Nine-Year-Old Creates America's Next Gourmet Burger in Red Robin's 'The Next Gourmet Burger Kids Contest'
Winning Burger Will Be Sold at Red Robin(R) Restaurants Next Summer and Included in a Cookbook to Benefit the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children(R)
GREENWOOD VILLAGE, Colo., Jan. 18 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Gummy worms, macaroni & cheese, pizza, chocolate, fruit, and peanut butter & jelly were just a few of the creative ingredients suggested for America's next gourmet burger. Red Robin Gourmet Burgers, Inc., (Red Robin), has selected nine-year-old, Raleigh, N.C., resident Adrianna Montgomery's Spicy Asian Burger as the grand prize winner of "The Next Gourmet Burger Kids Contest."
(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20070118/LATH032)
Red Robin developed the contest to give kids the opportunity to create their own unique gourmet burgers using their imaginative culinary talents and to bring fun to family meal time. After a burger-making competition between four national finalists in Miami, Fla., on Wednesday, Jan. 17, Red Robin selected Montgomery as the winner of the contest. More than 16,000 kids, 10 and under, from across the country submitted a burger creation and a 100-word statement describing why their burger deserved to be America's next gourmet burger.
"This contest gave parents and kids a great reason to have fun together and be creative," said Miriam Around, editor-in-chief of Child magazine. "Cooking is a great way to spend quality time with your children, and research shows that kids who help in the kitchen are more willing to try new foods and have a stronger sense of family."
Montgomery's Spicy Asian Burger is made with the following ingredients: hamburger, teriyaki sauce, wonton strips, Napa cabbage, sesame seeds, and creamy ginger wasabi sauce. The other three finalists include nine-year-old Zac Tennant from Meridian, Id., who created the Red Robin Reuben Burger; eight-year-old Courtney Rundio from Mesa, Ariz., who created the Cactus Jack Burger; and 10-year-old Caressa Morris from Portland, Ore., who created the Ooey Gooey Nacho Burger.
"We take great pride in creating high-quality gourmet burgers. We selected Adrianna's unique Spicy Asian Burger because it is creative and uses inventive ingredients," said Eric Houseman, Red Robin president and chief operating officer. "The Spicy Asian Burger will be a great addition to our summer promotion."
As the grand prize winner, Montgomery's gourmet burger will be featured in every U.S. Red Robin(R) restaurant from May 21 to July 15, 2007 and she will receive a family vacation for four to Universal Studios Hollywood(SM), The Entertainment Capital of L.A.(SM); a Red Robin iPod(R) nano, a customized Epiphone Les Paul Special II(R) guitar courtesy of Gibson Guitar Corp.,* and a $100 Red Robin gift card. All three runners-up also received a Red Robin iPod(R) nano and a $100 gift card.**
Fifty recipes, including the four finalists, were selected from across the country to be included in a kid's cookbook that Red Robin will sell nationwide next summer to benefit the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children(R) (NCMEC). NCMEC is a non-profit organization with a mission to help prevent child abduction and sexual exploitation; help find missing children; and assist victims of child abduction and sexual exploitation, their families, and the professionals who serve them.
About Red Robin Gourmet Burgers, Inc. (Nasdaq: RRGB)
Red Robin Gourmet Burgers, Inc., (www.redrobin.com), founded in 1969, is a casual dining restaurant chain that serves up wholesome, fun, feel-good experiences in a family-friendly environment. Red Robin(R) restaurants are famous for serving more than 22 high-quality gourmet burgers in a variety of recipes with Bottomless Steak Fries(R), as well as salads, soups, appetizers, entrees, desserts, and signature Mad Mixology(R) Beverages. There are more than 345 Red Robin(R) restaurants located across the United States and Canada, which include both corporate-owned locations and those operating under franchise or license agreements.
About the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children(R) (NCMEC)
NCMEC is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that works in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. NCMEC's congressionally mandated CyberTipline, a reporting mechanism for child sexual exploitation, has handled more than 419,400 leads. Since its establishment in 1984, NCMEC has assisted law enforcement with more than 125,200 missing child cases, resulting in the recovery of more than 107,600 children. For more information about NCMEC, call its toll-free, 24-hour hotline at 1-800-THE-LOST or visit its web site at www.missingkids.com.
(C)Universal Studios. All Rights Reserved. * Epiphone Les Paul Special II(R) is a registered trademark of Gibson Guitar Corp. All rights reserved. Gibson is not a participant or sponsor of this promotion. ** iPod nano is a registered trademark of Apple Computer, Inc. All rights reserved. Apple is not a participant or sponsor of this promotion.
SOURCE Red Robin Gourmet Burgers, Inc.
Released January 18, 2007