Prior to joining the Millennium U.N. Plaza Hotel, Rossi worked at the Park Central New York Hotel as executive chef and The Roosevelt Hotel as executive sous chef. He has also worked with the Headquarters Plaza Hotel in New Jersey; the Doral Tuscany Hotel as executive sous chef; the Sheraton Manhattan Hotel as executive sous chef; and The Stanhope Hotel as executive banquet chef. Rossi also held the position of executive chef at the Atrium Café & Conference Center in Boston and then returned to New Jersey to serve as executive chef for The Plainfield Country Club. Rossi is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America and has appeared on several television cooking shows.

Sous chef, Scott Owen joins the Millennium U.N. Plaza from Bobby Flay’s Mesa Grill in New York where he was chef de cuisine. Other notable positions have been executive sous chef at the Regent Hotel Wall Street and at The Helmsley Park Lane, both also in New York, and sous chef at Hudson House in Cold Spring, voted the “best inn” in the Hudson Valley. Owen’s kitchen experience also includes the Metropolitan Hotel in New York, Tarrytown House in Tarrytown and Cripple Creek Café in Rhinebeck. He was educated at the Culinary Institute of America and also studied cooking in France.

Together, the two “Scotts” have put together a mouthwatering tribute to the best of the world’s dining experiences. On the Ambassador Grill dinner menu the classically presented Three Cheese French Onion Soup, Latin-inspired Grilled Margarita Shrimp and Maryland Crab Cakes are among the starters. Jamaican Jerk Chicken, Italian Orecchiette with fresh garlic, shrimp and white wine, Veal Paillard, a classic Dover Sole Meuniere and New Zealand rack of lamb are featured for main courses.

The new lunch menu at the Ambassador Grill is equally multicultural. In addition to such standbys as pizza, burgers and club sandwiches, Greece is represented with Crisp Calamari served with an artichoke sauce; Mexico with Honey Chipotle Barbecued Chicken Wings, Italy with a Grilled Portobello Mushroom or Penne served with grilled chicken, black olives and broccoli rabe, Asia with Thai Seared Tuna and Chinese Five-Spice Short Ribs, and America with Rossi’s version of the classic 1^st Avenue Cobb Salad: eggs, blue cheese, grilled chicken and avocado, topped with seared sashimi grade tuna if desired. To delight New Yorkers, an Express Lunch promises a wonderful meal in just an hour. 

Diners at lunch and dinner, of course, will find other traditional favorites such as prime New York sirloin, grilled salmon and abundant quantities of shrimp and “colossal” lump crab cocktails.

The Ambassador Grill’s new Sunday Brunch is also a fusion of traditional and more modern dishes, with a great selection of international cuisine thrown in. Highlights, with personalized attention from the chefs, include an Antipasto Station offering Proscuitto de Parma, Genoa Salami, Hot Cappicola, Mortadella, Pepperoni, Asiago Cheese, Chilled Asparagus and much more; an Omelet & Waffle Station; and a Carving Station featuring succulent Peking duck, fresh beef and ham.  The brunch also features special Ambassador Grill entrée dishes such as grilled chicken breast with wild mushrooms, Baby Lamb Shanks Braised in Guinness Stout and Roasted Garlic and Prince Edward Island Mussels Steamed in White Wine and Fresh Herbs . The selection of desserts is designed to be irresistible and features two signature dishes: Bananas Foster with Vanilla Ice Cream and White Chocolate Black Bottom Cheesecake.

The Ambassador Grill is located at the Millennium U.N. Plaza Hotel, One United Nations Plaza (44^th Street at First Avenue). Hours are:

• Breakfast, from Mondays to Saturdays, 7:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.; Sundays, 7:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.
• Lunch, Mondays to Saturdays, Noon – 2:30 p.m. No Lunch is available on Sundays only Sunday Brunch.
• Dinner (seven days), 5:00 p.m. – 10:30 p.m.
• Sunday Brunch, 11:45 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.
• Ambassador Lounge (seven days), Noon – 1:30 a.m.
  

For reservations or more information, please call 212-702-5014.

About the Millennium UN Plaza Hotel

Located in the heart of Manhattan, the Millennium UN Plaza Hotel, New York boasts the city’s only indoor hotel tennis court and one of only a few hotel swimming pools.  Also rated four-diamond by AAA, it features spectacular views of the East River and skyline, while providing quiet accommodations across the street from the United Nations headquarters.  There are 427 guest rooms, including 45 luxury suites, which combine modern architecture and an international décor, drawing inspiration from more than 40 cultures around the world.  Other features include a health club, seven separate conference and banquet rooms and The Ambassador Grill, a restaurant and lounge.

About Millennium Hotels and Resorts

Millennium Hotels and Resorts (MHR), established in the United States in 2000, is the North American arm of London-based Millennium and Copthorne Hotels plc (MLC). The MHR portfolio includes 19 holdings in The Americas, and the company operates properties including: Millennium Broadway Hotel, New York City; Millennium UN Plaza Hotel, New York City; Millennium Airport Hotel, Buffalo, New York; Millennium Biltmore Hotel, Los Angeles; Millennium Knickerbocker Hotel, Chicago; Millennium Bostonian Hotel, Boston; Millennium Hotel, Minneapolis; Millennium Hotel, St. Louis; Millennium Hotel, Cincinnati; Millennium Harvest House, Boulder; Millennium Hotel, Durham; Millennium Alaskan Hotel, Anchorage; Millennium Resort, Scottsdale, McCormick Ranch; the Millennium Maxwell House, Nashville; and the Royal Palm Resort, Galapagos Islands. MLC holdings outside of the Millennium brand include the Millenium Hilton (New York) and Sheraton Four Points Sunnyvale (California). For further information on Millennium Hotels and Resorts, call 866-866-8086 or visit www.millenniumhotels.com.

Millennium and Copthorne Hotels comprises 90 four and five star hotels with 24,681 rooms worldwide in 16 countries. Our World of Hospitality marketing alliance partner Maritim Hotels has 47 hotels with 13,069 rooms in 9 countries. For more information please visit www.millenniumhotels.com or www.maritim.com.

CONTACT:        M. Silver Associates Inc.      

212-754-6500                   
Linda Ayares                   
linda@msilver-pr.com           
Aik Wye Ng      

                aikwye@msilver-pr.com

                Millennium UN Plaza Hotel
                212-758-1234
                Julie Demitrack
                jdemitrack@mill-usa.com