Two Wyoming Organizations Collaborate in First Ever West-Mex® Culinary Competition
Taco John's and Wyoming Lodging and Restaurant Association Work Together to Heighten Interest in Food Service Industry within State Youth

CHEYENNE, WY (March 3, 2006) – In its inaugural year, Taco John’s and the Wyoming Lodging and Restaurant Association have partnered to bring the spice and flair traditionally found in the West-Mex® attitude of Taco John’s items to a new level with the “West-Mex® Culinary Competition.” The goal of this competition is to encourage high school students to consider a career in the foodservice industry.

Seven high schools across the state of Wyoming participated in this event by forming 17 culinary teams. Each team had the task of developing and submitting a unique recipe for a new Taco John’s menu item.“We are delighted to participate in providing some professional career preparation experiences for high school students in our great state,” said Brian Dixon, vice president of marketing for Taco John’s. “Our partnership with the WLRA is five years running—prior competitions have been fundamentally a speed of production exercise. So, this year we decided to bring the competition to a higher level of experience. The participants seemed to have a great time and having them in our Support Center added extra energy for our entire staff. It was great!” On February 23rd, two teams advanced to the finals. Rock River High School in Rock River and Central High School in Cheyenne were selected as the final two teams with their winning products, a Crispy Taco Wrap and a Crunchy Chicken Guacamole Burrito, respectively. Individuals that made up the two winning teams were Kassie Brinkerhoff and Kelly McDonald of Rock River and Lacy Grott and Andrew Bergene of Central. In the February 23rd semi-final competition, each school’s chefs-in-the-making competed in Taco John’s R&D Kitchen to prepare, cook and serve their creation. New products were judged on: taste, overall creativity, breadth of potential consumer appeal, potential profitability, operational simplicity and consistency with Taco John’s West-Mex® positioning.
Both Rock River and Central will go to Jackson Hole to compete for the Champion’s Trophy on March 21st. At this competition, the contestants will be given a “mystery set of ingredients” and in a timed exercise, they will have to conceptualize, create and present a new product to the judges -- similar to the approach taken by the food competition currently on television. The winning team will be invited to Taco John’s Training and Marketing Departments to create support materials to potentially sell their product in the Taco John’s restaurants in Cheyenne.

About Taco John’s
Taco John’s operates and franchises more than 400 quick-service restaurants in 27 states. Independently owned and operated, the business opened its first restaurant in 1969. Taco John’s prides itself on serving generous portions, menu items prepared fresh to your order, high quality ingredients, and special West-Mex® recipes, seasonings and sauces. In 2004, Taco John's achieved record sales growth. For more information, visit our web site at www.tacojohns.com.