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SPOTLIGHT: The flavor of Central Jersey: Princeton’s Taste of the Nation slated for April 20

     With a passion to fight childhood hunger, Central Jersey’s hottest chefs, restaurants, and mixologists will be gathering once again for Share Our Strength’s Taste of the Nation Princeton, springtime’s premier culinary benefit, which will take place on Monday, April 20, at The Westin Hotel at Forrrestal Village, Plainsboro.
    The 17th annual Taste of the Nation Princeton will raise critical funds needed to support Share Our Strength’s efforts to end childhood hunger in Central Jersey and across the nation.
    More than two dozen of the region’s finest chefs and restaurants will participate. Along with long-established favorites such as the Frog and The Peach, Tre Piani, The Brothers Moon and The Ferry House, the chapter is welcoming several restaurants new to the event, including Acacia, elements, JL Ivy, Due Mari, Parallel 40 at the Westin Princeton, and Steakhouse 85.
    Guests will enjoy the restaurants’ finest foods paired with wines provided by Crossing Vineyards, Unionville Vineyards and Brown Forman, as well as offerings from Triumph Brewery, Jones Two Enterprises, Taking Tea in Style and Karsay Coffee.
    Betsy Alger, owner of The Frog and The Peach, and Taste participant since the Princeton event’s inception in 1992, is serving as Honorary Restaurant Chair for this year’s event.
    “We’re honored to be part of this nationwide movement to end childhood hunger in America,” said Ms. Alger. “Taste of the Nation brings together the finest of Central Jersey’s culinary world and helps the children in our community who suffer from hunger every day.”
    Local charities that will benefit from this year’s event include Mercer Street Friends Food Bank; Isles Inc.; HomeFront, and the Food Bank of South Jersey.
    Since 1988, Taste of the Nation has raised more than $70 million nationwide for organizations in the United States, Canada and abroad, including $50,000 at last year’s Princeton’s Taste alone.
    With more than 12 million children facing hunger in America, Share Our Strength’s Taste of the Nation works to end childhood hunger in the United States and abroad by ensuring that children and their families have reliable access to nutritious food, and by addressing the deeper causes of these conditions. Funds raised through Taste of the Nation events provide grants to organizations in the United States, Canada and abroad that work successfully to end childhood hunger.
    “An end to childhood hunger in the United States is within reach,” said Bill Shore, founder and executive director of Share Our Strength. “With all the participants in Taste of the Nation Princeton sharing their strengths, we are creating more resources for the greater good of Central New Jersey and our great nation.”
    Taste of the Nation is nationally sponsored by American Express, Sysco, Food Network, Brown-Forman and S. Pellegrino Sparkling Natural Mineral Water.
    Taste of the Nation Princeton is locally sponsored by Novo Nordisk, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Janssen, The Gale Company and PSE&G.
    The generosity and commitment of the Princeton event’s sponsors and participants make it possible for 100 percent of the funds raised by ticket sales to support Share Our Strength.
    Tickets for Taste of the Nation Princeton are $85 ($95 at the door) and can be purchased by calling 877-26-TASTE or visiting www.tasteofthenation.org/ princeton.
    The back story of Taste’s success is the core role that New Jersey’s restaurant industry, with some 300,000 workers, plays in the state’s regional economy. The industry’s scope is even more significant when one figures in the larger infrastructure of wholesalers, and distributors, and secondary industries, such as retail and tourism, that benefit from its strength.
    Many of the restaurants that are participating in Taste of the Nation Princeton expand that contribution to the regional economy through their commitment to using ingredients from local farms and celebrating the unique flavor of New Jersey’s terroir.
    As a result, they reflect Central Jersey’s dynamic combination of agricultural history and contemporary lifestyle that makes the region such an engaging place to live and such a compelling destination for visitors. Add to it local wineries Crossing Vineyards and Unionville Vineyards, as well as locally brewed beer from Triumph, and the picture becomes more complete.
As of March 19, participating businesses include:
    • A Taste of Rubies • Acacia • Anton’s at the Swan • Catherine Lombardi • Ciao Bella Gelato Company • Crossing Vineyards and Winery • Donna & Company • Due Mari • JL Ivy Restaurant and Tiger Bar • Jack’s Café & Taste Appeal Catering • Jones Two Enterprises • elements • Karsay Coffee • Parallel 40 at the Westin Princeton Forrestal Village • Ruth’s Chris Steak House • Salt Creek Grille Restaurant • Slow Food Central New Jersey • Steakhouse 85 • Taking Tea In Style LLC • The Alchemist & Barrister Restaurant & Pub • The Blue Bottle Café • The Blue Rooster Bakery & Café • The Brothers Moon • The Cranbury Inn • The Ferry House • The Frog and The Peach • The Original SoupMan • The Westin Princeton at Forrestal Village Take-Out • Tre Piani Restaurant • Triumph Brewing Company • The Nassau Club • Unionville Vineyard • Witherspoon Bread Company • Yankee Doodle Tap Room.