Celebrity Chef Paula Deen To Open Paula Deen's Kitchen at Harrah's Cherokee Casino & Hotel in Cherokee, North Carolina

CHEROKEE, N.C., March 3 /PRNewswire/ -- Harrah's Cherokee Casino & Hotel today announced its partnership with Paula Deen Enterprises and the opening in late-2010 of Paula Deen's Kitchen, the property's first new restaurant to be introduced as part of a $633 million, three-year expansion program.

Created as a full-service, 404-seat restaurant, Paula Deen's Kitchen at Harrah's Cherokee will serve a la carte breakfast, lunch and dinner, and will be reminiscent of the decor and ambiance of her legendary home and kitchen in Savannah. The a la carte aspect of the restaurant is a first for Paula Deen in the Harrah's brand, as her restaurant at Harrah's Tunica Casino is a traditional buffet.

Adjacent to the restaurant will be a 1,800-square-foot Paula Deen retail shop offering Paula's cookbooks, spices and food items, cookware, logo wear and gifts.

"We are honored to welcome Paula Deen's Kitchen to Harrah's Cherokee Casino & Hotel.  Her special style of cooking and Southern hospitality will be a perfect fit with our guests here in the Great Smoky Mountains," stated Darold Londo, Senior Vice President and General Manager of the property.  "We know that those customers who enjoy Paula's treasured recipes here at Harrah's Cherokee will be eager to take home a memento of that culinary experience – one of her cookbooks and the ingredients or cookware they can use in their own kitchens," he commented.

"I couldn't be more excited to be a part of Harrah's Cherokee Casino & Hotel," commented Paula Deen.  "I couldn't think of a better mix – southern food and casinos. It has all the ingredients for a good time."  

The expansion of Harrah's Cherokee is currently the largest hospitality expansion project underway in the Southeast and one of the largest in the United States, offering the greatest number of hotel accommodations in the Carolinas. Upon completion in 2012, the 56-acre property will have added a third hotel tower incorporating luxury accommodations and high-end suites, a 3,000-seat events center, entertainment and VIP lounges, 18,000-square-foot spa, all new state-of-the-art digital poker room, Asian gaming room, a variety of new restaurant and retail outlets, and new hotel and casino parking garages. Harrah's Cherokee is also renovating its current casino facilities and doubling the size of its casino floor to 195,000 square feet while increasing video and table game capacity.  

Harrah's Cherokee Casino & Hotel is an enterprise of the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Nation, located 50 miles west of Asheville at the entrance to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Harrah's Cherokee Casino is open 24 hours a day to guests 21 years of age or older. For more information about Harrah's Cherokee, please call 1-800-HARRAHS or visit our website at www.harrahs.com.

SOURCE Harrah's Cherokee Casino & Hotel