UAE's The Pink Brigade initiative is back with a new look

Nourish 2016 was a success

The Pink Brigade is back for its 2017 edition, with previous years having raised nearly AED 200,000 (US $54,430) for The Pink Caravan initiative.

Founded in 2014 by chef Robbie Stokes, this year the personalised chef jackets and pink aprons will be complemented by pink headscarves for sale. The jackets and aprons will have a new look this year, courtesy hospitality supplier A. Ronai.

All sale proceeds from the campaign will be donated to The Pink Caravan, a pan-Emirate breast cancer awareness initiative that was launched in 2011 and fights to improve the lives of those affected by cancer as well as lobbying for the creation of the UAE’s National Cancer Registry.

Stokes, who lost his wife Claire to breast cancer in January 2015, said: "It’s now been two and half years since Claire sadly died from having secondary breast cancer and it has been very hard for us as a young family living without her. The Pink Brigade was created to show women across the UAE and beyond, that our industry cares about them and wants to help in any way that we can. We are proud to continue this with the launch of The Pink Brigade in 2017."

He added: "For this year, we have the ‘pinked’ personalised chef's jackets and aprons as well as introducing our exciting new addition, the ‘pinked’ headscarf. We hope with your generous support we can again reach out and help many families that have been affected by breast cancer. We are so thankful for all the wonderful support that we have been shown over the past three years which has helped us to raise much needed awareness for breast cancer throughout the UAE and GCC region."

Supporters of the Pink Brigade include The Burj Al Arab, The Atlantis Hotel, The Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi, the Jumeirah Group and JW Marriot Hotels.

The Emirates Academy of Hospitality Management director of culinary arts Michael Kitts said in a statement: "I believe that everyone in the world at some stage in their lives, has been affected by this terrible disease we call cancer. We must never give up the fight to beat it. The catering industry is one of the closest, most dignified ‘families’ in the world and we believe that families are there for each other. I am personally proud to be a part of that ethos and shall support my Pink Brigade family in 2017 and beyond."

If you would like to get involved and support The Pink Brigade or find out how to purchase your jackets, aprons or head scarves, please get in touch by emailing enquiries@pink-brigade.com or visit http://nourish.ae/the-pink-brigade/. The jacket costs AED 100 ($27), and the aprons and headscarves are priced at AED 50 ($14) each. Deadline for all orders is September 10.

The official hashtags for social media are #PinkBrigadeDXB, #Chefsunited and #Pinkcaravan for social media-savvy chefs to share their photos with their jackets, aprons, or headscarves.

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