Frito-Lay Unveils Flavor Kitchen On Times Square Billboard To Showcase How Real Ingredients And Recipes Inspire Snacks Made With All Natural Ingredients

PLANO, Texas, April 11, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- PepsiCo's Frito-Lay division today kicked-off a weeklong event in the heart of New York City aimed at providing a behind-the-scenes look at how its newest product flavors are created, while actually getting consumers involved in the process. From high atop a Times Square billboard, Frito-Lay recreated one of its key flavor development centers – the Flavor Kitchen located at company headquarters in Plano, Texas – to share the real foods and flavorful recipes that have inspired many of its latest snack flavors made with all natural ingredients. The Frito-Lay Flavor Kitchen billboard experience, which begins today and runs through Friday, April 15, will be live-streamed all week from gigantic screens that reach 22 stories high above Times Square and to the Frito-Lay Facebook page ( www.facebook.com/fritolay), so consumers across the country can join the event virtually.

Kicking off the week-long flavor celebration is Padma Lakshmi, award-winning cookbook author and Emmy-nominated host of the top-rated TV series "Top Chef." Lakshmi, who is known for her own ability to create flavorful meals and snacks, will join Frito-Lay executive chef Stephen Kalil to lead consumers through this first-of-its-kind, behind-the-scenes culinary demonstration. Additional guest chefs, including Michael Psilakis (premiere Greek chef; owner Kefi in New York and Eos in Miami; judge, Food Network's "Ultimate Recipe Showdown"), Jet Tila (celebrated Asian Fusion chef; executive chef at Wazuzu in Las Vegas) and Colombe Jacobsen (popular natural-foods chef; former contestant, "The Next Food Network Star"), will also make special appearances on the billboard during the week to share their own flavor inspirations and recipes.  

Each day throughout the event, Chef Kalil and his team of flavor experts will showcase a different product from Frito-Lay's natural portfolio and the culinary inspiration behind them. In addition, Chef Kalil will spotlight other delicious recipes that could inspire new flavors for Frito-Lay chips in the future, transforming Times Square into a virtual test kitchen for possible snacks that could show up on store shelves sometime soon. Consumers visiting Times Square will have the opportunity to sample the various recipes and the products they inspired, as well as provide insight regarding their own flavor preferences.