ATLANTA, GA – The 8^th Annual Taste of Atlanta and the move to a spacious new location to Tech Square at Spring Street at 5^th in Midtown was a tremendous success. Tens of thousands of attendees soaked up the sunny weather in the streets of Midtown on October 10 & 11. The festival offered something for all ages to enjoy with scrumptious bites from more than 80 local restaurants plus local and national celebrity chefs on three cooking stages, the Farm-To-Festival Village, a friendly, fun Amica Insurance Kids Avenue and a variety of wine and beer seminars and tastings.

“Taste of Atlanta’s move to Tech Square was the ideal location for the future of Atlanta’s premier food festival. With its expansive streets, picturesque view of the Midtown skyline and proximity to public transportation and public parking options, Tech Square is the perfect location to showcase the city’s culinary community” said Founder and President Dale DeSena. “ Tech Square provided space to expand and add several new activities such as the Farm-to-Festival Village where Georgia’s farmers sold fresh produce and chefs taught attendees about the local sustainable movement. Many enjoyed the Amica Insurance Kids area with hands-on cooking demonstrations, crafts projects and activities for the young and young at heart. The energy and success of this year’s festival has us already looking forward to 2010!”

The main stage was cooking all weekend long with Top Chef finalist Carla Hall, Atlanta’s own Next Food Network Star finalist Jamika Pessoa and a host of other local talented and notable chefs such as Richard Blais of Flip restaurant and Jay Swift of 4^th & Swift.

Taste of Atlanta restaurant awards were presented to fan favorites on Saturday and Sunday.

• Best Selling Taste & Most Popular Restaurant – Jim n’ Nick’s Bar-B-Q (winner both Saturday and Sunday)
• Best Tent Décor – Madras Grill and Tin Lizzy’s Cantina
• Best Presentation – Ritz Carlton Buckhead and 5 Seasons Brewing
• Friendliest Staff – Paschal’s Restaurant and Mary Mac’s Tea Room
• Best Newcomer to Taste of Atlanta – La Grotta and Ri Ra Irish Pub

Regarding the win, Amy Bending of Mary Mac’s said “We were delighted to have participated in Taste of Atlanta and win Friendliest Staff. The win reinforces all of the hard work we put in each day at the restaurant. Being Atlanta’s Dining Room for more than 60 years has put us on the map and our friendly Southern hospitality and down-home cooking keeps us there. Participating in Taste of Atlanta provided us with a lot of exposure to new customers!”

Taste of Atlanta prides itself on giving back to the community and this year’s event resulted in significant contributions.

• The Silent Auction raised more than $19,000 to benefit Share our Strength’s Operation Frontline program.
• The Atlanta Culinary Federation sold tastes of Wild American Shrimp to benefit their scholarship program.
• A Pink Power live auction held on the main cooking stage raised more than $2000 for the Eric R. Beverly Foundation and for Susan G. Komen for the Cure Greater Atlanta.
• Many restaurants donated leftover food to Atlanta’s Table, a program of the Atlanta Community Food Bank.

VIP ticket holders had unlimited access into the Wine and Beer Experience and were able to indulge in special tastings from the Buckhead Diner, Atlanta Fish Market and FLIP Burger Boutique. The Tasting Tents featured more than 100 different types of wine and beers and the Seminar Area offered a series of themed discussions led by industry professionals.

More than 75 bartenders entered the Taste of Atlanta 1^st Annual Barcraft Competition Sponsored by Absolut. The top four finalists offered complimentary samples of their custom blended cocktails to VIP ticket holders at the festival on Saturday. On Sunday, finalists Miles Macquarrie of Leon’s Full Service and Kevin Bragg of Trattoria 141 competed by preparing three custom cocktails. Miles Macquarrie was selected by a panel of three judges to be the winner.

About Taste of Atlanta
Taste of Atlanta is a dynamic 2-day food festival that attracts food lovers from all over the country. 2010 information and dates will be available soon.

Photos available upon request. For more information, please visit www.tasteofatlanta.com

Media Contacts: Tara Murphy / Valerie Failla Mosley – 360 Media, Inc. – 404-577-8686 or info@360media.net