National Restaurant Association Recognizes Taste Buds Management for Commitment to Community Service

New Orleans-based culinary development team receives prestigious Restaurant Neighbor Award for disaster relief

Washington, DC  (RestaurantNews.com)  The National Restaurant Association will today recognize Taste Buds Management as one of this year’s Restaurant Neighbor Award winners during a gala dinner at its 2012 Public Affairs Conference in Washington, D.C. The award celebrates outstanding service efforts that restaurateurs perform in their respective communities.

Taste Buds Management, in New Orleans, La., was recognized as the Mid-Size Business Category winner for delivering supplies and serving hot meals to victims whenever or wherever disaster strikes. The company, formed by chefs Greg Reggio, Hans Limburgh and Gary Darling, provides multi-faceted consulting services to full-service, mid-scale and multi-unit fast food restaurants, hotels and food manufacturers.

“We are proud to present the Restaurant Neighbor Award to some of the most inspiring examples of community service in our industry,” said Dawn Sweeney, National Restaurant Association President and CEO. “We are committed to positively enhancing the quality of life for all we serve, and philanthropic activities are an important part of this mission. The tremendous efforts of Taste Buds Management have provided much needed relief to communities impacted by devastating disasters last year, underscoring that restaurants are often on the front lines in emergency response.”

Reggio, Limburgh and Darling, who also co-own a group of restaurants, decided to launch the nonprofit Three Chefs One Mission after back-to-back tornadoes hit Tuscaloosa, Ala. and Joplin, Mo. in April 2011. Remembering the generosity New Orleans received after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the restaurateurs wanted to respond in kind.

In its infancy, the organization planned a trifecta of fundraising events, including Tuscaloosa Tornado Relief, Liuzza Palooza and Jumping for Joplin. Appealing to the citizens of New Orleans, Three Chefs One Mission was able to deliver food and supplies, such as clothes, tools and toys. The three men share a twenty-year track record of supporting their community through various causes, including raising $130,000 for a fellow restaurateur who was seriously injured in an automobile accident.

The National Restaurant Association will present Taste Buds Management with the award, along with a $5,000 charitable contribution, at a gala dinner during its 2012 Public Affairs Conference in Washington, D.C. American Express is the founding partner of the Restaurant Neighbor Award. It was developed in 1999 in an effort to raise awareness of the industry’s contributions to local communities throughout the country and to inspire more owners and operators to get involved and contribute to their respective communities.

“American Express is proud to partner with the National Restaurant Association to honor the contributions restaurateurs across the country make to their communities,” said Curtis L. Wilson, Vice President and General Manager, Restaurant, Lodging & Insurance Industries, American Express. “Through charitable gifts of food, time, and resources, restaurants have a tangible and lasting impact on their communities; we hope these actions inspire others to do the same.”

In addition to Taste Buds Management, the National Restaurant Association recognized three others with the 2012 Restaurant Neighbor Award. They are: ARAMARK in Philadelphia, in the large-size business category, and King Eider’s Pub and Restaurant in Damariscotta, Maine, in the small business category. Tammy and Noel Cunningham, owners of Denver’s Strings Restaurant, are this year’s Cornerstone Humanitarians.

For more information on the Restaurant Neighbor Award program, as well as the national winners and finalists, visit the National Restaurant Association’s website, www.restaurant.org/awards.

Founded in 1919, the National Restaurant Association is the leading business association for the restaurant industry, which comprises 970,000 restaurant and foodservice outlets and a workforce of nearly 13 million employees. We represent the industry in Washington, D.C., and advocate on its behalf. We operate the industry’s largest trade show (NRA Show May 5-8, 2012, in Chicago); leading food safety training and certification program (ServSafe); unique career-building high school program (the NRAEF’s ProStart, including the National ProStart Invitational April 27-29, 2012, in Baltimore, Md.); as well as the Kids LiveWell program promoting healthful kids’ menu options. For more information, visit www.restaurant.org and find us on Twitter @WeRRestaurants, Facebook and YouTube.