GREENWOOD VILLAGE, Colo.,
Oct. 1, 2013 /PRNewswire/
-- Three students from Florida
International University's (FIU) Chaplin School of
Hospitality & Tourism Management have something special to add
to their resumes: they were named finalists of Red Robin's Savory
Scholar Gourmet Dipping Sauce Contest. Dalton Draper, Ariel
Miller, and Tirza Diaz De
Villegas will travel to New York
City to serve their gourmet dipping sauce with Red Robin's
signature Bottomless Steak Fries® alongside top chefs at
the Food Network New York City Wine & Food Festival presented
by FOOD & WINE on Friday, Oct.
18. Guests at the Festival's Blue Moon Burger Bash presented
by Pat LaFrieda Meats hosted by Rachael
Ray will vote for their favorite sauce and the Savory
Scholar winner will be revealed on stage by food and lifestyle
expert and author Katie Lee.
(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120522/NY11686LOGO
)
"I am thrilled to be a part of the judging process for Red
Robin's sauce contest," said Lee. "It is fun to see and taste the
creativity that each student put into his or her entry. What
a talented group!"
Red Robin's Savory Scholar Gourmet Dipping Contest, held from
Aug. 26 through Sept. 9, included
more than 100 sauce entries evaluated by Red Robin and Heinz chefs,
and Lee. Each FIU student created a dipping sauce that could
accompany Red Robin's signature Bottomless Steak Fries. The three
finalists' recipes include: Dalton
Draper's Bloody Mary Sauce which consists of Heinz
57® Sauce, Lea & Perrins® Worcestershire
Sauce, lemon, celery salt, black pepper, parsley, horseradish and
garlic powder; Ariel Miller's Pepper
Dulce Dippin' Sauce which is comprised of Heinz®
Jalapeno Ketchup, honey BBQ sauce, diced onion, sea salt and
nutmeg; and Tirza Diaz De Villegas'
Tirza's Tangy Cilantro & Garlic Sauce which includes
Heinz® Mayonnaise, garlic, onion, lemon, cilantro and
Greek yogurt.
"Nothing goes better with a juicy, flame-grilled burger than
crispy, seasoned steak fries, and there is no better complement to
our Bottomless Steak Fries than an inventive dipping sauce," said
Denny Marie Post, Red Robin's senior
vice president and chief menu & marketing officer. "We would be
proud to add any one of these sauces to the Red Robin
menu."
The three featured gourmet dipping sauces will be served at the
Blue Moon Burger Bash on Friday, Oct.
18. Event attendees will vote for their favorite sauce with
the winning recipe earning a $5,000
scholarship for the student and the chance to have their dipping
sauce served in Red Robin® restaurants nationwide next
year. Lee will announce the winner on stage at the event.
"As part of their journey to become leaders, the students at the
Chaplin School are exposed to all areas of the industry, including
culinary management, as they must understand all aspects of
hospitality, including what goes on in the kitchen," said
Mohammad Qureshi, associate dean at
FIU Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management. "It's
always great to see how students translate what they learn in the
classroom to practical experiences, like what these finalists
accomplished with their gourmet dipping sauces for Red Robin's
Savory Scholar Gourmet Dipping Sauce Contest."
For more information about Red Robin and to find a restaurant
location near you, visit www.redrobin.com. For more information on
the Food Network New York City Wine & Food Festival, visit
www.nycwff.org. To date, the Festival has raised more than
$6 million to benefit the
hunger-relief organizations Food Bank For New York City and Share
Our Strength's No Kid Hungry® campaign.
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.,
is the Gourmet Burger Authority™, famous for serving more than two
dozen craveable, high-quality burgers with Bottomless Steak
Fries® in a fun environment welcoming to guests of all
ages. In addition to its many burger offerings, Red Robin
serves a wide variety of salads, soups, appetizers, entrees,
desserts and signature Mad Mixology®
Beverages. There are more than 480 Red Robin®
restaurants located across the United
States and Canada,
including corporate-owned locations and those operating under
franchise agreements. Red Robin… YUMMM®! Connect with
Red Robin on Facebook and Twitter.
About Katie
Lee
Best-selling author and food and lifestyle expert
Katie Lee describes her style as
casual, comfortable, with a touch of couture. In addition to her
Comfort Table cookbooks, she writes a column for SELF
published her first novel Groundswell in 2011. Katie sits on
the Celebrity Board for Feeding America, and when not working or
volunteering, she enjoys surfing and traveling. You can find her on
Twitter @KatieLeeKitchen.
About the Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism
Management
Florida International
University's Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism
Management has been distinguished as one of the top hospitality
programs in the U.S. More than 2,000 undergraduate and graduate
students from across the United
States and around the world choose FIU for its outstanding
reputation, advantageous campus locations, expert faculty, rich
curriculum, and fast-track career opportunities in the
international hotel, foodservice and tourism industries. In
August 2006 FIU unveiled the first US
School of Hospitality and Tourism in Tianjin, China. The Marriott Tianjin China
Program is FIU's largest international program, with a capacity for
up to 1,000 students. For more information about Florida International University's School of
Hospitality and Tourism Management, visit
http://hospitality.fiu.edu/.
SOURCE Red Robin Gourmet Burgers, Inc.