FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Thursday, October 11, 2007

For more information contact:
Ted Sloan

(502) 564-4696

CELEBRITY CHEFS WILL TEST THEIR CHOPS
AT THE FIRST KENTUCKY PROUD EXPO

FRANKFORT, Ky. — Four reality television stars will find out “whose cuisine reigns supreme” in a cooking competition during the Kentucky Proud Expo Oct. 20 at the Northern Kentucky Convention Center in Covington.

The Reality Iron Chef Showdown will pit “Survivor” contestants Rodger Bingham of Crittenden and Lillian Morris of Loveland, Ohio, against David and Mary Conley of Stone in Pike County, who competed in “The Amazing Race” and were named TV Guide’s “Reality Couple of the Year.” Gil Logan, executive chef at Churchill Downs in Louisville, will host the event.

“The Reality Iron Chef Showdown will be fun and exciting while also demonstrating creative ways to prepare Kentucky Proud foods,” Agriculture Commissioner Richie Farmer said. “The Expo will show retailers and consumers alike some of the vast array of delicious and nutritious Kentucky Proud products available to them. I’m grateful to the Kentucky Grocers Association and the Kentucky Association of Convenience Stores for giving us this opportunity.”

Each team will have one hour to create three dishes with Kentucky Proud products, including two mystery ingredients. Bingham (an official in the Kentucky Department of Agriculture’s marketing office) and Morris will be assisted by Chef Jim Gerhardt of Limestone Restaurant in Louisville and Mike and Jimmy’s Chophouse in northern Kentucky; Denise Nelson of Chrisman Mill Winery in Nicholasville, and Robert Coltrane, a student at Midwest Culinary Institute. Joining the Conleys will be Chef Jared Whelan from Pho Paris restaurant in Covington; Don Talbert, a tomato farmer and president of the Boone County Farmers’ Market, and Steve Simms, a student at Midwest Culinary Institute. The Showdown will begin at noon EDT.

Judges will be Sarah Fritschner, former food editor at The (Louisville) Courier-Journal; Sharon Thompson, food editor at the Lexington Herald-Leader; Pat Huller of the Midwest Culinary Institute, and Rita Heikenfeld, a Macy’s Culinary Professional.

The public session of the Kentucky Proud Expo will be 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Visitors may taste and purchase more than 100 Kentucky Proud products such as cheese, salsa, popcorn, beverages, meats, sweets, and many others. Kentucky Proud is the Kentucky Department of Agriculture’s farm marketing program. The familiar blue, green and red Kentucky Proud logo means that product was raised or produced in Kentucky by Kentuckians. Nearly 1,000 producers, retailers, processors, restaurants and farmers’ markets are members of the Kentucky Proud program.

The reality TV celebrities will be available for autographs from 10:30 a.m.-noon. Visitors who vote for the best booth and best food items will have a chance to win a Kentucky State Parks Getaway Prize Package. “Fun for the Kids” will be sponsored by the KDA, the Kentucky Soy Council and Ale-8-One.

Admission is $5 for adults, $4 for senior citizens and $2 for children. Children 6 and under will be admitted free. Visitors who present a Remke Markets store card will get $1 off admission. Proceeds will go to the Kentucky Grocers Association Scholarship Fund and the FFA Scholarship Fund.

Partners in the expo are the Kentucky Grocers Association/Kentucky Association of Convenience Stores (KGA/KACS), the Kentucky Department of Agriculture, the Governor’s Office of Agricultural Policy, Allied Food Marketers, Remke Markets, Countertops and Cabinetry by Design, and Hagedorn Appliances. The expo is being held in conjunction with the KGA/KACS annual conference Oct. 17-20.

For more information on the Kentucky Proud Expo, contact Susan Raque at (502) 592-2865 or raques@bellsouth.net.

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