NRN selects 2009 MenuMasters Award winners

Chicago- Nation’s Restaurant News has selected six innovative restaurant companies and a multi-talented celebrity chef as winners of its 2009 MenuMasters Awards.

Now in its 12th year, MenuMasters, a prestigious showcase of culinary talent, is sponsored by Ventura Foods LLC. The awards, which honor excellence in foodservice research and development, will be presented during ceremonies at the Drake Hotel here on Saturday, May 16.

The 2009 winners are Big Bowl, Chick-fil-A Inc., Culver Franchising System Inc., Denny's Corp., Qdoba Mexican Grill and Pizza Hut. David Burke, chef/owner of davidburke & donnatella, has been selected as the Chef/Innovator.

"Everyone welcomes news of achievement and success in these challenging times and that's what we are celebrating with our MenuMasters honorees," said NRN publisher Tom Larranaga. "Congratulations to these award winners for developing unique menu items and promotions that have enhanced the dining experience of consumers from coast to coast."

B. Kelly Brintle, senior vice president, industry and trade relations for Ventura Foods, said: "Ventura Foods is pleased to once again join with Nation's Restaurant News in recognizing the creativity and vision of our MenuMasters winners. We salute the accomplishments of these dedicated culinarians."

The 2009 MenuMasters Awards are presented to:

Best Menu/Line Extension: The winner here is Atlanta-based Chick-fil-A for its Chargrilled and Fruit Salad, which features slices of grilled chicken breast on romaine and iceberg lettuce, surrounded by a blend of vegetables, cheese and fruits.
Best Menu Revamp: The top prize in this category goes to Dallas-based Pizza Hut, a division of YUM! Brands Inc., for its Tuscani Pasta Dinners. These 3-pound, six-portion dinners of creamy Chicken Alfredo and meaty Marinara with breadsticks already rank as one of the most successful product launches in the chain's history.
Best New Menu Rollout: Culver Franchising Systems of Prairie du Sac, Wis., operating as Culver's Butterburgers and Frozen Custard, wins in this category for its BBQ Brisket Sandwich, featuring slow-smoked beef brisket sliced, grilled and served with grilled red onions on a Kaiser roll topped with Culver's BBQ sauce
Best Limited-Time-Offer: The Plain White Shake from Denny's Corp., of Spartanburg, S.C., wins in this category. This drinkable dessert is part of the Denny's Allnighter Rock Star Menu. Inspired by the rock band Plain White T's, this shake is a blend of whole milk, vanilla ice cream, cheesecake, whipped cream and white chocolate chips
Menu Trendsetter: Big Bowl, the Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises' Chinese and Thai concept from Chicago, takes the prize in this category for its philosophical shift from a noodles-and-stir fry operation to a restaurant dedicated in all areas to authenticity, quality and sustainable practices.
Healthful Innovations: The winner here is Wheat Ridge, Colo.-based Qdoba Mexican Grill for its Smart Meals, featuring four healthy, low-fat menu items: the Poblano Pesto Naked Burrito; the Naked Taco Salad; the Garlic Herb Grilled Veggie Naked Taco Salad; and the Naked Burrito. .
Chef/Innovator: This honor goes to David Burke, chef/owner of davidburke townhouse, the fine-dining establishment that Burke opened in New York in 2003 with Donatella Arpaia as davidburke & donatella. The restaurant was renamed after Burke took sole ownership of the property. Some of Burke's other restaurants include David Burke at Bloomingdale's, David Burke's Primehouse in Chicago, David Burke Fromagerie in Rumson, N.J., David Burke Las Vegas, David Burke Prime at the Foxwoods Casino & Resort in Connecticut and Fishtail by David Burke in New York
Hall of Fame: As the Hall of Fame inductee, Wolfgang Puck joins such luminaries as Lagasse, Richard Melman, Jacques Pepin, Prudhomme and the late Col. Harland Sanders. Twenty-seven years after opening Spago, his ever-fertile, überimaginative mind is as prodigious as ever, churning out new dishes, restaurants and products for thousands of supermarkets. If an egg sizzling in a skillet was the 1980s symbol for a brain on drugs, then a Porsche unleashed on the Autobahn must symbolize the brain of Puck: perfectly tuned and driven at full throttle.  The MenuMasters Awards winners are selected by the editorial board of Nation's Restaurant News.