Jean-Georges Vongerichten Restaurant Development Company to Open Spice Market Restaurants Inside Three New W Hotel Developments

NEW YORK, International chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten announces three new restaurant properties to open within Starwood Hotels around the world as part of his new restaurant development company Culinary Concepts by Jean-Georges. Three new Spice Market restaurants, specializing in the flavorful street food of Southeast Asia, are confirmed to open inside three new W Hotel developments: W Atlanta-Midtown (Atlanta, Georgia, USA), W Istanbul (Turkey) and W Doha (Qatar) in 2008. W Doha will also include a Market by Jean-Georges restaurant.

"Starwood Hotels fly their flags at some of the most prestigious addresses around the world," says Vongerichten. "I am excited to announce the first three restaurants as part of my new 'Culinary Concepts' venture. Each opening will be unique and a fresh opportunity to bring my favorite dishes to new communities of diners."

"At W, delightful culinary encounters are a passion of our brand, so we are thrilled to partner with Chef Jean-Georges as we unveil three new W Hotels in Istanbul, Doha and Midtown Atlanta," said Ross Klein, President, Starwood's Luxury Brands Group. "Chef Jean-Georges' culinary vision and creative ingenuity makes him a terrific match for the W brand and we look forward to working together as we continue to re-imagine "Yum" experiences for our global W guests and local W loyalists."

Inspired by the vibrant street life of Southeast Asia, Spice Market enchants guests with fun and adventurous flavors served in a casual, sexy atmosphere. Vongerichten has traveled and worked throughout Asia for over 20 years, and he recreates some of his favorite street food experiences at Spice Market. Dishes display complex blends of spices and layers of flavor, and are presented to the table family-style; courses arrive continuously throughout the meal and are placed in the center of table for all to share. Curries and spices are tweaked to tantalizing effect in bold dishes that include Spiced Chicken Samosas with cilantro yogurt; Crispy Sesame Crab with sweet soy, pink grapefruit and ginger salad; Striped Bass with wok-fried Napa cabbage, water chestnut and cucumber; Char Grilled Chicken with kumquat lemongrass dressing; and Onion and Chili Crusted Short Ribs with egg noodles and pea shoots.

Menus in different cities will feature dishes tailored to local tastes and incorporating local ingredients. "As a part of the historic spice trail, the Middle East has a number of exotic flavors and ingredients that I am eager to explore," says Vongerichten. "I plan to feature some of these local delicacies on menus in Istanbul and Doha."

In addition to Spice Market, W Doha will also debut Market by Jean- Georges, an amalgamation of Vongerichten's celebrated restaurants Market in Paris and Mercer Kitchen in New York City. Market by Jean-Georges is a compilation of the chef's culinary repertoire, featuring a menu with enough depth and variety to satisfy any mood or palate.

The cuisine at Market by Jean-Georges is international in spirit, with strong influences from France, Italy and Asia. Inventive appetizers and entrees are supplemented by offerings from the raw bar and pizza ovens. Signature dishes include Crab Cake with avocado, cucumber, lime and crystallized ginger; Raw Tuna Pizza with wasabi; Roasted Lobster with artichokes, garlic and potatoes; Grilled Lamb Chops with butter beans, melted leeks and lemon confit; Caramelized Pear with pear sorbet and banana pain perdu; and Warm Valrhona Chocolate Cake with nutmeg ice cream and brown butter caramel.

For these initial locations, Culinary Concepts has chosen world class design firms United Designers Ltd. based in London and AvroKO based in New York City, to interpret, localize and update the visual language of the restaurants.

ABOUT CULINARY CONCEPTS BY JEAN-GEORGES | Culinary Concepts by Jean-Georges develops, owns, operates, manages and licenses world-class restaurants created by Jean-Georges Vongerichten. In a partnership with Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. and private equity firm Catterton Partners, Culinary Concepts by Jean-Georges creates international, multi-concept restaurant and licensing businesses to be utilized both in Starwood's luxury hotel brands including W, Westin, Le Meridien, Sheraton's Luxury Collection, and the St. Regis as well as freestanding locations throughout the world. Culinary Concepts' current portfolio includes 10 concepts that are either existing or in development. Existing properties include Spice Market in New York City, Chambers Kitchen at Chambers Hotel, Minneapolis, and Lagoon at St. Regis Resort, Bora Bora. For more information, please visit .

ABOUT JEAN-GEORGES VONGERICHTEN | Internationally renowned for his innovative, groundbreaking cuisine, Jean- Georges Vongerichten has emerged as one of the world's leading chefs. Acclaimed by critics as 'formidably gifted' and a 'residential genius,' his culinary vision has consistently set new standards and helped define modern cuisine. He has earned an unprecedented total of 20 stars from The New York Times for his New York City restaurants - Jean Georges, JoJo, Vong, Mercer Kitchen, Perry St and Spice Market. In 2007, Jean-Georges was awarded a total of six Michelin stars; three for Jean Georges, one each for Vong, JoJo and Perry St. A singularly notable accomplishment was the presentation of three major awards to Jean-Georges in 1998 by the James Beard Foundation - Best New Restaurant for Jean Georges, America's Outstanding Chef, and Who's Who of Food & Beverage. This 'triple crown' to the same chef in the same year was a first for the Foundation. Vongerichten has published several cookbooks including Simple Cuisine (Wiley, 1990); Cooking at Home with a Four Star Chef (Broadway, 1998), for which he won the James Beard Foundation Award for Best Cookbook in 1999; Simple to Spectacular (Random House, 2000); and most recently, Asian Flavors of Jean-Georges (Broadway, 2007). He has appeared on the Today Show, Good Morning America, Martha Stewart Living, The Early Show on CBS and as a regular guest on TV Food Network.

ABOUT STARWOOD HOTELS & RESORTS | Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. is one of the leading hotel and leisure companies in the world with approximately 850 properties in more than 95 countries and 145,000 employees at its owned and managed properties. Starwood(R) Hotels is a fully integrated owner, operator and franchisor of hotels and resorts with the following internationally renowned brands: St. Regis(R), The Luxury Collection(R), Sheraton(R), Westin(R), Four Points(R) by Sheraton, W(R), Le Meridien(R) and the recently announced Aloft(SM). Starwood Hotels also owns Starwood Vacation Ownership, Inc., one of the premier developers and operators of high quality vacation interval ownership resorts. For more information, please visit .

ABOUT CATTERTON PARTNERS | With more than $2 billion under management, Catterton Partners is a leading private equity firm in the U.S. focused exclusively on the consumer industry. Since its founding in 1990, Catterton has leveraged its investment capital, strategic and operating skills, and network of industry contacts to establish one of the strongest investment track records in the consumer industry. Catterton considers investments across a number of targeted consumer industry "verticals": Food and Beverage, Retail and Restaurants, Consumer Products and Services, and Media and Marketing Services. Catterton's unique combination of value-added resources has resulted in the creation of numerous market leading companies, such as Build-A-Bear Workshop, Frederic Fekkai, Kettle Foods, PF Chang's China Bistro, Baja Fresh, Farley's and Sathers Candy Co., Titan Outdoor, Pharmaceuticals Holdings, Inc., Gold Coast Beverage Distributors, Odwalla, Inc., and Wellness Pet Food. More information about the firm can be found at /.

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