THE MIDDLEBY CORPORATION NAMES NEW CFO 

Rolling Meadows, IL, February 1, 2000 - The Middleby Corporation (NASDAQ: MIDD), a global supplier of equipment to the foodservice industry, today announced the appointment of David B. Baker as Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, and Vice President of Administration. Mr. Baker earned a BBA degree in accounting from the University of Notre Dame, a MBA degree in finance from DePaul University, and is a Certified Public Accountant. He started his career at Middleby in April 1996 as Assistant Treasurer and was involved in the Company's secondary offering of common stock in 1997. His most recent position, starting in late 1998, was Vice President and Controller of the Company's Cooking Systems Group. Prior to his tenure at Middleby, Mr. Baker held various accounting and financial positions in public accounting, private industry and, most recently, spent eleven years at Elk Grove Village, Illinois based Material Sciences Corporation.

 Commenting on the appointment of Mr. Baker, David P. Riley, President and Chief Executive Officer, said, "We are pleased to be able to fill the CFO position with someone like Dave who has a broad range of experience both outside the Company as well as in a number of functional areas within the Company. Over the past four years Dave worked closely with John J. Hastings, the Company's previous Chief Financial Officer, who resigned his position late last fall. In addition to his new duties, Dave will still maintain his responsibilities at our Cooking Systems Group division," stated Mr. Riley.

 The Middleby Corporation is a leader in the design, manufacture, marketing and service of a broad line of equipment used for cooking and preparation of food in commercial and institutional kitchens and restaurants throughout the world. The Company's leading equipment brands include Middleby Marshall® (conveyor cooking equipment), Southbend (core cooking and steam cooking equipment), and Toastmaster (counterline cooking and warming equipment). Middleby's international subsidiary, Middleby Worldwide, Inc., is a leading exporter and distributor of foodservice equipment in the global marketplace and its international fabrication subsidiary, Middleby Philippines Corporation, is a leading supplier of specialty equipment in the Asian markets.

 For further information about Middleby, visit the Company's World Wide Web site, http://www.middleby.com. 

Contacts: David P. Riley, President and Chief Executive Officer, The Middleby Corporation 847-758-3880

David B. Baker, Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, Vice President of Administration, The Middleby Corporation 847-429-7915
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