Whom You Know: ANDY RODDICK, CELEBRITY CHEF BETHENNY FRANKEL & ‘TOP CHEF’ ALL-STARS TO HEADLINE 10th ANNUAL BNP PARIBAS TASTE OF TENNIS AT W NEW YORK THURS 8/27

Monday, August 24, 2009

ANDY RODDICK, CELEBRITY CHEF BETHENNY FRANKEL & ‘TOP CHEF’ ALL-STARS TO HEADLINE 10th ANNUAL BNP PARIBAS TASTE OF TENNIS AT W NEW YORK THURS 8/27

Star-Studded Evening Presented by Rums of Puerto Rico to Benefit the Food Bank for New York City

The world’s top tennis players and chefs are set to serve-up the US Open’s hottest pre-tournament action at the 10th Annual BNP Paribas Taste of Tennis. This year’s lineup includes tennis superstars Andy Roddick, Tommy Haas, Billie Jean King and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who will cook-up culinary aces alongside TV personality and celebrity chef Bethenny Frankel, Carla Hall and Ariane Duarte from Bravo’s “Top Chef,” and Gotham Bar and Grill’s Alfred Portale.

The star-studded charity event, produced by AYS Sports Marketing and benefiting the Food Bank For New York City, is set for Thursday, August 27th, 7-10pm at the W New York. ESPN personality Hannah Storm will serve as emcee for the evening. For more information and tickets call 877-282-7100 or visit www.bnpparibastasteoftennis.com.

One of summer’s most anticipated New York nighttime events, BNP Paribas Taste of Tennis gives guests the chance to mingle with their favorite tennis stars and chefs while sampling an eclectic mix of specially-designed dishes that earn rave reviews each year.

This year’s BNP Paribas Taste of Tennis lineup of scheduled players includes:

*Andy Roddick (USA)

*Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (France)

*Fernando Gonzalez (Chile)

*Tommy Haas (Germany)

*Nicolas Kiefer (Germany

*Lleyton Hewitt (Australia)

*Billie Jean King (USA)

*Vera Zvonareva (Russia)

*Anabel Medina-Garrigues (Spain)

*Victoria Azarenka (Belarus)

*Aleksandra Wozniak (Canada)

*Jarmila Groth (SVK/Australia)

*Yen-Hsun Lu (China)

*Sam Groth (Australia)

The menu of notable chefs/restaurants scheduled to appear:

*Bethenny Frankel – Celebrity Chef and Author

*Mario Pagán – Chayote

*Alfred Portale – Gotham Bar and Grill

*Todd Mark Miller – STK

*Kevin Harry – Heartbeat

*Chris Santos – The Stanton Social

*Pete Daversa – Hill Country BBQ

*Wendy Israel & Angel Elon – Baking By Design

*Sue Torres – Sueños

*Michael White – Marea

*Carla Hall – Alchemy Caterers (Top Chef)

*Ariane Duarte – Culin Ariane (Top Chef)

*Roberto Treviño- Aguavia

*Sebastiaan Zijp – Bar Blanc

*Brad Farmerie – Public

*Tim Love – The Lonesome Dove Western Bistro

*Chris Rendell – Double Crown

*Kerry Heffernan – South Gate; Mover and Shaker on Whom You Know!

*Michelle Park – Kyotofu

*Martin Maginely – Restaurant at Round Hill

*Chai Trivedi – Pranna

*Joel Dennis – Adour at The St. Regis New York

*Adrian Richardson– La Luna (Australia)

This year’s BNP Paribas Taste of Tennis features a number of marquee sponsors including BNP Paribas as title sponsor, presenting sponsor Rums of Puerto Rico and sponsors W New York, Food Emporium, The Cayman Islands Department of Tourism, Melbourne Convention & Visitors Bureau, Amtrak, Smart Balance, Saddlebrook Resort, Turnkey Intelligence, Stella Artois, FIJI Water, Dunlop, ESPN the Magazine, Tennis Channel and dGi Management.

This year’s BNP Paribas Taste of Tennis benefits the Food Bank For New York City, which provides 68 million pounds of food annually to more than 1,000 emergency and community food programs — including soup kitchens, food pantries, shelters, low-income daycare centers, kids cafes and senior, youth, rehabilitation and outreach centers — throughout the five boroughs of New York City. The Food Bank helps provide 250,000 free meals a day for New Yorkers who otherwise would go hungry or not eat enough, who are largely comprised of women and children, the elderly, people with disabilities and the working poor.

About AYS Sports Marketing

AYS Sports Marketing (www.aysworld.com) is a premier event management company, specializing in the creation, implementation and marketing of unique sports and entertainment events. Led by respected industry veterans Judi and Penny Lerner, AYS has forged a strong reputation for producing innovative global sport-food fusion events, including the BNP Paribas Taste of Tennis (U.S.), NAB Taste of Tennis (Australia) and the soon to launch Cooking with the Legends franchise. AYS also provides consultation services to companies seeking to market themselves more effectively via sports and entertainment.

About BNP Paribas

BNP Paribas (www.bnpparibas.com) is the Eurozone’s leading bank in terms of deposits, and one of the 10 most important banks in the world in terms of net banking income, equity capital and market value. Furthermore, it is one of the 6 strongest banks in the world according to Standard & Poor's. With a presence in 85 countries and more than 205,000 employees, 165,200 of which in Europe, BNP Paribas is a global-scale European leader in financial services. It holds key positions in its three activities: Retail banking, Investment Solutions and Corporate & Investment Banking. The Group benefits from its four domestic markets: Belgium, France, Italy and Luxembourg. BNP Paribas also has a significant presence in the United States and strong positions in Asia and the emerging markets.

About BNP Paribas and Tennis

This year BNP Paribas celebrates the 36th anniversary of its partnership with tennis. Since 1973, BNP Paribas has been actively involved in this great sport, regularly increasing its support locally and internationally for professionals and amateurs alike, including families, schools and the community. Over the years, BNP Paribas has become the world's number 1 tennis sponsor. The bank has been the official sponsor of Roland Garros for 36 years, title sponsor of the Davis Cup since 2001, the Fed Cup since 2005 , the BNP Paribas Masters since 1986 and the Internazionali BNL d'Italia since 2006. The bank actively supports numerous other international competitions such as the WTA Bank of the West Classic in California and the Monte Carlo Masters Series.

In the United States, BNP Paribas is the title sponsor of the BNP Paribas Open, also known as the Grand Slam of the West in Indian Wells, California, and of the BNP Paribas Showdown in Madison Square Garden in New York City.

About Rums of Puerto Rico

The Rums of Puerto Rico Program, a division of the Puerto Rico Industrial Development Company, was created in 1948 to administrate the advertising and promotional programs that encourage the consumption of rum and protect its leadership in the United States market. The quality brands produced in Puerto Rico are aged one-year or more by law. This sets the standard of excellence that includes only the finest rums and offers an extensive choice in the rum category including Bacardi, Don Q, Ron Llave, Castillo, Ron Barrilito and Palo Viejo, among others.

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