FOOD & BEVERAGE TRENDS
W hen two chefs from two different worlds meet on the football field kitchen, the re - sulting collaboration tells you a bit about each of those worlds while touching down into uncharted field goals at the same time. Levy’s Executive Chef Nick Skarda can pinpoint the mo- ment in his life when he got a real taste for catering in the sports entertainment space. Here are two hints as to what that formative memory is: Lemonade and iced tea. While carrying an ice service tray out of the kitchen at a Senior PGA Tour stop, Skarda was on his way to set up an oys- ter station, when — smack! He bumped into someone. “When I turned around, it was Arnold Palmer himself! I was completely starstruck,” he recalls, “and from that moment on, I was hooked on catering for major events.” The Levy culinary teams at sports venues across the coun- try participate in many collaborations, and the goal can often be boiled down to translating that sense of excitement that Skarda felt all those years ago on his way to the oyster station. Spin the globe all the way to Australia, and years ago anoth- er chef was having her “aha” moment for catering big events. Oona Settembre is an English chef who’s been based in Tex- as for years and formed one of her first food memories in Aus - tralia at a traditional springtime fireworks show. “We do our fireworks at Easter and it’s called the Royal Fire - works Show at the fairgrounds,” she recalls now, many spring- times later. “I was with my family and the food was fantastic. Aussie meat pies, like an eggroll, rolled up. I loved them so
A tale of two chefs: How branded collabs for sporty new menu items can make for big wins When sports venue foodservice provider Levy Restaurants teamed up with big brand Kellanova Away from Home, the collaboration was a win for thrill-seeking food fans.
BY TARA FITZPATRICK
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QUARTERLY | Q3
PHOTOS COURTESY OF EUREST
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