Tanya Steel, Epicurious
Are you ready for some football... cliches? How do you score with the 82,000 Super Bowl fans at the stadium, many of whom have paid thousands of dollars for a ticket? That's what's keeping Eric Borgia, Executive Chef for Delaware North Sportservice at MetLife Stadium, up at night, as he ponders the Hail Marys he can throw to keep people warm, happy, and well fed. We recently spoke with him, after he, well, touched down:
Epi: How long have you been preparing for the Super Bowl?
Eric Borgia: Members of Sportservice attended the Super Bowl in Indy as a group and have been preparing since that time.
Epi: What's on the menu for the teams' boxes?
E.B.: In the premium clubs we are offering Fulton seafood combo, which is a seafood tribute to the Jersey Shore, an authentic pho noodle bowl, a surf 'n turf sandwich, which consists of filet mignon with garlic shrimp topped with a peppercorn demi-glaze, and garlic Parmesan chili wings.
Epi: Are you using any local New Jersey foods?
E.B.: Yes, all of our bread comes from Newark. Our Premio sausage and Thumanns' hot dogs also come from New Jersey.
Epi: Have you made any specific allowances because of the cold weather?
E.B.: Sportservice will serve hot chocolate, coffee, tea, and cider plus soup and chili. We will also have special trucks stationed outside the stadium to provide additional hot water to our concession stands. Lots of hot foods are tastiest in cold weather such as a hot corned beef hoagie, three-meat burrito bowl and roast pork with broccoli rabe.
Epi: Do you expect that this will be a particularly sophisticated food crowd, given its proximity to arguably the world's best restaurant city, and if so, how have you planned for this?
SEE MORE: Queso Fundido, a Super Bowl Staple
E.B.: Absolutely. It was important for us to draw from all the foods from the five boroughs and New Jersey. We are proud of the great dining this area has to offer and we want to share it with all the fans. Our goal is to replicate these regional items as authentically as we can for this world class event.
Epi: No wonder you're projecting that the fans will eat their way through 21,500 hot dogs, 20,000 sausages, 7,500 individual pizzas, 75,000 chicken tenders, 20,000 meatballs, 11,000 pieces of braciole, 750 pounds of gnocchi, 2,000 filet mignon sandwiches, 6,000 zeppoles, and for dessert, 5,000 of the beloved black-and-white cookies.