Houston's Top Chefs Make Gourmet Emergency Rations

With canned peaches and tuna, marshmallows and spam, professional chefs competed Saturday to show Houstonians that they can eat more than just peanut butter and jelly during a natural disaster. About 50 people attended the event hosted by the City of Houston Mayor's Office of Public Safety and Homeland Security and the Houston Community Preparedness Collaborative. In patio chairs, they smelled marshmallows melting and saw the chefs arrange bias-cut slices of brown sugar seared spam over ramen noodles and broth. Many earlier had peaked inside the Houston Fire Department's evacuation ambulance or stopped by a booth to pick up a bag filled with emergency phone numbers, a disaster preparedness list and "the Houston Emergency Preparedness Cookbook."