Il Fornaio Baker to Be Featured on Food Network February 7th: ''World Cup of Baking'' Gold Medalist Jan Schat Demonstrates Chocolate Kiss Recipe Just in Time for Valentine's Day.

Entertainment Editors/Food Writers

CORTE MADERA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 29, 2004

Jan Schat, head baker of Italian restaurant and bakery company Il Fornaio, will demonstrate how to make Baci di Alassio, chewy chocolate and hazelnut kisses joined by chocolate, on "Everyday Italian" with Giada de Laurentiis on Saturday, February 7th at 1 p.m. The program will be rebroadcast on Monday, February 9th at 5 p.m., Thursday, February 12th at noon, and Friday, February 13th at 10:30 p.m. Broadcast times are for both Pacific and Eastern Standard Time zones.

Schat was one of the three-member Baking Team USA that stunned the culinary world in 1999 by winning the gold medal at the "Baking Olympics", the Coupe du Monde de la Boulangerie, an international competition held every three years in Paris and traditionally dominated by European teams. In previous competitions, the American team had never placed higher than fifth.

During the grueling competition, Schat handmade over 90 loaves of bread in eight hours, including 50 baguettes and 10 loaves each of four different varieties. "It was great to be recognized for our hard work to keep artisan bread on American tables," said Schat, "We demonstrated traditional bread baking skills but also impressed the judges with our new thinking and visual approach to baking."

Following this unprecedented achievement, Schat was featured on the pages of People and Gourmet magazines and on cooking shows across the country. As a recognized leader in the US baking community, Schat has been named a jurist for the selection of Baking Team USA for the 2005 Coupe. The national finals will be conducted at the Retail Bakers of America convention and trade show in Orlando, Florida from March 20-22, 2004.

Il Fornaio, which means "the baker" in Italian, was founded in Italy in 1972. Il Fornaio (America) owns and operates 24 full-service Italian restaurants in California, Oregon, Colorado and Nevada that serve creatively prepared, premium-quality Italian cuisine based on authentic regional Italian recipes. From February 2nd through the 15th, Il Fornaio will feature the food and wine of St. Valentine's birthplace, Umbria. To see this menu, visit http://www.ilfornaio.com/Festa/festa_index.html. The restaurants also house a retail market offering Il Fornaio's unique baked goods, food to go, and a variety of Il Fornaio-brand products. Il Fornaio also operates seven wholesale bakeries that produce more than 100 varieties of fresh, hand-made breads, pastries and other baked goods for sale at their own locations and to high-quality grocery stores, coffee retailers, hotels and other fine restaurants. For more information, visit www.ilfornaio.com.