FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 6, 2012
For Information Contact:

                                 Cathy Lalley, Director of Marketing

                                                                      John Howie Restaurant Group
                                                                      Bellevue, Washington  98004

                                                                      Phone:  (425) 456-0010 x52

                                                                      www.seastarrestaurant.com
 Seattle Chef Uses Food, Fun and Football to Increase Awareness & Reach Fundraising Goal
                                                                                                                 

Seattle, Washington – John Howie is on a mission to help Washington score big for Food Lifeline and defeat hunger.  Never one to sit on the sidelines, the award winning chef/restaurateur is organizing a series of events as part of the “Kick Hunger Challenge” competition sponsored by Taste of the NFL, which has the potential to make a huge difference both nationally and in our local community.  Howie, the Seahawks’ chef representative for the Super Bowl (as part of the annual Taste of the NFL) is hoping to give Seattle the home field advantage by becoming the top fundraising city, in which case the TNFL will match what is raised locally.  Those doubled dollars will go directly to Washington State’s Food Lifeline.  The Challenge runs through February 2, 2013.

Using the West Coast offense, Howie plans to start the touchdown drive in the fight against hunger through the donation of proceeds from the following events:

Contest for The Challenge:

Any fan who donates $25 or more in the name of the Seattle Seahawks for the Kick Hunger Challenge will be entered into a raffle for a Super Bowl party for 8 people. The winner will score a field goal with his sports-minded pals when SPORT Restaurant & Bar Chef Shane Gentry serves game day fare and cold beer to their reserved table in front of the restaurant’s big screen TV’s on Super Bowl Sunday.

Thursday November 1 through February 2nd, 2013:  Cocktails for The Challenge

Each of the John Howie Group restaurants will be offering a specialty Super Bowl XLVII (to be held in New Orleans) themed cocktail, with $1 going to The Kick Hunger Challenge for every one sold.  At John Howie Steak, guests can enjoy a classic taste of the South with a Café Sazerac which features Woodinville Rye Whiskey, sweet vermouth, a raw sugar cube, coffee bitters and Absinthe wash stirred over ice, and strained into a martini glass.   Seastar –  Bellevue will feature the Howie Hurricane made with Cruzan Silver rum and a house mix of pineapple juice, Bordeaux cherry juice, pomegranate juice, house-made sweet & sour and Amaretto.  The bar at Seastar in Seattle will be serving up the Pom Pom, a delicious combination of Pomegranate vodka, Aperol, cranberry juice and house-made fresh sour mix.  Sport Restaurant & Bar is sporting two different drinks:  the Super Bowl Hurricane and the Touchdown!  The former is made up of dark rum, passion fruit syrup and Pog (juices from passion fruit, orange, and guava) and the latter is a drop kick of orange vodka dropped into Red Bull.

 Saturday, November 24:   Stone Soup at Westlake Whole Foods

This holiday season, in the spirit of the folk story, John will be holding his 2nd annual Stone Soup event from 11am to 2pm at 2100 Westlake, in front of the Whole Foods Westlake entrance.  The Saturday after Thanksgiving, he invites the Seattle community to come together and enjoy a hearty cup of his Prince Edward Island Chowder Cook-Off trophy winning Coconut Curry Rock Crab and Blue Mussel Chowder, with the purchase of a $10 ticket – of which 100% of the proceeds of go towards the Kick Hunger Challenge. The heart-warming soup will be ladled up by Howie and a host of celeb servers, including former Seahawk Craig Terrill (TNFL Seattle team rep).  Like the “villagers” in the story, it will be a celebration of community spirit for Food Lifeline and the hungry people the organization serves throughout Western Washington.  Fans are encouraged to pre-purchase tickets at Seastar Restaurant & Raw Bar-Seattle, Vida Wellness Spa, the Pan Pacific Hotel or Whole Foods-South Lake Union, as portions are limited. 

Thursday, January 10:  Craig Terrill Jambalaya Night at SPORT Restaurant & Bar

Looking for the home field advantage, retired Seattle Seahawk Craig Terrill and his band join Chef Howie at SPORT Restaurant & Bar for a rocking night of music and great eats.  A special New Orleans Super Bowl themed dinner will feature Jambalaya – the delicious Louisiana Creole dish.  The SPORT bar will showcase bourbon cocktails from Seattle’s Tatoosh Distillery.

John Howie encourages Seahawk fans not to sit on the sidelines – everyone is needed to get into the game to help Taste of the NFL reach its goal of raising $300,000 which would provide 2.4 million meals through local food banks throughout all 32 NFL cities.

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John Howie, a man known as much for his spirit of generosity as his award winning fare, shares recipes from his restaurants and for life in his just released cookbook Passion and Palate: Recipes for a Generous Table.  This gorgeously photographed, hardbound book includes a collection of over 240 recipes of guest and family favorites from Seastar Restaurant and Raw Bar, John Howie Steak, SPORT Restaurant & Bar, and Adriatic Grill Italian Cuisine & Wine Bar. For information please visit http://shinshinchez.com/john-howie-passion-palate .