MORRISTOWN, N.J. (May 18, 2010) — Villa Enterprises Management, the global restaurant franchisor and owner of several upscale restaurants in Northern New Jersey including George & Martha’s American Grill in Morristown and Black Horse Pub & Tavern in Mendham, partnered with the Morris Area Wellness Partnership to support the local fight against childhood obesity by helping teach kids how to cook healthy meals.
The Company, in collaboration with Morris Area Wellness Partnership, organized a class trip for 10 children from Kiddie Academy in Morristown, NJ to visit its state-of-the-art corporate test kitchen on Friday, May 14, 2010 for an interactive cooking class with a trained chef. Debra Freschl, RD, nutrition coordinator, Metabolic Medicine & Weight Control Center at Morristown Memorial Hospital and member of the Morris Area Wellness
Partnership steering committee, will also participate. Kids participating were named “honorary chef for a day,” given chef hats and received lessons on how to make healthy meals at home, even preparing meals themselves. A fun curriculum was developed for the day by executive chefs at Villa Enterprises. Following completion of the program kids received a “diploma” from Villa Fresh Food Lab and recipes from the day’s lessons to take home.
“We’re pleased to support Morris Area Wellness Partnership and its efforts to prevent and reduce childhood obesity in Morris County,” said Katie Renton,brand manager for Villa Enterprises Management and professionally trained chef. Kids Chef Day supports the Morris Area Wellness Partnership’s “Eat Smart-Move More” campaign and its third annual “Move it Morris Day” taking place the following day on Saturday, May 15 at Loantaka Brook Reservation in Morris Township.
About Morris Area Wellness Partnership Morris Area Wellness Partnership is a volunteer group of community leaders working in local government, health care, fitness, and education, who are about increasing opportunities for healthy eating and physical activity for children and families living in the Morris area. For more information, please visit www.EatSmartMoveMore.org.
About Villa Enterprises Management
Headquartered in Morristown, New Jersey, Villa Enterprises Management is one of the nation’s fastest growing multiconcept restaurant franchisors. Founded by Naples, Italy native Michele Scotto in 1964 as a tiny pizzeria
next to the Ed Sullivan Theater in New York City, the Company today is an international organization with 322 locations in 38 states and 6 countries. Villa Enterprises owns and operates five fast casual restaurant brands:
Villa Fresh Italian Kitchen, Green Leaf’s, Banana’s, Casa Java, and South Philly Steak & Fries. These brands can be found in malls, airports, casinos, college campuses, and outlet centers across the U.S. and internationally. The Company also owns and operates several upscale full-service restaurants in the New York Metro area. For additional information please visit www.villaenterprises.com.
