Friendsgiving this year just got a lot less stressful.
This season, RITZ and Chef Marcus Samuelsson are enabling fans to spend less time in the kitchen and more time welcoming others and relaxing with their chosen family.
The brand is launching a RITZ “Friendsgiving Chef Service” Sweepstakes, allowing one lucky winner to host the ultimate Friendsgiving for 10, with a full spread expertly prepared by Chef Marcus Samuelsson.
The chef will welcome the winners to his newest New York City restaurant, Hav & Mar, and the program will extend nationally via Goldbelly with RITZ “Friendsgiving Chef Service” meal kits, created by Samuelsson, available to ship to friends and family anywhere around the country.
The Friendsgiving program is part of the brand’s multi-faceted holiday campaign, “Our Holidays,” that celebrates the diverse celebrations, cuisines and traditions found in homes across America.
An extension of the brand’s “A Taste of Welcome” purpose platform, which aims to make the world a more welcoming place, the RITZ brand is highlighting the powerful role food and traditions play in bringing people together for Friendsgiving, diverse global holidays and beyond.
Campaign components include a national television campaign, immersive video series and limited-edition cookbook titled A Taste of Welcome: A Celebration of Food and Culture and created in collaboration with Samuelsson and Bon Appétit.
The new cookbook includes stories and recipes from multiple immigrant families, Samuelsson features in content and contributed two original recipes to the book.
The ideal partner for this inclusive campaign, Samuelsson was born in Ethiopia and raised in Sweden before moving to the U.S. to pursue his culinary career.
He is a champion of the role food can play in welcoming and bringing people together.
Between now and Tuesday, November 1 at 11:59pm EST, fans of RITZ and Samuelsson can enter the RITZ “Friendsgiving Chef Service” sweepstakes by following @ritzcrackers on Instagram, liking the dedicated sweepstakes post, and commenting on the post mentioning one friend in the comments they would invite to their Friendsgiving celebration.
One lucky holiday host and up to nine friends will win the opportunity to come together to meet Samuelsson and share in a multi-course Friendsgiving dinner at his brand-new New York City restaurant, Hav & Mar.
The dining experience will take place on Monday, November 14th and will include an exclusive preview of his recipes from the new RITZ cookbook. To view the full sweepstakes rules, visit here.
Chef Samuelsson will also create a limited-edition RITZ “Friendsgiving Chef Service” meal kit in his Goldbelly shop, including everything needed to make one of his favorite recipes from the cookbook, Chicken Meatballs & Berbere Honey Brussels with RITZ Cracker Crumble. Other courses in the kit include Candied Root Veggies with Spice Pecans, Marcus’ Cornbread Stuffing and Dirty Gravy.
The kits will go on sale beginning November 14 and will be available while supplies last.
To keep the holiday cooking going, A Taste of Welcome: A Celebration of Food and Culture will be available in December.
Fans can visit TasteOfWelcome.com to learn more about the RITZ holiday campaign and order a copy of the new cookbook while supplies last.
Fans can also visit ritzcrackers.com and follow RITZ on Facebook and Instagram to see what else the brand is up to.