It’s the centennial of Girl Scouts selling their iconic goodies, and to launch cookie season this year, the organization’s “pairing” with San Diego Restaurant Week Jan. 15-22.
Chefs at various coastal restaurants will incorporate Girl Scout cookies in some of their Restaurant Week menus.
Chefs from participating eateries were at Girl Scout headquarters campus for a Restaurant Week launch event Jan. 10. They teamed with Girl Scouts to prepare their own Girl Scout cookie creations.
Culinary Week guests at participating venues will be able to enjoy dishes featuring Girl Scout cookie standouts. This list includes Thin Mints, Do-si-dos, Trefoils, Samoas, Tagalongs, and Savannah Smiles. Participating chefs will be taking Girl Scout cookies to the next level with dishes like Samoas Crusted Fried Shrimp, Do-si-dos Peanut Thai Chicken and salads featuring toasted Trefoil croutons.
“This is the first time since 2009 that we’ve been involved with restaurant week,” said Girl Scouts spokeswoman Mary Doyle. “We’re doing it again to bring more attention to Girl Scout cookies.”
The annual fundraising Girl Scout Cookie Program empowers girls to fulfill their dreams, change their communities and the world. Recent examples include Girl Scout Cookies delivered to United States military personnel around the globe, and care packages sent to victims of the devastating earthquake in Haiti in 2010, and victims of Superstorm Sandy in 2012.
Giving back to local communities has been a hallmark of the Girl Scout Cookie Program since the first-known sale of cookies by Girl Scouts in 1917. The sale of Girl Scout Cookies has also made an indelible impact on the millions of Girl Scout alumnae who have sold them. In fact, 57 percent of Girl Scout alumnae in business say the program was key in the development of their skills today.
Coastal Girl Scouts, like Troop 3292’s Isabella Catanzaro of Pacific Beach, a Cathedral High sophomore, age 15, is a 10-year veteran of cookie selling. So far, her troop has saved $1,800 for a six-day canoeing trip in Michigan.
Leslie Catanzaro, who co-leads Troop 3292, said, “The most rewarding experience for me is to see the members of our PB community walk up to the girls when they have a booth at Vons and say, ‘I remember when you were little Brownies.’ ” … then (Scouts) explain about fundraising for their next adventure, and how buying cookies supports Girl Scout programs here in San Diego. They know that they are building a bridge between the community and Girl Scouting.”
Doyle talked about one important benefit derived by girls selling cookies.
“Goal setting is one of the major skills girls learn through the cookie program,” Doyle said, noting girls as young as age 6 participate.
Doyle described the most recent Girl Scouts Cookie drive as a “nice convergence,” given that “this is the 100th year of Girl Scouts in San Diego.”
There are a total of 35,000 Girl Scout members in San Diego and Imperial counties, which includes nearly 23,000 girls and more than 12,000 adults, Doyle said.
Girl Scout cookie season goes from Sunday, Jan. 22 to Sunday, March 12.
Organized by the California Restaurant Association’s San Diego County Chapter, San Diego Restaurant Week is in its 12th year as San Diego County’s largest and most successful dining event. Held twice annually, this culinary tradition features more than 180 of San Diego’s best restaurants offering fixed price, three-course meals. For more information, visit www.SanDiegoRestaurantWeek.com. Area restaurants participating
Bali Hai Restaurant
BO-beau Kitchen + Bar
Coasterra
Island Prime
La Sala Marina
Melting Pot, La Jolla/UTC
OB Warehouse
Puesto La Jolla
Rockin’ Baja Lobster
El restaurante de las orillas
Ristorante Solare
De marea
Tom Ham’s Lighthouse
Vincent’s