[private]Chef Snow Wins National Restaurant Association’s 2008 You Tube Hot Chef Contest

His appearance in the Culinary Scene is scheduled for 1 p.m. on Saturday, May 17, and his video will also be featured on the NRA Show Web site, www.restaurant.org/show. “Locally sourced, seasonal and sustainable ingredients are among the top menu trends in restaurants, and Chef Snow demonstrated how to complement and marry those flavors with another on-trend ingredient –beverage alcohol,” said William C. Anton, FMP, convention chairman for the 2008 Show, and chairman and founder of Anton Airfood, Inc. “We are all excited to see him in action among some of the most celebrated chefs in our industry at NRA Show 2008 and hope his ideas help enhance dining experiences.” Snow, 40, lives on a small farm on the border between North Carolina and South Carolina. Like many of his peers in the restaurant field, he was an early proponent of cooking seasonally with locally farmed ingredients for both optimum flavor and nutrition.

Many chefs support local, sustainable farming, and an increasing number of restaurants are introducing the concept to their patrons. At Harvest Eating.com, Chef Snow takes the message of sustainable cuisine online, while also providing excellent cooking instruction in a relaxed approach that is accessible, encouraging and fun. He started cooking at age 14 and worked in the restaurant and foodservice industry for more than twenty years. “I’m passionate about the importance of cooking with wholesome foods grown locally and in season,” says Chef Snow. “Our site provides all the tools needed to enjoy cooking and adopt a healthy lifestyle that is beneficial for everyone, including local farmers.” The runners-up in the Association’s “Hot Chef” Challenge on YouTube are John Hughes, executive chef and owner of Windows on the Water in Kennebunk, Maine; and Don Hensley, corporate chef for Martin Bros. Distributing in Cedar Falls, Iowa.

For the Association’s “Hot Chef” Challenge, professional chefs and home cooks alike were encouraged to submit short videos of themselves preparing their favorite recipes using trendy food and beverage alcohol ingredients. Each video had to include one food item and one alcohol item (as an ingredient or as a pairing with a dish) from the Association’s What’s Hot… What’s Not chef survey, available at www.restaurant.org/pdfs/research/200711chefsurvey.pdf. YouTube users voted for the top three videos, and the winner was then be selected by an Association panel. The Culinary Scene features a custom-built demonstration kitchen in which trend-setter chefs such as Rick Bayless, Grady Spears, Charlie Ayers and Govind Armstrong will perform culinary showcases throughout the four Show days. Now in its 89th year, the annual National Restaurant Association Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show is the largest single gathering of restaurant, foodservice and lodging professionals in the Western Hemisphere. The 2008 Show will be held May 17-20, at McCormick Place in Chicago, Ill. The Show attracts 2,000+ exhibiting companies and 70,000 attendees and visitors from all 50 states and 115 countries.

More information can be found on the Show Web site at www.restaurant.org/show. ### The National Restaurant Association, founded in 1919, is the leading business association for the restaurant industry, which is comprised of 945,000 restaurant and foodservice outlets and a work force of 13.1 million employees – making it the cornerstone of the economy, career opportunities and community involvement. Along with the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation, the Association works to represent, educate and promote the rapidly growing industry. For more information, visit our Web site at www.restaurant.org.[/private]