Nudie Foodies: Would you bare all for charity? Here’s your chance
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Food bloggers are taking it off -- taking it ALL off -- for a good cause.
‘Nudie Foodies’ is a new cookbook featuring food bloggers, including several from L.A., posing nude with strategically placed items covering all the naughty bits. Proceeds from the cookbook, available online for $27.95, go to AmeriCares to help provide relief to Japan in the wake of the devastating earthquake and subsequent tsunami earlier this year.
The food blogging world, like the rest of the world, felt stunned and helpless after the double tragedies, which were then compounded by food shortages and subsequent damage to a nuclear power plant. Food bloggers watching from afar rallied with countless fundraisers, online bake sales and collections to raise money for the victims.
‘Nudie Foodies’ is one such project.
‘It was really hard to grasp the magnitute of the problems over there,’ said Pamela Braun, who writes the saucy Los Angeles food blog My Man’s Belly. ‘We were all trying to figure out a way to help, and then Salty Seattle called me and asked me if I would do it. I said sure, why not.’
At first, the group considered doing a calendar featuring the sexy poses. But the time lag made it less appealing. (Who wants a new calendar in the middle of the year?) A cookbook was the natural alternative. The release comes at a time when Japan has largely fallen off the media radar -- but victims still need help as the country struggles to rebuild.
In all, there are 18 sassy photos with accompanying recipes ranging from drinks to desserts, and models ranging from the young to the not as young, to the fit and trim and the not so much. In addition to the photo above of Pamela tucking into some chocolate, there’s Los Angeles’ Greg Henry of Sippity Sup baring all, face down, on a raft in his pool, and hoisting a drink for the camera.
The project has gotten some flack as being inappropriate, and there have even been complaints that nakedness does not belong in a kitchen (for hygiene reasons). But Pamela espouses a ‘just include a link to buy the book’ philosophy. ‘You’re never going to make everyone happy, so why even try,’ she says.
‘We wanted to do something more than drop a check in a mailbox or a collection box. I can’t afford to fix all the problems over there, but I can help in this small way.’
What do you think about this way of raising money for charity? And would you take it all off for a fund-raising cookbook? If you answered yes, here’s your chance: The Nudie Foodies are looking at ways to expand their modeling bench for next time around. Yes, there will be more Nudie Foodie products, all fundraisers. Keep track of all developments at the website. -- Rene Lynch
Twitter.com / renelynch
