Brandt Beef Named Official Purveyor for Bocuse d'Or USA

BRAWLEY, CA--(Marketwire - June 27, 2008) - Brandt Beef - The True Natural, a single family owned, premium natural beef producer, announced today that it has been selected as the official beef purveyor for Bocuse d'Or USA. Daniel Boulud, Thomas Keller and many of the country's leading chefs have joined together to create Bocuse d'Or USA to recruit, train and support the next American team. Brandt Beef is encouraging its partner chefs to submit their applications for the U.S. competition. Applications must be submitted at www.bocusedorusa.org by Monday, June 30, 2008.

"The Bocuse d'Or is the most rigorous and prestigious culinary competition in the world," said Tom McAliney, executive chef, Brandt Beef. "We are extremely pleased to be named the official beef purveyor for Bocuse d'Or USA and look forward helping the U.S. team prepare for this prestigious competition, which is so graciously being supported by chefs Daniel Boulud and Thomas Keller."

Bocuse d'Or USA is a non-profit organization dedicated to selecting and preparing the U.S. team for the prestigious Bocuse d'Or World Cuisine Contest, held every two years in Lyon, France. The Contest showcases the extraordinary techniques, magnificent creations and culinary achievements of the world's leading chefs. The Bocuse d'Or is avidly followed through Europe and is gaining awareness in the U.S. The United States has been represented at the competition since its inception in 1987.

"We have a strong history of supporting the American team in the quest for the Bocuse d'Or world title, most recently serving as a primary sponsor for Gavin Kaysen, who is now executive chef at Café Boulud, during his training for the 2007 competition," said Eric Brandt, managing partner, Brandt Beef. "We are extremely excited to continue our support of the U.S. bid for the Bocuse d'Or, particularly for its roots in French cuisine which encourages sustainable practices including using the entire animal. This sustainable philosophy is one which we share and have implemented on our own vertically-integrated farm where we raise our animals humanely and naturally without the use of hormones, and corn feed them for more than 300 days without the use of any antibiotics."

Applications are currently being accepted for participation in the USA competition, which will be held at the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival on September 26 and 27 in Orlando, Fla. Based on the quality of the applications, eight semi-finalist teams will be selected to compete in the USA contest. Applications are available through www.bocusedorusa.org, and must be submitted by Monday, June 30, 2008 for consideration. Brandt Beef's partner chefs are encouraged to contact Eric Brandt or Tom McAliney directly with any questions.

The eight teams selected for the USA contest will compete before a live audience. Teams will present fish and meat platters to a panel of celebrity chef judges for evaluation of their excellence in taste, presentation, creativity and technical execution. Tickets to attend the competition as a spectator will be available for purchase through www.bocusedorusa.org beginning August 11, 2008.

Bocuse d'Or USA will provide the eight semi-finalist teams with travel and accommodations for the competition in Orlando. Semi-finalists will also receive training equipment and food supplies, a $2,000 stipend to cover incidental costs, and a one-year subscription for Avero Slingshot restaurant intelligence software. At the competition, the top three placing teams will be awarded cash prizes of $15,000 for the first place team, $10,000 for the second place team, and $5,000 for the third place team.

The winning team will also be awarded a paid sabbatical to train for the Bocuse d'Or World Contest from October 1, 2008 to late January 2009 at the Bocuse d'Or USA Culinary Training Center in Yountville, Calif., adjacent to the French Laundry. During this period, the chef and commis candidates will be housed in a private residence in Yountville, Calif. and will be compensated by Bocuse d'Or USA at a rate equivalent to compensation from their current employers. The team will work with Certified Master Chef Roland Henin, in a kitchen custom-designed for Bocuse d'Or training to perfect their dishes for presentation in Lyon. The USA team will then compete at the Bocuse d'Or World Cuisine Contest in Lyon, France in late January 2009.

More information on Bocuse d'Or USA can be found at www.bocusedorusa.org.

About Brandt Beef

Brandt Beef - The True Natural, is a single family owned premium natural beef producer for the up-scale restaurant and retail markets. The Brandt family is dedicated to sustainable practices and is passionate about producing the most consistent, highest quality, 100 percent source verified natural beef on the market. Through cattle selection, natural feeding practices and humane treatment of animals, Brandt Beef produces a product that is unparalleled in taste, tenderness and consistency. Brandt Beef received the Master Chefs' Institute Seal of Excellence for its achievement in obtaining the Master Chefs' Institute standard of quality. To obtain more information, get recipe ideas from Chef Tom McAliney or purchase various cuts of Brandt's premium natural beef, please visit www.brandtbeef.com.

Contact Information: Media Contacts: Sara DeNio Dresner Corporate Services 312-780-7223 sdenio@dresnerco.com David Gutierrez Dresner Corporate Services 312-780-7204 dgutierrez@dresnerco.com