Atmos Energy Launches New Cooking Web Site

Gas Utility Rekindles Long Tradition using New Electronic Twist

Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE: ATO) today launched a new cooking Web site called Atmos Energy Cooks™ to provide resources for its customers and to demonstrate the benefits of natural gas for cooking.

“With the increasing popularity of cooking and the renewed interest Americans have in preparing and sharing wholesome food with their families, we decided to provide an easy-to-use resource for recipes, cooking tips and appliance information,” said Robert W. Best, Atmos Energy chairman, president and chief executive officer.

In past decades, Atmos Energy and its predecessor companies offered information about cooking with natural gas and operated showroom kitchens where home economists would conduct cooking classes and demonstrations. “This site restores a long tradition, but with a modern online twist,” Best said.

The site, found at www.atmosenergycooks.com, initially is offering more than 120 tested recipes. Atmos Energy is inviting customers and employees from its 12-state service area to submit recipes they would like to share.

Every two weeks, the site will showcase a new featured recipe and the recipe’s author. The first featured entree is “Chicken and Mushrooms with Balsamic Vinegar,” by Dallas consultant and cookbook author Brian Cummings.

Many of the recipes and tips on the new site are adapted from Cummings’ cookbooks, You Said a Mouthful: Great Recipes and the Stories They Evoke and Get This Cookbook First: It’s Full of Stuff Mom Should Have Taught You.

Recipes are presented with step-by-step preparation instructions along with a nutritional information chart and a suggested shopping list. Site visitors also can rate the recipes, e-mail them to a friend or print them along with the shopping list.

“We’ve started with a wonderful mix of tasty recipes, and most can be prepared by even the most inexperienced cooks,” explained Cindy Foor, Atmos Energy’s vice president of corporate communications. “We have a number of features in the works to showcase other chefs and interesting dishes from restaurants, hotels and resorts across our service area.”

Atmos Energy plans to continually add more recipes, including ones submitted by its customers and employees, Foor said.

“We’ve tried to make our new site interesting, educational and easy to use, and we will be closely monitoring feedback from site visitors to make sure it’s as helpful as possible.”

Besides recipes, the site contains detailed cooking information including sections about:

* Kitchen techniques, which explain grilling, broiling, sautéing, stir frying, roasting and braising.
* Cooking tips, such as information about kitchen skills, common cooking terms, basic ingredients, herbs and spices, kitchen utensils, knives and food safety.
* Cooking with natural gas, which explains why natural gas is the ideal energy source for cooking, provides information about outdoor rooms and kitchens, and offers guidance for buying a gas grill, cooktop, stove or oven, along with tips for keeping them clean.