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ORLANDO, Fla., April 24 - Olive Garden Italian Restaurant's Pork Filettino, one of the new menu items introduced last year, prepared with the finest, freshest, most robust flavors of Italy, was honored with Restaurant Business' Menus 2001 Award - Best in Class in the Entree Category.

Pork Filettino is a favorite of guests in the United States and at Olive Garden's Riserva di Fizzano restaurant located in a restored 11th-century village overlooking Tuscany, Italy. The restaurant and Olive Garden Culinary Institute, where Olive Garden culinary managers enhance their knowledge of traditional cooking, serves as the inspiration for many of the flavorful new dishes now on the menu. Riserva di Fizzano and the Culinary Institute of Tuscany were established in cooperation with the Zingarelli's, an Italian family that owns and operates the Rocca delle Macie winery, one of Italy's leading producers of Tuscan wines.

Pork Filettino is a grilled pork tenderloin marinated in extra-virgin olive oil and fresh rosemary and served with roasted potatoes. Pork Filettino, Penne Romana and Chicken Vino Bianco are just a few of the new menu items.

"This award is a credit to our culinary team who, along with our employees, provide every guest with a genuine Italian dining experience," said Salli Setta, Olive Garden's senior vice president of culinary and beverage. "Pork Filettino is just one of the Riserva di Fizzano-inspired menu items capturing the essence, passion and warmth of Italy's most authentic cuisine. We are proud to bring them to our family of local restaurants across North America."

Presented by Restaurant Business, a leading restaurant industry magazine, the awards recognize outstanding menu items introduced in the last year.

Olive Garden is the leading restaurant in the Italian dining segment with 469 restaurants, more than 56,000 employees and $1.6 billion in annual sales. Olive Garden is a division of Darden Restaurants Inc. (NYSE: DRI), the world's largest casual dining company. Visit Olive Garden's new Web site at www.olivegarden.com.

                 Award-Winning Olive Garden's Pork Filettino

                                  (Serves 4)

A favorite of guests at Olive Garden Riserva di Fizzano restaurant in Tuscany is this grilled pork tenderloin marinated in extra-virgin olive oil and fresh rosemary and served with oven-roasted potatoes. One of the new additions to the Olive Garden menu, this recipe was adapted for the chef at home.

    Pork Tenderloin:

    4  8-10 oz. pork tenderloins
    8 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
    4 tbsp. garlic, minced
    4 tbsp. fresh rosemary, chopped
    1/2 tsp. salt
    1/2 tsp. black pepper
    store-bought veal demi glace

Sprinkle tenderloin with salt and pepper on all sides. Brush with olive oil, rosemary, garlic and parsley. Let marinate approximately two hours. Cook on a hot grill until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F.

    Oven Roasted Potatoes:

    2 medium baking potatoes
    4 tbsp. olive oil
    1 medium green pepper
    1 medium red pepper
    1/2 tsp. salt

    2 tsp. rosemary, chopped
    1 tsp. garlic, minced
    1/2 tsp. salt
    4 tsp. parsley, chopped
    1/2 cup Romano cheese

Peel potatoes and dice into 1/2-inch pieces. Core and seed peppers and dice into 1/2-inch pieces. Set aside. Mix olive oil, rosemary, salt and pepper in a bowl. In a small baking pan, toss potatoes and peppers with the oil and herb mixture. Bake at 350 degrees F for ten minutes or until potatoes are fork tender. Sprinkle potatoes with parsley and Romano cheese.

Place one cooked pork tenderloin on the side of a dinner plate and oven roasted potatoes on the other side. Heat demi-glace sauce and pour over pork. Garnish with fresh rosemary to finish.

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