James Beard House No Longer Nyc's Best Kept Secret The James Beard Foundation Taps Urbanspoon Rezbook For Online Reservations Service

Today the James Beard Foundation announced the integration of Urbanspoon Rezbook as the official online reservations system for James Beard House dinners beginning June 5. The activation of Urbanspoon Rezbook-a complete reservation system built to run on the Apple iPad-serves as part of a larger partnership between the James Beard Foundation and Urbanspoon established earlier this spring.

"The James Beard Foundation is delighted to build upon our partnership with Urbanspoon with the addition of Rezbook as our official online reservation service," said Susan Ungaro, president of the James Beard Foundation. "Urbanspoon is known for being a leading restaurant discovery and reservation system so it's exciting that food aficionados can now make reservations through our website, Urbanspoon.com, or the Urbanspoon mobile app to dine at the Beard House."

The newly updated Rezbook software will be available on the iPad and be used to manage event check-in for various James Beard Foundation events, including Beard House dinners, JBF Greens, Chefs & Champagne, and the annual fall gala dinner and auction.

The addition of Rezbook as the official online reservation service for the Foundation is part of a multi-pronged partnership with Urbanspoon, including their recent sponsorship of the 2012 James Beard Awards. Now, the highly popular Urbanspoon iPhone app allows foodies to locate both past and current James Beard Award-winning and nominated restaurants and chefs in their area.

"Urbanspoon is proud to partner with a like-minded organization that celebrates America's culinary arts, heritage, and future," said Kara Nortman, senior vice president, Consumer Businesses, CityGrid Media. "We are thrilled by the opportunity both to power the James Beard Foundation's reservations platform and integrate their world class restaurant content into our website and mobile apps."

For further information about the James Beard Foundation, go to jamesbeard.org.

About the James Beard Foundation
Founded in 1986, the James Beard Foundation is dedicated to celebrating, nurturing, and preserving America's diverse culinary heritage and future. A cookbook author and teacher, James Beard was a champion of American cuisine who helped educate and mentor generations of professional chefs and food enthusiasts. Today the Beard Foundation continues in the same spirit by offering a variety of events and programs designed to educate, inspire, entertain, and foster a deeper understanding of our culinary culture. These programs include educational initiatives, food industry awards, an annual national food conference, Leadership Awards program, culinary scholarships, and publications. In addition to maintaining the historic James Beard House in New York City's Greenwich Village as a "performance space" for visiting chefs, the Foundation has created a robust online community, and hosts tastings, lectures, workshops, and food-related art exhibits in New York City and around the country. For more information, please visit jamesbeard.org. You can find insights on food at the James Beard Foundation's blog Delights & Prejudices, become a JBF member at jamesbeard.org/join, like the James Beard Foundation on Facebook, follow the James Beard Foundation on Twitter and Pinterest.

About Urbanspoon
Urbanspoon is a leading online local restaurant guide, aggregating restaurant content from across the Web including newspapers, professional food critics, bloggers and diners. Urbanspoon allows diners to make restaurant reservations through its online booking service, both on the Web and mobile. In addition, Urbanspoon offers restaurants Urbanspoon Rezbook - a complete reservation and table management system built to run on the Apple iPad. Urbanspoon is a