WESTLAKE, Ohio -- TravelCenters of America LLC has announced the winners of its UltraChef Million Point Recipe Challenge. From more than 1,000 recipes, two grand prize winners, Tom Prostrollo and Mike Feerick, were chosen by TA's executive chef and restaurant panel of judges. Each received 200,000 UltraONE Points. The two winners will also have their menu items featured at participating TA and Petro restaurants from September 15 to November 15, 2011, and will receive 50 additional UltraONE Points each time the dish is ordered.
Tom Prostrollo, an owner-operator from Casa Grande, Ariz., submitted a recipe for Cheese Ravioli Alfredo. Prostrollo's large Italian family included nine brothers and one sister. He said he had to learn how to cook if he wanted to eat. He started with a cast iron pan, a gas stove and a demand that everything be made from scratch. He said his Cheese Ravioli Alfredo is full of spices and hearty enough to satisfy hunger for hours.
"Any driver who orders it once will want it again," said Prostrollo. His dish can be ordered at TA restaurants.
Mike Feerick is an owner-operator from Burkburnett, Texas. His winning dish is Mike's Smothered Steak, which will be available at Petro Iron Skillet restaurants. Always a farm boy at heart, this 30-year trucker looks for meat and potatoes when he's hungry. So he submitted a recipe for a breaded cube steak in gravy, served up with mashed potatoes. Feerick admitted he got the recipe from his girlfriend and then learned to make it on his own.
"Most of the drivers I know like to eat a good steak for dinner," Feerick said. "I know they'll like this."
Two runners-up were also chosen, each receiving 100,000 UltraONE Points. William Bohannon and Bob Engelsman submitted recipes for Pork Chops Casino and Cajun-Gone-Italian Steak, respectively. Judging for the UltraChef Recipe Challenge was based on originality, taste and ease of preparation. The winners are also featured in the September/October issue of RoadKing magazine, available now at all TA and Petro locations.
Tom O'Brien, TA's president and CEO said, "Drivers had a lot of fun with the UltraChef contest. We couldn't be happier to be able to bring a little more 'home' to their life on the road. We think we do this better than other truckstops because our full-service restaurants are our own, run by TA employees, who connect with drivers--respecting and understanding the job they do. I'm excited to see what kind of points our winners rack up when we bring their recipes to the menu and let everyone taste for themselves."
Based in Westlake, Ohio, TA is a leading travel center business in 41 states and Canada operating under the TravelCenters of America and Petro brands. With convenient locations off interstate highway exits, TA and Petro offer their customers diesel and gasoline fueling services, full and quick-service restaurants, heavy-truck maintenance services, 24-hour convenience stores, electronic communication (WiFi) and other services, all within large, high-traffic facilities.
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