Orlando, Fla. – Aarti Sequeira, Food Network Star Season 6 winner and host of her own Aarti Party cooking show, joins the National Mango Board (NMB) as their new spokesperson. The celebrity chef and the NMB first partnered on a multi-city Satellite and Internet Media tour (SIMT) to reach consumers in several important markets, as well as a packaged taping that will appear on cable and web television channels across the country.
Sequeira, born in Mumbai, India and raised in Dubai, grew up with a lifelong appreciation for food and cultivated her love for mangos from weekly visits to the fresh market with her father. Sequeira’s culinary expertise and genuine passion for mangos make her a perfect fit for joining forces with the NMB.
“Aarti is a great addition to the board as our new spokesperson and we’re very excited to have her share her wealth of mango knowledge. She exudes great energy and brings a new, innovative twist to cooking with mangos that can inspire more consumers to experiment with fresh mangos in their homes,” said NMB Marketing Director, Megan McKenna.
During the SIMT, Sequeira conducted 18 television, radio and blog interviews where she shared her favorite summer-themed mango recipes to show viewers how to incorporate the fruit into meals at home. These mango recipes included a savory Mango BBQ Sauce, refreshing Mangalore Salad, creamy Mango Lassi drink and, for a tasty treat, a Mango Rice Pudding. All recipes featured are available at www.mango.org/recipes.
Sequeira also shared insight on mango nutrition and selection, while demonstrating easy steps on how to cut mangos for first-time users. Consumers in some markets will be able to view the mango demonstration on their local news station, with additional opportunities for anyone to see the segment on one of the many station websites who posted the video online.
In addition to the SIMT, Sequeira and the NMB will showcase the creative fresh mango recipes during test kitchen seminars with major magazine publishers like Meredith publications in Des Moines, IA.
For more information, please visit www.mango.org.
About National Mango Board
The National Mango Board is a national promotion and research organization, which is supported by assessments from both domestic and imported mangos. The board was designed to drive awareness and consumption of fresh mangos in the U.S. One cup of mango is only 100 calories, an excellent source of vitamins A and C, a good source of fiber and an amazing source of tropical flavor.
Mango availability per capita has increased 35% since 2005 to an estimated 2.53 pounds per year in 2011. Mango import volume for 2011 was 810 million pounds. Learn more at www.mango.org.
Source: National Mango Board