With the All-Star Game just days away, the Kansas City Royals and ARAMARK revealed the much anticipated 2012 MLB All-Star Game menu and official merchandise that will be available during the big event.
The All Star Game, hosted by the Royals this year, is Tuesday, July 10. The Home Run Derby is held the night before, on Monday, July 9.
ARAMARK, who is the food and merchandise provider for Kauffman Stadium (The K) as well as 12 other ball parks, anticipates feeding about 40,000 baseball fans from around the country during Tuesday’s game and over 100,000 fans over the course of the week.
Jon Sutton, general manager of ARAMARK, announced that they are flying in an additional 50 managers and chefs to help with the event.
“It’s a great time for ARAMARK to showcase its talents and a great time for the city to showcase everything going on in Kansas City,” Sutton said enthusiastically.
Numerous mouthwatering items will be featured including a KC rib eye stack sandwich, All-Star BBQ dog, as well as a cheesy corn brisket-acho, which offers crisp tortilla chips smothered with smoked brisket, baked beans, cheesy corn, coleslaw, and barbeque sauce.
The best sellers are expected to be their staple items including hot dogs, nachos, and beverages, said Sutton. Fans will not see the prices of those items gouged.
“Prices will remain the same as they are for the other 81 games,” said Sutton.
Erin Wishon, an executive chef with ARAMARK at The K, has been a resident of Parkville for about seven years. Wishon began her career as a chef 12 years ago after receiving a Pro Chef certification from the Culinary Institute of America. She gained additional culinary experience working at Arrowhead Stadium, as well as serving as an executive chef inside a casino.
Her favorite food to indulge in at Kauffman Stadium is the crispy avocado taco from the KC Cantina Taco Truck “…the fresh, seasonal ingredients really shine.”
Chef Erin said she first began planning for this event last January and has been working “insane” hours. Since the kitchen at The K has not been expanded, an enormous amount of time has been spent planning, she said.
It is estimated that chefs will smoke about 5,000 pounds of meat, including 2,400 pounds of brisket, 1,800 pounds of pulled pork, and 600 racks of ribs, topped off with 650 gallons of barbecue sauce
Additionally, ARAMARK expects to serve 40,000 hot dogs, 11,000 orders of nachos, 8,300 hamburgers, 7,200 soft pretzels, 4,600 pounds of peanuts, 4,200 pounds of French fries, 1,500 pounds of chicken tenders, 20,000 bottles of water, and 145 gallons of ice cream.
Wishon said although there is a lot to get done prior to the big event, she is extremely excited about the once-in-a-lifetime experience and looks forward to providing great food to the baseball fans.
“It has been nice to work with some other vendors in the city,” said Wishon.
“When you have an event this big you can’t do it all yourself.”
In addition to the 32 permanent food and beverage locations at the Kauffman Stadium, 30 portable concession stands will be widespread for the All-Star Game events.
Local flavor will also be available at the concessions, including craft beers from Kansas City’s own Boulevard Brewing Company, which is a sponsor for the Royals, and frozen custard from Sheridan’s Lattes and Frozen Custard.
Other adult beverages available include Budweiser, which is a sponsor of the 2012 MLB All-Star Game event.
“Its been a challenge working through our Royal sponsorships’ that we have for 81 games and the MLB sponsorships’ that we have for the three days,” said Sutton.
Merchandise
Another challenge ARAMARK may face involves meeting the fans’ demand for All-Star attire and merchandise.
Brett Salzenstein, retail manager at Kauffman Stadium, estimates that ARAMARK will sell about 12,000 exclusive All-Star T-shirts, 14,000 caps, and 3,000 All-Star logo balls. Salzenstein said ARAMARK will begin selling specialty T-shirts with the players’ name and number on them beginning Monday, July 2, the day after the roster is released. ARAMARK employees will have the ability to make T-shirts designed with any and all of the All-Star players’ name.
“Majority of them will already be on the shelf, but if somebody wants something else we can make it on the spot,” said Salzenstein.
Official team hats will run $38 and T-shirts will cost between $25 and $40.
Typically, Kauffman Stadium is staffed with 40 retail employees on any given game day, but the ARAMARK staff will be bulked up to 200 during the All-Star event.
ARAMARK will have a grand total of 1,100 employees on staff during the All-Star event. This will mark their third consecutive year servicing the All-Star festivities.
Now that the Royals have played their last game prior to the grand All-Star event, Salzenstein says he is in full preparation mode. “I am a little less overwhelmed now that we can just focus on All-Star.
Pre and Post Game Pre game and post game celebrations will feature 24 stations that offer skewers, tapas, hot iron branded meats, as well as desserts such as cones filled with tiramisu and mini mason jars packed with chocolate pot de crème and apple pie. Jack Stack barbeque, flatbread pizzas, and locally produced items will also be available for purchase at thirty-two different locations.
FanFest If you can’t make it to Kauffman Stadium, ARAMARK is operating FanFest inside the Kansas City Convention Center from July 6-10.
Baseball enthusiasts attending FanFest may receive free autographs from Major League Baseball legends, view a hall of fame exhibit, and practice their swing at the batting cages.
After working up an appetite visitors can enjoy delicious cuisine. Executive Chef Jamie Wilson has designed a tasteful menu dubbed “around the bases” that features baseball fan favorites, such as the classic New York pastrami sandwich, Cali dog, s’more nacho, and the Kansas City rib eye stack.
All-Star appeal and other merchandise from Nike, Victoria Secret, Under Armour, New Era, and Allen Edmund Shoes will be available for purchase. Tickets to FanFest cost $30 per adult. Children between the ages of 12 and 2 cost $25 and seniors sixty five and over are also charged $25.
“We’re honored to be a part of Major League Baseball’s showcase and to serve fans visiting Kansas City,” said Marc Bruno, President of ARAMARK sports and entertainment. “The All-Star Games provides such an exciting experience for fans and players, and we’re looking forward to being a part of it.”
(To see photos of Chef Erin Wishon and some of the specialty food items to be offered at The K during All-Star festivities, go to Facebook.com/ivan.foley)