BRAVO’S “TOP CHEF: THE TOUR” HITS THE ROAD APRIL 15TH SPONSORED BY BUITONI
20-City Tour Showcases New Interactive Cook-Off Between Chefs And Tastings Sponsored By Castello® Blue Cheese
NEW YORK – March 17, 2011 – Bravo hits the road ‘Jack,’ kicking-off the fourth annual highly-anticipated and widely successful “Top Chef: The Tour.” The 20-city tour brings the Emmy and James Beard Award-winning, No. 1 food show on cable to fans and foodies nationwide, beginning Friday, April 15th at Soulard Farmers Market in St. Louis, Missouri. Brand new to the tour this year, a show-down between two former chef’testants in each market who will compete in live, interactive cook-offs in front of “Top Chef†fans with a panel of local judges, and audience members. A fully-integrated partner, Buitoni has joined the Tour with pasta sampling in every market and two exclusive stops in Cincinnati, OH and Keasbey, NJ. Castello® Blue Cheese signed on to sponsor the Tour with cheese sampling at each stop.
“‘Top Chef: The Tour,’ brings fans and viewers to the next level – creating an interactive experience where they can physically taste, connect and learn more about the show they’re passionate about,†said Ellen Stone, Senior Vice President, Marketing, Bravo.
To date, “Top Chef: The Tour” has visited 62 cities and traveled more than 40,000 miles. Last year, the tour’s online ticketing for all cities sold out within hours and generated over 186,000 consumer impressions and interacted with more than 15,000 “Top Chef” fans nationwide along the way.
The free event provides fans with a chance to meet and greet the Chef’testants they’ve come to know and root for, hear “Top Chef” show “secrets,” and, for the first time ever, step into the judges shoes and rate their favorite Chef’testants’ food. Guests will receive samples from the tour’s national sponsors, Buitoni and Castello® Blue Cheese, and have the opportunity to participate in a variety of on-site “Top Chef” activities, including an affiliate-sponsored “Aroma†challenge where fans can test their inner chef as they attempt to identify the correct food scent in the quickest amount of time.
Additionally, fans can snap photos and upload images from “Top Chef: The Tour†to unlock the “Top Chef Tour†badge on Foodspotting, the one-of-a-kind interactive website that helps users find and share their favorite dishes using photos and recommendations. Attendees can try for a hole-in-one on the “Top Chef”-themed putting green, purchase Bravo and “Top Chef” merchandise, and experience a “Top Chef†interactive kitchen station, equipped with computers and iPads that enable guests to experiment incorporating technology into their own kitchens, including the most comprehensive culinary school on the Internet, “Top Chef†University.
“Top Chef: The Tour” will be pulling up to a farmer’s market, mall or food festival in the following cities:
St. Louis, Mo. April 15
Kansas City, Mo. April 17
Nashville, Tenn. April 20
Atlanta, Ga. April 25 & 26
Biloxi, Miss. April 29
Miami, FL May 1
Ft.Lauderdale, FL May 3
Orlando, FL May 5
Denver, CO May 5, 6, & 7
Chicago, Ill. May 10 & 11
Newport, KY May 13
Cincinnati, Ohio May 15
Yonkers, N.Y. May 17 & 18
Keasbey, NJ May 19
New York City, N.Y. May 21 & 22
Hartford, Conn. May 24
Red Bank, N.J. May 26
Washington D.C. May 28 & 29
Miami, Fla. June 1
Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. June 3
Orlando, Fla. June 5
Katy, Texas June 8
San Antonio, Texas June 11
Los Angeles, Calif. June 16, 17, 18
San Francisco, Calif. June 20 & 21
“The Top Chef Tour is a proven revenue driver that gives our affiliates on-site product placement and a chance to tie into one of the hottest shows on one of the most engaging networks on television,” added Brian Hunt, Senior Vice President, Marketing and Sales Strategy, TV Networks Distribution, NBCUniversal.
Partnership opportunities for affiliate partners at each city stop include a VIP reserved cooking demonstration, meet and greet with chef’testants, “Aroma†Challenge sponsorship, logo placements, a sampling of affiliate products, advertising services and sponsor table, and promotional spots on plasma televisions airing throughout the day. Additionally, affiliates will provide 250 on-air spots, which include 125 “Top Chef: The Tour” promotional spots, as well as 125 spots for designated Bravo programming.
To sign up for free admission and learn more about “Top Chef: The Tour,” visit www.bravotv.com or http://www.facebook.com/TOPCHEF/