Red Robin Restaurants Sell 'Holy-Peño Burger' to Support National Center for Missing & Exploited Children's Child Safety Initiatives
Starting today, burger enthusiasts nationwide will have the opportunity to taste America's newest gourmet burger recipe while also supporting an important cause. From Tuesday, July 28 to Sunday, Sept. 13, Red Robin Gourmet Burgers, Inc. (Red Robin) will feature Idaho resident, 8-year-old Charlie Beckett's Holy-Peño Burger in all U.S. Red Robin(R) restaurants. Fifty cents of each Holy-Peño Burger sold will be donated to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children(R) (NCMEC) to support its child safety initiatives. Since 2006, the company has donated more than $160,000 to NCMEC through its Kids' Cook-Off program.
'Charlie's Holy-Peño Burger was a hit with the Kids' Cook-Off judges and we're certain our guests will enjoy its unique combination of flavors while also supporting a very important organization,' said Susan Lintonsmith, Red Robin chief marketing officer. 'We are excited to celebrate the creativity of young and aspiring chefs while we support the National Center's child safety programs for the third year in a row.'
Red Robin, the gourmet burger expert for the past 40 years, selected Beckett's Holy-Peño Burger recipe - a blackened burger topped with jalapeños, pepper-jack cheese and caramelized onions served on a ciabatta bun - as the winning creation to be sold in each of its U.S. restaurants during the third annual Kids' Cook-Off Championship in December 2008. More than 14,000 kid-invented gourmet burger recipes were received for the third annual event, and the top 50 recipes - including Beckett's Holy-Peño Burger - are now featured in a cookbook, along with back-to-school child safety tips from NCMEC, that is available for free download at www.redrobin.com.
Calling all kid chefs!
Currently, Red Robin is accepting entries for its fourth annual Kids' Cook-Off. During a time when at-home activities with families are on the rise compared to six months ago, and 74 percent of families say they spend more time cooking together*, the Kids' Cook-Off encourages kids to experiment in the kitchen for the chance to have their burger recipe selected as America's next gourmet burger. Kids, ages six to 12, can submit a gourmet burger recipe and 100-word statement about why they deserve to win from Tuesday, July 28 to Sunday, Sept. 13, at their local Red Robin(R) restaurant or online at www.redrobin.com.
Fifty kid-invented gourmet burger recipes submitted to the Kids' Cook-Off will be chosen for inclusion in a cookbook available online in summer 2010 at www.redrobin.com. Like Beckett's Holy-Peño Burger, this year's grand-prize-winning burger will be sold at all participating U.S. Red Robin(R) restaurants in 2010 to benefit NCMEC's child safety initiatives.
To select the fourth annual Kids' Cook-Off grand-prize-winning burger recipe, 10 semi-finalists will be invited to Denver, Colo., in December 2009 to compete in the Kids' Cook-Off Championship. At the event, the finalists will make their burger for a panel of judges, including well-known chefs, Colorado-based food experts and Red Robin representatives. During the competition, three runners-up and a grand-prize winner will be selected.
All 10 semi-finalists will receive a trip to Colorado for the Championship with an accompanying parent or guardian, a $100 Red Robin gift card, a $150 VISA gift card, and an iPod nano as prizes**. In addition to the grand-prize winner's gourmet burger being featured in every participating U.S. Red Robin(R) restaurant to support NCMEC's child safety initiatives and included in a kids' cookbook in summer 2010, the grand-prize winner will also receive a family vacation to Universal Orlando(R) Resort and a 12-month membership to the Kids Cooking Club(R).
For more information on the Kids' Cook-Off, or to find the nearest restaurant location where you can try the Holy-Peño Burger to support NCMEC's child safety initiatives, visit www.redrobin.com.