Free day-long food extravaganza features cooking demonstrations, chef cook-off and more on May 19

Langhorne, PA -- (ReleaseWire) -- 05/08/2007 -- Philadelphia area food-lovers are invited to experience the joy of cooking at Simon Super Chefs Live!, a day-long food extravaganza, as popular TV Chef Daisy Martinez shares the secrets of her delicious cooking and joins top local chefs on the kitchen-stage. The fun gets underway 11:30 a.m. Saturday, May 19, 2007 and is free to everyone who loves to cook – or eat.

Daisy Maria Martinez was born to mainland Puerto Rican parents in Brooklyn, New York, where she lived at her grandmother's house until she was almost five years old. Growing up in the household of her abuela inspired Daisy, even as a young girl, to the joys that could be unraveled in the kitchen. Before committing herself to the art of cooking, Daisy took pleasure in other arts, including acting and modeling. After her legs and feet tired of being photographed, on a dare, she began acting: American commercials include Ford cars and Newport cigarettes, and Spanish-language commercials include McDonald's and AT&T. Daisy has also appeared in numerous movies including "Carlito's Way" and "Scent of a Woman".

In 1998, Daisy matriculated at the French Culinary Institute, where she won first prize for her final project, "The Passionate Palate". In addition, Daisy manages a small catering business, "The Passionate Palate," named for her cooking school days and is also the host of “Daisy Cooks,” which airs on Philadelphia affiliate PBS Station WHYY.

The show, emceed by Emmy award winning TV Host Bill Boggs, will include live cooking performances and demonstrations, a seminar on entertaining, food and beverage sampling, audience participation, autograph signings and an exciting round-robin local chef cook-off.

Top local chefs joining celebrity Chef Daisy Martinez at Simon Super Chefs Live! include Cary Neff of Samson Street Oyster House, Walter Staib of City Tavern and Patrice Rames of Bistro Saint Tropez – from three of Philadelphia’s most prominent restaurants. In addition to chef demonstrations, the local chefs will face off in a crowd-pleasing round-robin Simon Super Chefs Live! cook-off. The cook-off will conclude with one chef taking home the esteemed Simon Super Chef Crystal Award.

“Simon Super Chefs Live! is such a unique and successful event because local and national celebrity chefs get the chance to connect face-to-face with their fans who share a common interest – their love of food and cooking,” said Dameka Nickerson, Marketing Manager of Oxford Valley Mall. “And the people who attend Simon Super Chefs Live! will have the added bonus of discovering several mall retail and food tenants who are either participating in the event or offering specials that focus on food, the home and entertainment,” she added.

The event, which attracts thousands of local shoppers, is a huge draw for title sponsor My Coke RewardsTM where Coke will offer sampling of one of their new products throughout the event. Shoppers who visit the mall will also have an opportunity to win MCR bonus points, either by turning in a MCR bottle top from a mall vending machine or by randomly being selected from the Simon Super Chefs Live! audience and correctly answering a question from one of the event’s cooking demonstrations

The tour stop at Oxford Valley Mall is one of 25 at Simon malls across the country through mid-August. For more information about the tour, visit www.simon.com. Oxford Valley Mall is a two-level, super regional mall anchored by Boscov’s, JC Penney, Macy’s and Sears with over 150 retail stores and specialty shops located at the corner of Oxford Valley Road and Business Route 1 in Langhorne, PA.

About Simon Property Group

Simon Property Group, Inc., an S&P 500 company headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, is a real estate investment trust engaged in the ownership, development and management of retail real estate, primarily regional malls, Premium Outlet Centers® and community/lifestyle centers. The Company's current total market capitalization is approximately $56 billion. Through its subsidiary partnership, it currently owns or has an interest in 323 properties in the United States containing an aggregate of 244 million square feet of gross leasable area in 41 states plus Puerto Rico. Simon also owns interests in 53 European shopping centers in France, Italy, and Poland; 5 Premium Outlet Centers in Japan; and one Premium Outlet Center in Mexico. Additional Simon Property Group information is available at www.simon.com. Simon Property Group, Inc. is publicly traded on the NYSE under the symbol SPG.