Nintendo’s Personal Trainer: Cooking (a.k.a. Cooking Navi a.k.a. Cooking Guide) is all set to launch in North America next week (yep, it’s here already), and those of you in the Pasadena area looking to compete in launch festivities are invited to the Whole Foods Market Arroyo Parkway this Thursday for a Grocery shopping race and a cook-off.

Contestants will race around the store, picking up all the ingredients for one of 245 total recipes included with the game, and the two fastest shoppers will then go head-to-head in a cook-off. The winner will be decided by a panel of judges. Hopefully some of you will get a chance to win. I won’t, because 1.) I don’t live anywhere near Pasadena, and 2.) I haven’t tried cooking ever since I burnt a hot dog as a kid.

NINTENDO DS STIRS UP GROCERY STORE AISLES

Personal Trainer: Cooking Event Requires Contestants to Shop Fast, Cook Well

WHAT: Nintendo of America Inc. is inviting members of the media and anyone who enjoys a high-octane trip to the grocery store to compete in the Personal Trainer™: Cooking supermarket spree and cook-off competition at Whole Foods Market Arroyo Parkway on Nov. 20.

Contestants will have the opportunity to scour the grocery shelves in pursuit of the ingredients needed to prepare one of the 245+ recipes found in Personal Trainer: Cooking – a new title for the Nintendo DS™ launching on Nov. 24.

At the conclusion of the spree, the two contestants with the fastest times will trade-in their shopping carts for a chef’s hat and meet face-to-face in a heated cook-off. After preparing a selected recipe from Personal Trainer: Cooking, a panel of judges will determine the grand prize winner.

Personal Trainer: Cooking brings gourmet cooking from around the world to the Nintendo DS. Featuring cooking demonstration videos, voice chat and a DS Chef who serves as your personal cooking instructor, Personal Trainer: Cooking is an easy-to-use tool that can help anyone cook like a pro.

WHO: Hosted by David Ruprecht of Supermarket Sweep game show fame

WHEN: 10:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.: Supermarket Spree
11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.: Cook-off Competition
12:30 – 1:30 p.m.: Recipe Sampling/Personal Trainer: Cooking Demo Stations

WHERE: Whole Foods Market Arroyo Parkway
465 S. Arroyo Parkway (Cross street: Bellevue Drive)
Pasadena, CA  91105

VISUALS:
• Contestants racing through the grocery store aisles and sprinting across the finish line
• Whole Foods patrons cheering on contestants as they cross the finish line
• People cooking recipes from Personal Trainer: Cooking using the Nintendo DS video game system and competing for best dish