Extended Stay America Hotels And Food Network Host Sunny Anderson Search For "America's Top Away From Home Cook" Through National Recipe Contest

CHARLOTTE, N.C., May 27, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Extended Stay America, the largest owner/operated hotel chain with kitchens in every room, searches for America's Top Away From Home Cook, calling all kitchen masters for the first annual Extended Stay America Away From Home Cooking Recipe Contest. In partnership with Food Network Host Sunny Anderson, America's Top Away From Home Cook will be featured at the Food Network New York City Wine & Food Festival presented by FOOD & WINE to serve their signature dish to thousands of international food lovers and celebrity chefs, in addition to a $5,000 prize. A platform for budding cooks to become a resource for millions of Extended Stay America guests, the finalist's dishes will be featured in the "Away From Home Cooking" cookbook – a travel-friendly recipe resource available in Extended Stay America's more than 69,000 hotel room kitchens and online at AwayFromHomeCooking.com.

"We launched 'Away From Home Cooking' as a solution to help our guests skip fast food and empty calories by cooking wallet and waist-friendly meals using the fully equipped kitchens in their hotel rooms," Terry Atkins, senior director of marketing communications for Extended Stay America, says. "The cookbook was so well received by guests we wanted to give them the opportunity to be a part of it, sharing the creative meals they make in our kitchens every day."

From food lovers and moms to business travelers and road-trippers, Extended Stay America encourages aspiring cooks to submit their travel-friendly recipes along with a photo of their signature dish by visiting Contest.AwayFromHomeCooking.com. On July 28, followers will have the opportunity to select two "fan favorites" by voting for their favorite cooks on Contest.AwayFromHomeCooking.com. The two cooks with the most fan votes will become automatic finalists. To garner votes and support fan favorites, followers are encouraged to share the Away From Home Cooking Recipe Contest on Facebook and Twitter using  #cookwithESA.

Four finalists including the two "fan favorites" will be whisked away to New York City to compete in an intense Extended Stay America hotel room kitchen cook-off judged by Sunny Anderson, influential food bloggers and Extended Stay America executives. The cook-off winner will enjoy celebrity status becoming America's Top Away From Home Cook, receiving $5,000 and a trip to the Food Network New York City Wine & Food Festival, which takes place October 16-19, 2014.  The winning dish will also be featured alongside Sunny's recipes in the "Away From Home Cooking" cookbook available in hotel room kitchens at 632 Extended Stay America locations throughout the U.S., on AwayFromHomeCooking.com and across all Extended Stay America social media channels. 

"When I hit the road, I always choose Extended Stay America as my home-away-from-home since I can count on welcoming staff and a comfortable room with a kitchen to test a recipe or whip up my favorite meal," says Food Network's Sunny Anderson.   "Creating recipes for ESA guests has been tons of fun and allowed me to be truly creative. I can't wait to taste the recipe invented by ESA's own guests."

Ideal submissions are designed for all culinary skill levels and can be created in Extended Stay America's fully equipped in-room kitchens. Recipes must use less than 10 ingredients and simple methods perfect for travelers recreating the comforting taste of home when on the road. Dishes will be judged based on three categories including ease of preparation, taste and originality/creativity. 

For more information, a complete set of rules and to submit a recipe, visit Contest.AwayFromHomeCooking.com. 100 percent of the net proceeds from the Food Network New York City Wine & Food Festival benefit Share Our Strength's No Kid Hungry^® campaign and Food Bank For New York City.   

About Extended Stay America
Extended Stay America, Inc., the largest owner/operator of company-branded hotels in North America, owns and operates 684 hotels in the U.S. and Canada comprising approximately 76,200 rooms and employs approximately 10,000 employees in its hotel properties and headquarters. The Company owns and operates hotels under the core brand Extended Stay America®, which serves the mid-priced extended stay segment, and other brands. Visit www.extendedstay.com for more information about the Company and its services.

About Sunny Anderson
Sunny Anderson hosts Food Network's newest show The Kitchen as well as Cooking For Real. After years of cooking for her music industry friends, she started catering while a DJ at New York City's HOT 97, and became the food and lifestyle editor at Hip Hop Weekly. Sunny appears regularly on the Rachael Ray Show and the Today Show, is a new contributor to O, The Oprah Magazine's food section, and is often in Food Network Magazine, Essence, and People. Sunny's first cookbook Sunny's Kitchen: Easy Food for Real Life hit stores Sept. 17, 2013 and reached the New York Time's bestseller list just 10 days later. Sunny lives in Brooklyn, N.Y.

About the Food Network New York City Wine & Food Festival presented by FOOD & WINE
The Food Network New York City Wine & Food Festival is hosted by and benefits the Food Bank For New York City and Share Our Strength's No Kid Hungry^® campaign, 100% of the Festival's net proceeds go toward helping these community based organizations fight hunger.  Southern Wine & Spirits of New York is the exclusive provider of wine and spirits at the Festival.  More information about the Festival can be found at www.nycwff.org.

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SOURCE Extended Stay America