants, will team up with Tice’s brother Jacob Tice and Washington Post Global Opinions columnist and press freedom advocate Jason Rezaian to teach viewers how to make authentic pad see ew.
Tickets for the class can be purchased online and start at $35.
The Cook for a Cause series, sponsored by the National Press Club, pairs a James Beard Award-winning chef with a member of the Tice family or a press freedom advocate who can talk about the missing journalist.
The first episode featured Chef Chris Shepherd and Tice’s sister Meaghan Malone.
The Cook for a Cause series follows the success of 2019's national Night Out for Austin Tice, joined by 80 restaurants in 13 states and the District of Columbia. Thousands of people who went out to eat that night learned about Tice’s case, and millions more read about him in newspaper ads, articles and op-eds, and listened to his family tell their story in dozens of radio and television interviews.
In addition to raising awareness of Tice's plight, the Night Out raised more than $60,000 to supplement the FBI’s $1 million reward for information leading to Tice’s safe return. The campaign also generated new leads.
Ricker donated a portion of the proceeds from Pok Pok Portland to the Night Out campaign. When Ricker was approached about participating in this year's Cook for a Cause campaign he was eager to help. The Club postponed its April Night Out for Austin Tice in 2020 until July, then held a Night in for Austin Tice in its place in April, because dining out was restricted by the COVID-19 pandemic. As the pandemic continued, the night out was postponed until further notice.
All proceeds raised from the Cook for a Cause series will go to the National Press Club's nonprofit affiliate, the National Press Club Journalism Institute, where it will be held until further instruction from the FBI. It is the Club's hope that the funds raised will be used to help Tice re-enter society when he returns safely home after more than eight years in captivity. To learn more about Tice and how you can help, visit www.austinticefamily.com.