Nation's Restaurant News'
2004 MenuMasters Awards

Nation's Restaurant News presents the seventh annual MenuMasters Awards, a program honoring outstanding research and development in the restaurant industry. MenuMasters, sponsored by Ventura Foods LLC, showcases the industry's expertise in adding excitement to the dining experience through trendsetting R & D programs and menu promotions.

The criteria for selecting the MenuMasters include the effectiveness of product introductions that set new standards in innovation and the use of well-prepared, quality ingredients. The winners fill market needs, such as this year's timely concentration on low-carbohydrate dishes.

The awards are presented to the companies and their R & D executives for their role in developing successful foods introduced during the past year with quantifiable success. The MenuMasters Awards ceremony will take place May 22 at the Drake Hotel in Chicago during the National Restaurant Association Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show.

Famous Dave's - Sassy BBQ Salads
Award: Best Single Product Rollout
Accepting: Dan Conroy, Food and Beverage Director
Profile: Based in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, this 93-unit chain offers salads with lettuce, bacon, cheddar cheese, diced tomatoes, green onions and honey barbecue dressing, topped with a choice of meats such as beef brisket, double-smoked ham and barbecue-pulled chicken.

HDS Services - Trendolis
Award: Best Onsite Operator Menu
Accepting: Bruce Kane, Culinary Specialist
Profile: HDS provides contract food service to hospitals, retirement communities, nursing homes, corporations, schools, clubs and resorts. HDS is being honored for trendolis, an ethnic and trendy twist on the popular stromboli dish.

IHOP - Stuffed Crepes
Award: Best Menu/Line Extension
Accepting: Monte Loiacono, Director of Research and Development
Profile: These items from the more than 1,100-unit IHOP chain include golden crepes with scrambled eggs and jack and cheddar cheeses; bacon and cheddar-stuffed crepes; and grilled ham and swiss-stuffed crepes.

Nacional 27
Award: Best Independent Operator Menu
Accepting: Randy Zweiban, Executive Chef
Profile: Located on West Huron Street in Chicago, this Latin restaurant's menu and decor celebrates the unique cultural heritage of South and Central America with a contemporary "Nuevo Latino" menu and Latin dancing on the weekends.

99 Restaurant & Pub - Bamboo Chicken Skewers, Shrimp Primavera and Smokin’ Apple Bourbon Chicken Skillet
Award: Best Limited-Time Offer Promotion
Accepting: George Tagarelis, Executive Chef
Profile: Owned and operated by O'Charley's Inc., this 92-unit Woburn, Massachusetts chain is offering five flame-broiled chicken skewers glazed with sesame pineapple sauce, plus shrimp primavera with garlic-buttered shrimp, and a two apple bourbon-glazed chicken breast dish called Smokin' Apple.

Olive Garden
Award: Best Menu Revamp
Accepting: Greg Schweizer, Director of Culinary Development
Profile: With 531 domestic locations and six in Canada, Orlando-Florida-based Olive Garden has introduced new menu items like chicken sienna, chicken castellina, three meat ravioli with sage butter, salmon piccata, shrimp and crab ravioli, and berries and zabaione.

Ruby Tuesday, Inc. - Smart Eating Program
Award: Best Healthy Choice Menu Selection
Accepting: Julie Reid, Director of Culinary Research and Development
Profile: This Maryville, Tennessee-based chain has embraced the low-carb trend in its more than 670 locations with a program featuring up to 30 new menu items as well as revised cooking techniques and extensive nutritional information for customers.

Oona Settembre
Award: Chef/ Innovator
Accepting: Oona Settembre, Corporate Executive Chef, Dave & Buster's
Profile: Oona will be honored for continually updating the chain's lunch menu, adding new tastes and launching her own repertoire of signature items. Born in Folkstone, England, Chef Settembre learned her craft from her father, a classically trained chef. Following her father around the world from Canada to Tasmania contributed to spicing up her culinary repertoire. Today, her menus show influences from Italian, French, British, Irish, Austrian, Swiss, Mexican, Caribbean and Cajun cuisines, as well as a reflecting a talent for balancing ingredients and flavors.

Martin Yan
Award: 2004 MenuMasters Hall of Fame
A master chef and well-known television personality, Martin Yan began his career as a chef's apprentice, first in Hong Kong and then in China. After cooking in restaurants throughout Asia and North America, he received certification as a master Chinese chef from the Ontario Restaurant Association. He now holds a master's degree in food science from the University of California at Davis and an honorary doctorate from Johnson and Wales University in Providence, R.I.
Profile: Martin is best known to television viewers as the host of "Yan Can Cook," a show that is seen in more than 240 markets in more than 70 countries. The program has received two James Beard Awards, one in 1994 for "Best Cooking Show" and another in 1996 for "Best Television Food Journalism." In addition to the show, he now operates seven Yan Can Fresh Asian Cooking restaurants in California in a joint venture with Yum! Brands Inc. The author of 10 cookbooks has lived and traveled extensively throughout Asia and speaks several Chinese dialects. As a speaker, instructor and food demonstrator, Yan showcases a high degree of expertise in Asian cultures and cuisine.