Cooking for a Cause: 10-Year-Old Chef Supports Missing, Exploited Children with Award-Winning Gourmet Burger

GREENWOOD VILLAGE, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Starting today, burger enthusiasts nationwide will have the opportunity to taste America’s newest gourmet burger recipe – created by a 10-year-old kid chef – while also supporting an important cause. From Tuesday, Aug. 3 to Sunday, Sept. 12, Red Robin Gourmet Burgers, Inc. (Red Robin) will feature Washington resident, 10-year-old Emma Potts’ Spicy Honey Glazed Bacon Burger in all U.S. Red Robin® restaurants. Fifty cents of each Spicy Honey Glazed Bacon Burger sold will be donated to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children® (NCMEC) to support its child safety education and abduction and exploitation prevention efforts^*. Since 2006, Red Robin has donated more than $170,000 to NCMEC through its Kids’ Cook-Off program.

Red Robin, the gourmet burger expert for more than 40 years, selected Potts’ Spicy Honey Glazed Bacon Burger recipe – made with a burger patty topped with a spicy honey glaze, ripe red tomato, mayonnaise, bacon, cayenne pepper, butter leaf lettuce and havarti cheese – as the winning creation during the fourth annual Kids’ Cook-Off Championship in December 2009 to be sold in each of its U.S. restaurants. More than 11,000 kids from across the country submitted gourmet burger recipes for the fourth annual event, and the top 50 recipes, including Potts’ Spicy Honey Glazed Bacon Burger, are now featured in a cookbook. The cookbook, available for free download at www.redrobin.com, also includes a Chicken Taco Salad Burger recipe from Food Network star and Kids’ Cook-Off judge, Robin Miller and back-to-school child safety tips from NCMEC.

Additionally, Red Robin is currently accepting entries for its fifth annual Kids’ Cook-Off. The Kids’ Cook-Off encourages kids to experiment in the kitchen with their families 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, Aug. 3 to Sunday, Sept. 12, online at www.RedRobinKidsCookOff.com or via mail to Red Robin Kids’ Cook-Off Contest, P.O. Box 133, Trenton, IL 62293.

To select the fifth annual Kids’ Cook-Off grand-prize-winning burger recipe, 10 finalists will be invited to Denver, Colo., in December 2010 to compete in the Kids’ Cook-Off Championship. During the competition, a fan favorite, three runners-up and a grand-prize winner will be selected. And, like Potts’ Spicy Honey Glazed Bacon Burger, the 2010 grand-prize-winning burger will be sold at all participating U.S. Red Robin® restaurants to benefit NCMEC’s child safety initiatives and included in a kids’ cookbook in summer 2011.

All 10 semi-finalists will receive a trip to Colorado for the Championship with an accompanying parent or guardian, a $75 Red Robin gift card, a $100 VISA gift card, and an iPod nano as prizes^**. In addition, the grand-prize winner also will receive a family vacation to Universal Orlando® Resort and Red Robin gift cards for a year^***.

For more information on the Kids’ Cook-Off, or to find the nearest restaurant location where you can try the Spicy Honey Glazed Bacon Burger to support NCMEC, visit www.redrobin.com.

About Red Robin Gourmet Burgers, Inc. (NASDAQ: RRGB)

Red Robin Gourmet Burgers, Inc. (www.redrobin.com), a casual dining restaurant chain founded in 1969 that operates through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Red Robin International, Inc., has been serving up wholesome, fun dining experiences in a family-friendly environment for more than 40 years. Red Robin, the “Smiling Burger^®” expert, is famous for serving more than two dozen high-quality, Honest to Goodness^® gourmet burgers in a variety of recipes with Bottomless Steak Fries^®, as well as salads, soups, appetizers, entrees and signature Bottomless Beverages^™. There are more than 430 Red Robin^® restaurants located across the United States and Canada, including corporate-owned locations and those operating under franchise agreements. Red Robin… YUMMM™!

About the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children

The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Since it was established by Congress in 1984, the organization has operated the toll-free 24-hour national missing children’s hotline which has handled more than 2,475,300 calls. It has assisted law enforcement in the recovery of more than 151,300 children. The organization’s CyberTipline has handled more than 923,400 reports of child sexual exploitation and its Child Victim Identification Program has reviewed and analyzed more than 35,996,000 pornography images and videos. The organization works in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Justice’s office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. To learn more about NCMEC, call its toll-free, 24-hour hotline at 1-800-THE-LOST or visit its web site at www.missingkids.com.

*Maximum donation not to exceed $50,000
** iPod is a registered trademark of Apple Computer, Inc. All rights reserved. Apple is not a participant or sponsor of this promotion.
***12, $30 gift cards
All Universal elements and related indicia TM & © 2009 Universal Studios. All rights reserved.

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