ORLANDO Fla. Jumping on the reality television bandwagon, Red Lobster will begin featuring the winning entree from a cable network cooking contest at its 680 North American units, starting Monday.
White Chocolate Macadamia Crusted Tilapia, created by Kelsey Nixon of North Ogden, Utah, was the winning dish from the most recent episode of "The Next Food Network Star." The show features 10 people competing for a chance to host their own show on the cable channel.
Red Lobster's senior executive chef Michael LaDuke and Iron Chef star Michael Symon were guest judges in Sunday night's episode of the show, which required contestants to create “unique, approachable dishes” using one of Red Lobster's fresh fish species. They also had to use an unusual, Iron Chef-inspired ingredient, such as grape jelly, white chocolate, coffee or Fruit Loops cereal.
To see a video of Nixon and LaDuke preparing the winning dish, click here.
Red Lobster joins casual-dining competitor T.G.I. Friday's in featuring dishes from culinary-theme reality shows. Friday's has been showcasing dishes from the "Ultimate Recipe Showdown," another Food Network show, and has a marketing partnership with one of the show's hosts, Guy Fieri. Fieri was the winner of a previous season of "The Next Food Network Star," which landed him his own show, "Guy's Big Bite."
Red Lobster is a division of Darden Restaurants Inc., based in Orlando, Fla., and T.G.I. Friday’s is a division of Carlson Restaurants Worldwide, based in Carrollton, Texas.