An Intimate Evening with Chef Michael Smith at the Historic Lord Elgin Hotel

Ottawa, Ontario - Michael Smith, Canada's best-known chef will be visiting the Historic Lord Elgin Hotel on May 1st, 2009 for a special evening of culinary delights coupled with a cookbook signing in support of the Ottawa Food Bank. Event details and tickets for this intimate evening featuring a four-course gourmet dinner and wine pairing are available by calling (613) 569-2126.

Sodexo, a world leader in comprehensive support solutions and the proud food and beverage partner at the Lord Elgin Hotel has teamed up with Michael Smith for this special evening, combining great food and conversation while supporting local food recovery partner the Ottawa Food bank.

Chef Michael is the winner of the James Beard Award for Cooking Show Excellence and host of Chef at Home, Chef at Large and The Inn Chef on Food Network Canada and in 26 other countries. Currently Michael is in production on a brand new series - Chef Abroad that is set to air Fall 2008 on Food Network Canada. Michael is an award winning cookbook author, newspaper columnist, roving Canadian cuisine ambassador, restaurant chef and home cook. His third cookbook, Chef at Home is a smash hit across Canada.

The Historic Lord Elgin Hotel is one of the nicest Ottawa hotels and ideally located in the heart of downtown Ottawa - directly across from Confederation Park and the National Arts Centre. The Lord Elgin Hotel has been given top honours as Ottawa's 'Hotel of the Year' for 2008. The award recognizes Lord Elgin's outstanding efforts to serve guests and create a unique experience for Ottawa visitors while maintaining its landmark heritage in Canada.

Sodexo, Inc. (www.sodexo.com), part of the international Sodexo Group, is the leading comprehensive support solutions company in the Canada, the US and Mexico, with $9.2 billion (CND) in annual revenue and 120,000 employees. Sodexo serves more than ten million customers daily in corporations, health care, hotels, long term care and retirement centers, schools, college campuses, government and remote sites. Sodexo Canada, Ltd funds the Sodexo Foundation an independent charitable organization that, since its founding in 2001, has donated more than 400,000 free meals to at risk youth in Canada.