The Board of Directors and Stockholders Darden Restaurants, Inc. We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of Darden Restaurants, Inc. and subsidiaries as of May 26, 2002, and May 27, 2001, and the related consolidated statements of earnings, changes in stockholders’ equity and accumulated other comprehensive income, and cash flows for each of the years in the three-year period ended May 26, 2002. These consolidated financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these consolidated financial statements based on our audits. We conducted our audits in accordance with auditing standards generally accepted in the United States of America. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement. An audit includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. An audit also includes assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion. In our opinion, the consolidated financial statements referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of Darden Restaurants, Inc. and subsidiaries as of May 26, 2002, and May 27, 2001, and the results of their operations and their cash flows for each of the years in the three-year period ended May 26, 2002, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. Orlando, Florida June 18, 2002