12-Year-Old Boy Wins Red Robin's National Kid Chef Culinary Competition with Gourmet Burger Recipe

Winning kid chef's 'Mt. Vesuvius Burger' chosen by a panel of burger experts and celebrities, including actress AnnaSophia Robb, to be sold at Red Robin restaurants to benefit the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children

GREENWOOD VILLAGE, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- A new kid-chef genius was crowned today. Wichita, Kan. resident, 12-year-old Donovan Duggins created America's next gourmet burger to support child safety - the "Mt. Vesuvius Burger" - during the fifth annual Red Robin Kids' Cook-Off Championship in Denver. Duggins' "Mt. Vesuvius Burger" was named the Red Robin Kids' Cook-Off Grand-Prize Winner following an 'Iron-Chef'-like competition with nine other kid-chef finalists, whose burger recipes were selected from thousands of entries from across the U.S.

12-year-old Donovan Duggins wins Red Robin's national kid chef burger competition (Photo: Business Wire)

As the grand-prize winner, Duggins' "Mt. Vesuvius Burger," made with a beef patty, sesame seed bun, crumbled blue cheese, bacon, provolone cheese and his own Lava Sauce consisting of sweet BBQ sauce, hot sauce, garlic powder and paprika, will be sold in all U.S. Red Robin(R) restaurants in summer 2011, and 50 cents of every "Mt. Vesuvius Burger" sold will support the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children's (NCMEC) child safety efforts. Duggins also won a family vacation to Universal Orlando(R) Resort and Red Robin gift cards for a year^*.

During the Kids' Cook-Off Championship, the top 10 kid-chef finalists showed off their culinary skills by making their gourmet burger recipes in a Food Network-style showdown and presenting them to a panel of judges including:

    --  Actress AnnaSophia Robb, the 17-year-old star of films including the
        upcoming "Soul Surfer" with Dennis Quaid and Helen Hunt
    --  Tom Giesen, executive producer of the Food Network's Unwrapped
    --  Denver mom blogger of BanteringBlonde.com Fiona Bryan
    --  NCMEC national safety director Nancy McBride
    --  And, Red Robin burger experts

Contestants also shared why they thought their burger recipe should win in 100 words or less. Each kid-chef finalist was judged based on their gourmet burger recipe, essay and overall presentation.

"At Red Robin, we take great pride in being the gourmet burger expert and providing our guests the opportunity to try a variety of new, mouthwatering burgers like Donovan's, especially for a great cause like child safety," said Susan Lintonsmith, Red Robin's chief marketing officer. "On behalf of Red Robin, I'd like to congratulate all our kid-chef finalists and give thanks to our panel of judges who helped us select our winner."

In addition to Duggins' "Mt. Vesuvius Burger" winning the grand prize, his creation was also honored as the "Fan Favorite." Through a consumer-driven online voting process, more than 2,000 Americans voted for Duggins' Mt. Vesuvius Burger," and he received additional prizes including a $100 gift card to Toys "R" Us and a $200 Red Robin gift card.

Three kid-chef runners up also were selected during the event:

    --  First runner up: 9-year-old Megan Casteel from Mesa, Ariz., created the
        "Gorgonzola Goodness Burger"
    --  Second runner up: 8-year-old Isabel Honzay from Chandler, Ariz., created
        the "Southwest Cobb Burger"
    --  Third runner up: 11-year-old Angela Feltz from Portland, Ore., created
        the "The Bangin' Spicy Chicken Artichoke Burger"

All 10 kid-chef finalists each received a prize package in addition to their all-expenses-paid trip to the Colorado Championship with a parent or guardian. The 10 kid-chef finalists' gourmet burger recipes, along with 40 other kid-invented burger recipes, will be included in a kids' cookbook that also features child safety tips from NCMEC available for free download online at www.redrobin.com in summer 2011.

To watch the fifth annual Red Robin Kids' Cook-Off Championship in its entirety or to view specific footage of the Grand-Prize Winner, Fan Favorite and runners-up announcements, please visit www.redrobinkidscookoff.com.

To learn more about NCMEC's child safety initiatives, visit www.missingkids.com.

About Red Robin Gourmet Burgers, Inc. (NASDAQ: RRGB)

Red Robin Gourmet Burgers, Inc. (www.redrobin.com), a casual dining restaurant chain founded in 1969 that operates through its wholly owned subsidiary, Red Robin International, Inc., has been serving up wholesome, fun dining experiences in a family-friendly environment for more than 40 years. Red Robin, the "Smiling Burger^(R)" expert, is famous for serving more than two dozen high-quality, Honest to Goodness^(R) gourmet burgers in a variety of recipes with Bottomless Steak Fries^(R), as well as salads, soups, appetizers, entrees and signature Bottomless Beverages^(TM). There are more than 430 Red Robin^(R) restaurants located across the United States and Canada, including corporate-owned locations and those operating under franchise agreements. Red Robin... YUMMM(TM)!

About the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children

The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Since it was established by Congress in 1984, the organization has operated the toll-free 24-hour national missing children's hotline which has handled more than 2,528,730 calls. It has assisted law enforcement in the recovery of more than 157,720 children. The organization's CyberTipline has handled more than 980,140 reports of child sexual exploitation and its Child Victim Identification Program has reviewed and analyzed more than 41,078,300 pornography images and videos. The organization works in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Justice's office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. To learn more about NCMEC, call its toll-free, 24-hour hotline at 1-800-THE-LOST or visit its website at www.missingkids.com.

*12, $30 gift cards

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    Source: Red Robin Gourmet Burgers, Inc.

Released December 9, 2010