'Top Chef: The Tour' Kicks Off April 14

Today, Bravo announced the official third annual kick-off for its highly anticipated and widely successful "Top Chef: The Tour," a 21-city tour, that for the first time ever expands to the Pacific Northwest with stops in Seattle, Washington and Portland, Oregon. Sponsored by Dial Nutriskin, the annual tour brings the Emmy and James Beard Award-winning, No. 1 food show on cable, "Top Chef," to fans and foodies nationwide, beginning Wednesday, April 14th, with its first stop at Soulard Farmers Market in St. Louis, Missouri. This year's tour will feature an updated, restaurant-style format with table seating for 64 guests, bringing fans a fuller, more enjoyable culinary experience as they interact with their favorite chef'testants.

For the second year in a row, the "Top Chef" tour truck will make its way to Churchill Downs for a two-day stop at the Kentucky Derby, in advance of NBC's live coverage of the event on May 1.

"Bravo viewers like to truly engage in the shows they are passionate about," said Ellen Stone, Senior Vice President, Marketing, Bravo. "With 'Top Chef: The Tour,' we are able to give our fans the hands-on experience with our chef'testants and the opportunity to finally judge and taste what they had only experienced by watching."

Visitors of "Top Chef: The Tour" will have the opportunity to meet and greet with "Top Chef" talent, sample food tastings, receive gourmet cooking tips, hear "Top Chef" show "secrets," get chef'testant autographs. Visitors will also receive samples from the tour's national sponsor, Dial Nutriskin Body Wash, a new product that contains a blend of moisturizing fruit oils and extracts. Fans and affiliates will also have the opportunity to participate in a variety of on-site "Top Chef" activities, including a Quickfire Challenge. Guests will compete for a chance to win prizes by testing their senses and food knowledge in a series of smell-tests as they attempt to identify the correct scent in the quickest amount of time. Attendees can also try for a hole-in-one on the "Top Chef"-themed putting green, purchase Bravo and "Top Chef" merchandise, and capture their "Top Chef" experience with a photo at the "Top Chef" judges table photo-opportunity. Fans will be able to access and download their photos at www.BravoTV.com.

In each city, two former chef'testants will host four live interactive shows, complete with tasting samples, including three for fans in attendance and one private show for affiliate partners over one or two days. Additional guests will be able to view demonstrations from outside of the canopied seating area through a 42" plasma television in the activity area. To date, "Top Chef: The Tour" has visited 41 cities and traveled approximately 30,000 miles, generating over 7,000 consumer impressions per day and interacting with thousands of "Top Chef" fans and affiliates nationwide along the way.

"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 14
Kansas City, Mo. - April 16
Atlanta, Ga. - April 18 & 20
Charlotte, N.C. - April 22
Pittsburgh, Pa. - April 24 & 25
Louisville, Ky. - April 30 & May 1 (Kentucky Derby)
Grand Rapids, Mich. - May 4
Chicago, Ill. - May 6 & 7
Westfield, N.J. - May 15
Philadelphia, Pa. - May 17
White Plains, N.Y. - May 19 & 20
New York, N.Y. - May 22 & 23
Boston, Mass. - May 25
Denver, Colo. - May 30
Salt Lake City, Utah - June 3
Seattle, Wash. - June 6
Portland, Ore. - June 9
San Francisco, Calif. - June 12
Los Angeles, Calif. - June 14 - 16
Irvine, Calif. - June 17
Phoenix, Ariz. - June 19

"The 'Top Chef' tour has generated a tremendous response from fans and distribution partners nationwide. This year's tour extends farther than ever before, with new, interactive 'Top Chef' elements, sponsorship opportunities and plenty of on-site action for consumers and affiliates to fully engage with their favorite food show on cable," added Brian Hunt, Senior Vice President, Marketing and Sales Strategy, TV Networks Distribution, NBC Universal

Partnership opportunities for affiliate partners at each city stop include a VIP reserved cooking demonstration, meet and greet with chef'testants, "Top Chef" Quickfire 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 200 on-air spots, which include 100 "Top Chef: The Tour" promotional spots, as well as 100 spots for designated Bravo programming.

To sign up for free admission and learn more about "Top Chef: The Tour," visit www.bravotv.com/thetour.

Photo courtesy of Bravo TV. 

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