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KOR HOTEL GROUP APPOINTS FIRST AREA EXECUTIVE CHEF

Executive Chef Brings New Life to Avalon Hotel's blue on blue

December 12, 2003

Los Angeles, Calif. - The Kor Hotel Group has appointed its first area executive chef, Jeffrey Everts, to supervise all food and beverage operations. Everts has already reinvented the menus at Avalon Hotel's blue on blue, bringing uncomplicated gourmet cuisine to the local Beverly Hills favorite.

"I am proud to welcome Jeffrey Everts to the Kor Hotel team," said Brad Korzen, chief executive officer of the Kor Hotel Group. "With more than 10 years of experience in fine dining, Jeffrey will be an integral part of the continuous evolvement of our hotels' restaurants and bars."

The parent company of Viceroy in Santa Monica, Estrella Resort & Spa in Palm Springs, and Avalon Hotel and Maison 140 in Beverly Hills, has appointed Everts to oversee food and beverage efforts at Avalon Hotel's blue on blue, Maison 140's Bar Noir and Estrella Resort & Spa's Citron. Everts is based at blue on blue while his former sous chef, Aaron Kiefer, has taken the reigns as executive chef of the recently completed Citron.

"Before Jeffrey joined blue on blue, we had been serving hearty 'comfort foods' - cuisine that did not match Avalon Hotel's sophisticated décor and light atmosphere," said Avalon Hotel General Manager Janne Clare. "To create an exceptional dining experience for our guests while matching the scene, Jeffrey uses the highest quality products from the foremost nationwide vendors to provide uncomplicated yet flavorful menus."

Everts has recently overhauled the breakfast, lunch and dinner menus at blue on blue, offering new and loyal diners the best flavors and ingredients of the season in everything from appetizers to desserts. Throughout each course, Everts provides guests with a refreshing, minimal palette of flavors that combine to yield the greatest of enjoyment.

"If you put too many ingredients on one plate, you bombard the palette and the true and best flavors become lost," said Everts. "blue on blue's menus don't include elaborate sauces or rubs, but rather, we take two or three quality ingredients and carry them through each course. We let the products speak for themselves, keeping it simple and ultimately enjoyable."

Most recently, Everts earned acclaim at Nine Zero Hotel's Spire Restaurant in Boston, which was recognized in Food & Wine's May 2003 'America's 50 Best Hotel Restaurants' and Bon Appetit's January 2003 'Search for the Best.' While there he was responsible for all food and beverage operations, conceptualizing Spire, creating menus, training staff and implementing standards and procedures.

Everts developed his fine dining skills under the direction of two-time James Beard Award nominee Alessandro Stratta, gaining guidance on every aspect of preparation at The Phoenician's Mary Elaine's Restaurant in Scottsdale, Ariz. He further fine-tuned his skills in the culinary arts under the supervision of Executive Chef Gary Clauson, also a James Beard Award nominee, at the renowned Hotel Bel-Air Restaurant.

Originally built in 1949, the Avalon Hotel was completely redesigned and refurbished in 1999. The hotel is situated in a peaceful residential neighborhood between Beverly Drive and Cañon Drive, adjacent to charming Beverly Hills boutiques, fine restaurants and upscale art galleries. The Avalon Hotel includes 86 rooms in three unique buildings, each with its own distinctive qualities, as well as Blue on Blue, the restaurant and bar, and a fitness center.

Avalon Hotel, the first hospitality endeavor from the Kor Hotel Group, has made a name for itself among Southern California boutique hotels. In 1999, Condé Nast Traveler named the Avalon one of the 36 "best new hotels in the world" and in 2002, Food & Wine recognized Blue on Blue as one of America's 50 best hotel restaurants. Avalon Hotel is located at 9400 West Olympic Boulevard, Beverly Hills, CA 90212. For reservations, please call (800) 535-4715, or (310) 277-5221. Virtually experience Avalon Hotel and take a virtual tour.

The KOR Group is a privately held real estate development and management firm with investments primarily in hotels and multi-family real estate. KOR Hotel Group, the hospitality division of KOR, holds a diverse property portfolio and manages both its own assets and non-owned hotels under third-party management contracts. KOR Hotel Group's properties include Avalon Hotel and Maison 140 in Beverly Hills, Viceroy Palm Springs, and Viceroy and the Sheraton Four Points in Santa Monica. Kor's newest all-suite property will open in West Hollywood in 2004.