April will see the return of PEI Burger Love, a month-long celebration of 100% Island Beef from the 2nd to the 30th. This is the third season of the campaign, and the biggest one to date.
PEI Burger Love was created by Fresh Media, and is presented in partnership with Prince Edward Island Cattle Producers, PEI Department of Agriculture and Forestry, PEI Flavours, PEI Potato Board and the PEI Restaurant Association.
This year, there are 31 participating restaurants all cooking up incredible gourmet burgers with the hopes that their culinary creation will be crowned PEI’s Most Loved Burger.
“Our department is pleased to support this creative campaign to promote Prince Edward Island’s high quality beef,” said Minister of Agriculture and Forestry George Webster. “Burger Love is a great opportunity to support our beef industry, our local restaurants and the economies of rural communities across the province.”
In 2012, the campaign grew tremendously from the initial launch of 14 participants to a record 22 restaurants that together sold 16,150 burgers in just one month, equaling over 7,850 pounds of beef. With 31 restaurants participating this year, organizers are hopeful that Islander’s appetite to support local will continue to grow as well.
“We’re extremely proud to have this many talented chefs who are so passionate about supporting our local cattle producers and farmers,” said Melody Dover of Fresh Media. “We even have one franchise restaurant chain that has added Island Beef to its menu for the month just so they could participate in PEI Burger Love. From the start, one of our goals was to encourage restaurants to buy Island beef, and this proves that it is possible.”
The campaign is also shining a spotlight on other PEI food producers and artisans this year through their generous prize contributions. By example, the PEI Potato Board has joined with PEI Burger Love as a primary sponsor for the promotion of “Fry Days” throughout the month of April, where consumers who share photos of themselves enjoying the burgers with PEI potato fries on Fridays will have a chance to win additional prizes.
“We continue to see first-hand how Islanders take pride in knowing where their food comes from,” said Rinnie Bradley of the PEI Cattle Producers. “Supporting a campaign like this only helps to give back to our hard-working farmers and increase awareness of our premium Island Beef.”
Chefs and restaurants vying for the 2013 Most Loved Burger crown have once again created one-of-a-kind burger creations where each bite of Island Beef is packed with unique flavour combinations. Hungry consumers can sink their teeth into burgers that include bacon jam, deep fried carrots, wontons, kale, donair meat, plus many other imaginative and tasty ingredients.
To view the full list of PEI Burger Love creations, visit www.peiburgerlove.ca.
“From Summerside to Charlottetown, Stratford, Morell, Montague and Georgetown, this is an Island-wide celebration,” said Dover. “We really hope Islanders will continue to show their support again this year and taste for themselves the difference of pure one hundred percent Island beef.”
PEI Burger Love runs from April 2 to April 30.