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Hasbro: Easy Bake Oven 40th Anniversary
LOOK MA -- NO LIGHT BULB!
Hasbro Celebrates 40 Years of EASY-BAKE And Introduces a New Oven That Makes Real Meals!
PAWTUCKET, R.I., FEBRUARY 13, 2003 Believe it or not, EASY-BAKE, the original kid's oven brand introduced in 1963, is celebrating 40 years of delighting the young and young-at-heart with pint size cooking fun! To commemorate this exciting milestone and honor America's most beloved cooking toy and pop culture icon, Hasbro, Inc. is expanding the EASY-BAKE Oven line by introducing a brand new deluxe oven that cooks real meals, and does not require a light bulb!
A huge step forward in EASY-BAKE innovation, the EASY-BAKE REAL MEAL Oven will be introduced this fall, allowing kids to make an entire meal -- from appetizer to dessert. Yet, the most significant improvements are that the new oven works just like a real kitchen oven with a working timer and, for the first time in EASY-BAKE history, no light bulb required -- just plug 'n play! With a larger cooking chamber to fit deeper dishes, the EASY-BAKE REAL MEAL Oven can be used to create a variety of dishes from macaroni & cheese to chocolate chip cookies and soft pretzels. This is most certainly not your mother's EASY-BAKE oven! But fear not, the classic EASY-BAKE Oven will still be available to create delicious sweet treats.
In celebration of the 40th Birthday, the third annual EASY-BAKE "Baker of the Year" contest will kick-off this spring. Hasbro launched the first national contest in 1998, in honor of the American icon's 35th birthday, and the second in 2000 to bring in the new millennium. For the EASY-BAKE "Baker of the Year 2003" competition, five finalists will be selected by culinary staff at Johnson & Wales University, one of the world's largest culinary educators, culminating in a finals event this fall. During the finals, a panel of judges will be tempted with the delicious treats created in the classic EASY-BAKE Oven. A complete set of rules and regulations of the "Baker of the Year 2003" contest will be available to consumers on www.easybake.com in the coming months.
As the icing on the cake, a fun new cookbook titled, The EASY-BAKE Oven Gourmet (Running Press; ISBN: 0-7624-1440-5) by David Hoffman will be released in May 2003. The cookbook will include more than 30 gourmet recipes that can be made in the EASY-BAKE Oven along with personal anecdotes by many of the country's top chefs. Popular stars of television's Food Network, Chef Bobby Flay and Pastry Chef Gale Gand, PBS television host and acclaimed chef, Rick Bayless, and renowned cookbook author and New York Times food columnist, Mark Bittman are among the well-known chefs that will be featured. "It has been amazing to discover how many big name chefs, bakers, restaurateurs and food writers actually trace their culinary careers to an early cooking experience with an EASY-BAKE Oven," says Hoffman, who has worked in television for more than 20 years covering trends, classic toys and popular culture. The cookbook will be available in May 2003 at major bookstores around the country and on-line bookstores.
"The EASY-BAKE Oven is a classic toy that defies trends and has proven that it can stand the test of time through its simple, but timeless concept -- cooking is fun!" said Ira Hernowitz, senior vice president of marketing for Hasbro. "This nostalgic toy has been helping kids to create sweet treats and memories for 40 years and we wanted to honor this accomplishment with new innovations, activities and partnerships that celebrate creativity, entertainment and of course, good eats! We are looking forward to celebrating throughout 2003 with the many people, from various generations, that helped make EASY-BAKE the beloved brand that it is today."
EASY-BAKE Now and Then
In 1963, the EASY-BAKE Oven, America's first working toy oven, was invented by toy designers at Kenner Products in Cincinnati, Ohio. By its fifth birthday, the EASY-BAKE Oven had become a household name.
In the 1970's, the EASY-BAKE brand grew with all-new mixes and new products, such as a potato chip maker, blender/juicer and taffy machine. The EASY-BAKE brand entered the 1980's with a new, sleek design and mix sets, such as brownies & cookies and cakes & frosting together.
In the new millennium, EASY-BAKE once again re-invented itself with the launch of the QUEASY BAKE COOKERATOR, an extension of the EASY-BAKE brand, which allows kids to make gross-looking treats that taste great. And now, for the 40th anniversary, the brand will update itself once more with the innovative new EASY-BAKE REAL MEAL Oven, which allows kids to make an entire meal -- from appetizer to dessert -- just like real cooking. The oven even comes with a special thermal label that indicates when the oven is preheated and images appear as the oven goes from cold to hot.
The EASY-BAKE brand continues to bring new generations of children real cooking experiences and tastier treats than ever before with new bake sets featuring classic food brands and favorite characters. Highlights include McDonald'S PIE MAKER BAKE SET, POP TART SNACK STIX, OREO CAKES BAKE SET, CHIPS AHOY CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES, SCOOBY DOO CAKE BAKE SET and POWERPUFF GIRLS BAKE SET.
For additional information about EASY-BAKE, please visit www.easybake.comABOUT HASBRO, INC.
Hasbro is a worldwide leader in children's and family leisure time entertainment products and services, including the design, manufacture and marketing of games and toys ranging from traditional to high-tech. Both internationally and in the U.S., its PLAYSKOOL, TONKA, MILTON BRADLEY, PARKER BROTHERS, TIGER and WIZARDS OF THE COAST brands and products provide the highest quality and most recognizable play experiences in the world.
ABOUT JOHNSON & WALES
Johnson & Wales - America's Career University - was founded in 1914. It is a private, non-profit, accredited institution offering undergraduate and graduate degree programs in business, food service, hospitality and technology. With an enrollment of more than 15,000 students, Johnson & Wales is based in Providence, R.I., and maintains campuses in Charleston, S.C., Norfolk, Va., North Miami, Fla., Denver, Colo., and Gothenburg, Sweden, with plans to open a new campus in Charlotte, N.C. in 2004. For more information about Johnson & Wales University, visit www.jwu.edu.
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