020511 Burger Month Celebrated by White Castle

Columbus, OH - White Castle is proud to sponsor May as National Hamburger Month in honor of America's favorite food. The company, the first fast-food hamburger chain, has served up steam-grilled goodness for more than 80 years. In celebration of the hamburger, White Castle has a variety of special events planned including the induction of new members into the Cravers Hall of Fame, the kick-off of the 11th annual recipe contest and home office team members going out to White Castle restaurants around the country to work.

The induction of some of White Castle's biggest fans into the Cravers Hall of Fame will take place in a ceremony held on May 9 at the White Castle home office in Columbus, Ohio. The Hall of Fame is White Castle's way of thanking the company's most loyal and dedicated fans -- the people who help ensure the success of the company. More than 1800 stories of crave dedication were submitted, and six were selected for 2002 class. The class includes:

* Bob Banta and Jim Babjack, writers of the Smithereens cult classic, "White Castle Blues."

* A group of engineers in Illinois who hold an annual fundraiser for charity serving hundreds of White Castle hamburgers.

* A long-time craver from Chicago who kept his co-workers supplied with hamburgers before retirement and now creates paintings, including one of his favorite White Castle.

* A Detroit man who hosts huge White Castle-themed parties (his pet pig helps clean up) and has a large White Castle tattoo on his arm.

* A couple from Gahanna, Ohio, who became engaged at a White Castle.

* A group of 1962 graduates from Clifton (NJ) High School who still gather frequently to recall old memories and include new ones with White Castle as part of the festivities.

All cravers are encouraged to tap into their inspirational energies and invent a great new recipe for the eleventh annual "Crave Time Cook Off." Hamburger lovers who send in their unique recipe using 10 hamburgers could be the winner of 52 sacks of 10 White Castle hamburgers, one per week, for a year.

Recipes should be sent with name, address and phone number to: White Castle Management Company, c/o Recipe Contest, 555 West Goodale St., Columbus, OH 43215. They also can be entered on the Web site: www.whatyoucrave.com . Recipes must be sent in by July 1, 2002. The winner will be determined in August by a panel of judges based upon originality and taste. The top ten recipes will appear in a booklet of recipes released in time for Thanksgiving.

White Castle also observes National Hamburger Month by having team members from the home office go to various locations and work a shift in a restaurant. This allows them to know what it is like to work on the "front lines" directly with the customers, and it gives them an opportunity to see all the hard work the team members in the restaurants do every day.

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