NEWINGTON, Conn., Feb. 26, 2008 – Easter arrives on March 23 this year, and after the fasting of Lent, Easter Sunday is a time of feasting on the best of spring foods and holiday traditions.

"The centerpiece of the Easter meal is typically ham or lamb, but most people need help with how to select or prepare it – such as whether to by a boneless or bone-in ham, or American or New Zealand raised lamb," said Stew Leonard's Newington store Executive Chef Chaz Fable.

To help customers get a leg-up on their Easter menu planning, Stew Leonard's Newington store is holding a "Taste of Easter" event on Saturday, March 15 and Sunday, March 16th from 11 A.M. to 4 P.M.

Customers can taste a wide array of traditional dishes including:

• Spiral glazed ham
• Roasted leg of lamb with rosemary and garlic
• Potato and Cabbage or Cheese pierogies
• Easter kielbasa
• Sides such as au gratin potatoes, garlic roasted asparagus, string bean amandine
• Easter breads and desserts from the bakery

"Because this is the first Easter holiday we have celebrated since opening our Newington store, we wanted to give customers an opportunity to taste the quality of the dishes prepared by our chefs," said Newington store president Dan Arthur. "Everything being sampled at the tasting can be ordered in advance through our catering department, or customers can supplement some of their own cooking by picking up a few of the freshly prepared side dishes, glazes and sauces in our gourmet to-go section, as well as breads and desserts from the bakery."

In addition to the tasting, children can visit the Easter bunny and adults can enter a raffle to win an Easter gift basket from Stewsgifts.com. The garden center and floral department will also have a wide selection of Easter lilies available, direct from greenhouses in North Haven, Connecticut, as well as freshly-cut tulips from Holland.

Stew Leonard's, a family-owned and operated fresh food store founded in 1969, has four stores in Norwalk, Danbury, and Newington, Conn. and Yonkers, N.Y. The company was named among FORTUNE magazine's "100 Best Companies to Work for in America" for the past seven consecutive years. For more information, visit Stew Leonard's website at www.stewleonards.com.