T.G.I. Friday’s(R) Restaurants Unleash The ‘Ultimate’ Hot & Spicy Dish

CARROLLTON, Texas, Jan. 26 - After a nationwide recipe search to determine the ultimate Hot & Spicy recipe, an entree inspired by Jason Hernandez, a 38-year-old marketing professional from Germantown, Tennessee, will be featured at over 600 U.S. T.G.I. Friday’s(R) restaurants (http://www.fridays.com) beginning today.

Hernandez’s recipe was judged to be best in class by a panel of food experts on Food Network’s “Ultimate Recipe Showdown” - a six-week series featuring everyday folks with the best recipes in America pitting their best dishes against one another for a $25,000 prize, national acclaim and the chance to have his or her recipe featured nationwide at T.G.I. Friday’s (http://www..foodnetwork.com/ultimate-recipe-showdown/index.html). This is the second consecutive year in which winning recipes from the show have inspired entrees on the Friday’s menu.

The ultimate result: Spicy Southern Shrimp, spicy Cajun shrimp and smoky Andouille sausage served in Cayenne and Chipotle sauce with creamy cheesy grits.

“This dish has so many great, spicy southern flavors going on and we kept this one the closest to the original recipe,” said Scott Randolph, senior director of culinary, R&D for T.G.I. Friday’s USA. “We’re using the same cheesy grits, Cajun shrimp and smoky Andouille sausage. We’ve also developed a Cayenne and Chipotle sauce that mirrors the flavor of the original.”

Earlier this month, more than 600,000 members of Friday’s guest recognition program, Give Me More Stripes(TM) (http://www.givememorestripes.com) received a coupon via email worth $5 off any Ultimate Recipe Showdown entree. The coupon is valid through February 16, 2009.

Food Network’s “Ultimate Recipe Showdown,” in its second season, features original recipes, whittled down from thousands of submissions, in six categories—Comfort Food, Burgers, Cakes, Hot & Spicy, Desserts and Hometown Favorites. The show, hosted by Guy Fieri, aired last night with four finalists competing in two rounds: speed and signature dish. The show will air every Sunday at 9 pm ET/PT through February 15.

About Give Me More Stripes

The only nationwide in-restaurant program of its kind has more than 600,000 members in the U.S.  Give Me More Stripes perks available at participating restaurants.

  Membership benefits include, but are not limited to the following:

— Personalized & customized membership card
— Free appetizer or dessert upon sign-up (up to $8 value)
— One-time use jump-the-line-pass
— $8 certificate for every $100 spent (excluding alcohol-only purchases)
— Exclusive communication about specials and food/drink previews

Carlson Restaurants Worldwide Inc., the parent company of T.G.I. Friday’s Inc., is a privately held company owned by Minneapolis-based Carlson, a world leader in the hospitality, travel and marketing industries. As of January 2009, Carlson Restaurants Worldwide owns, operates, franchises or licenses more than 1,000 restaurants in 62 countries. For more information, visit http://www.fridays.com/.

FOOD NETWORK (http://www.foodnetwork.com) is a unique lifestyle network and Web site that strives to be way more than cooking.  The network is committed to exploring new and different ways to approach food - through pop culture, competition, adventure, and travel - while also expanding its repertoire of technique-based information. Food Network is distributed to more than 90 million U.S. households and averages more than seven million Web site users monthly. With headquarters in New York City and offices in Atlanta, Los Angeles, Chicago, Detroit and Knoxville, Food Network can be seen internationally in Canada, Australia, Korea, Thailand, Singapore, the Philippines, Monaco, Andorra, Africa, France, and the French-speaking territories in the Caribbean and Polynesia. The E.W. Scripps Company (NYSE: SSP), which also owns and operates HGTV (http://www.hgtv.com), DIY Network (http://www.diynetwork.com), Great American Country (http://www.gactv.com) and FINE LIVING (http://www.fineliving.com), is the manager and general partner.

Photo:  http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090126/DA62506

Source: T.G.I. Friday’s restaurants
 

CONTACT:  Derek Farley of DFPR, +1-704-926-6580, .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address), for
T.G.I. Friday’s restaurants

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