Share Our Strength Announces Fifth Season of Its National 'Chefs on Tour' Dinner Series This Spring

Share Our Strength's A Tasteful Pursuit Partners with Luxury Brands Lexus and The Balvenie on Nationwide Tour

WASHINGTON, April 7, 2008 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Share Our Strength(R), a leading organization working to make sure no kid in America grows up hungry, presents the fifth season of its highly-anticipated, touring dinner series, Share Our Strength's A Tasteful Pursuit(R), presented by Lexus. Hosted in 12 of the nation's top culinary cities, food aficionados will have an opportunity to experience unparalleled cuisine prepared by the nation's finest chefs and bid on once-in-a-lifetime auction items while helping the more than 12 million children at risk of hunger across America.

The dinners feature prominent chefs and longtime supporters of Share Our Strength.

This year's host chefs include:

-- Chef Daniel Boulud - Cafe Boulud, Palm Beach, Fla.

-- Chef Charlie Palmer - Charlie Palmer Steak, Washington, D.C.

-- Chef Terrance Brennan - Artisanal Bistro, New York City, N.Y.

-- Chef Stephan Pyles - Stephan Pyles Restaurant, Dallas, Texas

-- Chef Michael Symon - Lola Bistro, Cleveland, Ohio

-- Chef Celina Tio - The American Restaurant, Kansas City, Mo.

-- Chef Keith Luce - The Herbfarm, Seattle, Wash.

-- Chef Tyler Brown - The Hermitage Hotel, Nashville, Tenn.

-- Chef Michael Mina and Chef Don Yamauchi - SaltWater and Bourbon Steak, Detroit, Mich.

-- Boston's All-Star Chefs - The Exchange Center, Boston, Mass.

Touring chefs are:

-- Chef Michelle Bernstein - Michy's, Miami, Fla.

-- Chef Aaron Sanchez - Centrico and Paladar, New York, N.Y.

-- Chef Bradford Thompson - James Beard Winner and 2006 Best Chef Southwest

-- Chef Roberto Donna - Bebo Trattoria and Galileo, Washington, D.C.

-- Chef Celina Tio - The American Restaurant, Kansas City, Mo.

-- Chef Zach Bell - Cafe Boulud, Palm Beach, Fla.

Luxury automobile company Lexus joins Share Our Strength's A Tasteful Pursuit as the dinner series' presenting sponsor.

"Lexus is dedicated to supporting organizations that improve children's lives and help them fulfill their potential," says Dave Nordstrom, Lexus vice president of marketing. "Share Our Strength plays an important role in that mission and benefits young people across the country, so we're pleased to be involved in this terrific tour."

"We're honored to have Lexus come on board as the event's presenting sponsor," says Debbie Shore, the co-founder of Share Our Strength, "With support from Lexus and our other corporate partners, we are making progress towards ending childhood hunger."

The Balvenie(R), Scotland's premier single malt Scotch whisky, will serve as the reception sponsor in New York City, Washington DC, Dallas, Boston and Chicago. The Balvenie's ambassador will treat guests to samplings of its fine aged scotch whisky at each of the event's receptions. The brand has commissioned a one-of-a-kind hand crafted, signed and numbered "Balvenie Valet" by artist Mark Williams for each event's auction.

"A Tasteful Pursuit resonates with The Balvenie on many levels," says Lynn Raynault, Brand Manager. "We are thrilled to support Share Our Strength's extraordinary efforts to end hunger."

The next dinner will be in New York City at the Artisanal Bistro on April 28. For reservations or for more information on the dinner series, please visit atastefulpursuit.org. Since 2005, the tour has raised more than $1 million to support Share Our Strength's work to end childhood hunger in America, and helped raise awareness of this invisible problem.

Share Our Strength

Share Our Strength(R) is a national organization working to make sure no kid in America grows up hungry. We weave together a net of community groups, activists and food programs to catch children at risk of hunger, and surround them with nutritious food where they live, learn and play. We work with the culinary industry to create engaging, pioneering programs like Share Our Strength's Taste of the Nation(R), Share Our Strength's Great American Bake Sale(R), Share Our Strength's A Tasteful Pursuit(R), Share Our Strength's Great American Dine Out(TM) and Share Our Strength's Operation Frontline(R).

Lexus

Lexus celebrates Share Our Strength's mission to end childhood hunger. As Presenting sponsor of Share Our Strength's A Tasteful Pursuit dinner series, Lexus will help bring together the finest of the nation's culinary community to raise much-needed funds for Share Our Strength and help spread the organization's message. Lexus shares the same passion for bringing this critical issue to the forefront and looks forward to supporting Share Our Strength in its mission. For more information about Lexus, please visit www.lexus.com.

The Balvenie

The Balvenie is a unique range of single malts created by David Stewart, The Balvenie Malt Master. Each has a very individual taste, but each is rich, luxuriously smooth and underpinned by the distinctively honeyed character of The Balvenie.

Produced by independent, family-owned William Grant & Sons Ltd, the exceptional quality of The Balvenie Single Malt is due to the fact that The Balvenie Distillery retains and nurtures a high level of craftsmanship that other malt whisky producers no longer employ: nowhere else will you find a distillery that still grows its own barley, still malts in its own traditional floor maltings and still employs coopers to tend all the casks and a coppersmith to maintain the stills.

The Balvenie range includes very rare, old and extremely high quality single malt Scotch whiskies. In 2006, The Balvenie distillery was awarded six gold medals for its range of products, the biggest gold medal haul for any brand in any one year since the competition began.