Louisa Chu, Sam Toia, Stephen Chen, Pritha Mehra, Stephanie Izard, Ruth Louis Smith, Yvon Ros, Monica Eng unveil the U.S. Postal Service Celebrity Chefs Forever Stamps on September 26, 2014 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)
The Postal Service is cooking up a feast of 20 million Limited Edition Celebrity Chefs Forever stamps today. The sugar-free, fat-free, zero-calorie stamps will be on the menu of the nation’s Post Offices beginning today.
The five chefs honored on the stamps — James Beard, Julia Child, Joyce Chen, Edna Lewis and Edward (Felipe) Rojas-Lombardi — revolutionized the nation’s understanding of food. By integrating international ingredients and recipes with American cooking techniques and influence, these chefs introduced new foods and flavors to the American culture.
“These chefs invited us to feast on regional and international flavors and were early — and ardent — champions of trends that many foodies now take for granted,” said U.S. Postal Service Entry Mail and Payment Technology Vice President Pritha Mehra, prior to dedicating the stamps.
Mehra is the owner of the Mystic Kitchen cooking school where she teaches the art of Indian cooking to students throughout the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area.
“As they shared their know-how, they encouraged us to undertake our own culinary adventures, and American kitchens have never been the same since. That is why today, we are celebrating not only five celebrity chefs, but also the unique flavors and dishes that — thanks to them — have become American staples,” she added.
Joining Mehra in the dedication are “Chewing the Fat ” podcast hosts Monica Eng and Louisa Chu; winner of Top Chef and Founder/Owner of Girl & the Goat and Little Goat restaurants Stephanie Izard; Illinois Restaurant Association President and CEO Sam Toia; and U.S. Postal Service Chicago Acting District Manager Greg Johnson.
“This line up of culinary greats has been recognized over the years within our community for having such an impact on the industry as a whole,” said Izard. “To now see this group being celebrated by the U.S. Postal Service through a special line of stamps is very exciting because it showcases the culinary world to everyone. Knowing that people outside of the industry are becoming more interested in not just great food, but in the influencers that have helped shape the world of food, restaurants and cooking that we have today, is truly remarkable.”
Special guests include James Beard Foundation Sponsorship Director Yvon Ros; Joyce Chen’s son Stephen Chen; Edna Lewis’ sister Ruth Lewis Smith; and Edna Lewis’ son Dr. Afeworki Paulos.
The dedication ceremony is taking place at the Park Grill in Chicago aptly leading into Bon Appetit presents Chicago Gourmet, a weekend-long food and wine celebration. The ceremony will pay tribute to the five chefs by showcasing their most iconic dishes while revealing the new additions to the Forever stamps series.
The stamps feature digital illustrations by Jason Seiler of Chicago, depicting the chefs in a style intended to resemble oil paintings. Art director Greg Breeding of Charlottesville, VA, designed the stamps.
Available in a pane of 20, the stamps may be purchased now at usps.com/stamps, at 800-STAMP24 (800-782-6724) and on eBay at ebay.com/stamps for delivery shortly after Sept. 26.
Customers may view many of this year’s other stamps on Facebook facebook.com/USPSStamps, Twitter @USPSstamps, Pinterest pinterest.com/uspsstamps, Instagram instagram.com/uspostalservice or on uspsstamps.com, the Postal Service’s online site for information on upcoming stamp subjects, First-Day-Of-Issue events and other philatelic news.
First-Day-of-Issue Postmarks
Customers have 60 days to obtain the first-day-of-issue postmark by mail. They may purchase stamps at a local Post Office, The Postal Store at usps.com/stamps, or by calling 800-STAMP-24. Customers should affix the stamps to envelopes of their choice, address the envelopes to themselves or others, and place them in larger envelopes addressed to:
Celebrity Chefs
Retail Specialist
433 W Harrison Street
Chicago, IL 60699-9611
After applying the first-day-of-issue postmark, the Postal Service will return the envelopes through the mail. While the first 50 postmarks are free, there is a 5-cent charge per postmark beyond that. All orders must be postmarked by Nov. 26, 2014.
First-Day Covers
The Postal Service also offers first-day covers for new stamp issues and Postal Service stationery items postmarked with the official first-day-of-issue cancellation. Each item has an individual catalog number and is offered in the quarterly USA Philatelic catalog, online at usps.com/stamps or by calling 800-782-6724. Customers may request a free catalog by calling 800-782-6724 or writing to:
United States Postal Service Catalog Request
PO Box 219014
Kansas City, MO 64121-9014
Philatelic Products
Nine philatelic products are available for this stamp issue:
472324, Framed Art $39.95
472306, Press Sheet with die cuts $88.20 (print quantity 1,000)
472308, Press Sheet without die cuts $88.20 (print quantity 1,500)
472310, Keepsake (Pane and Digital Color Postmark Set of 5), $18.95
472316, First Day Cover Set of 5, $4.65
472321, Digital Color Postmark Set of 5, $8.20
472330, Ceremony Program (random stamp), $6.95
472331, Stamp Deck Card, $0.95
472332, Stamp Deck Card with Digital Color Postmark (random stamp), $1.99
The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.
