McCormick & Company has announced a marquee donation to help Latino students pursue their passion for flavor and the culinary arts. McCormick presented a check for $30,000 to The Culinary Institute of America (CIA), the country’s leading culinary college, during a recent community open house at their San Antonio campus.
The scholarship fund benefits CIA students of Hispanic descent in the Southwest Region, attending the school’s San Antonio or Greystone (Napa Valley, CA) campuses. The fund will be disbursed to six students starting with the upcoming semester.
The scholarship fund was partially supported by community donations, beginning earlier this summer, as part of the McCormick “Asando Sabroso” (Grilling with Flavor) tour. The 30-stop tour offered product samples and flavor ideas to consumers at key Hispanic markets in the Southwest. A McCormick-branded food truck showcased the quintessential Mexican street food – the taco. Consumers sampled grilled tacos, prepared with signature McCormick flavors, for a $1 donation toward the CIA scholarship. The tour also promoted educational opportunities for aspiring Latino chefs with help from CIA alumnus, Chef Johnny Hernandez of La Gloria restaurant.
The scholarship program is part of a larger McCormick initiative to capture the attention of Latino consumers in the U.S. The flavor leader also launched a major communications campaign in May that included national and regional advertising, in-store support, social media and a Spanish-language website to encourage the exploration of new flavors.