Aramark Chefs Take Pride in Their Products 

What does it take to be a legit cook? Have you ever had a crew of friends rave about your dinner making abilities? What is the most impressive dish you have ever crafted, only to have others rip apart, destroy and thoroughly enjoy? The answers are endless and simple to formulate. This was my opinion until I had the opportunity to meet and interview a small team of executive chefs from the multi-billion dollar, revenue-generating giants, Aramark Sports and Entertainment. Not only was I fortunate enough to listen to the revelation of tightly kept secrets when it came to how their speciality foods are prepared, I also embarked on a personally escorted “on-foot food tour” through the abstruse confines of the Rogers Centre, sampling speciality menu after speciality menu from a number of different concession stands.

After touching base with Aramark public relations, I was contacted by Mr. Jeffrey Curley, General Manager of Aramark Operations at the Rogers Centre. He graciously invited me to take in a Blue Jays game from the comfort of the TD Comfort Clubhouse, in addition to conducting an informal interview and food sampling session (as previously stated) with Kevin Birch, Executive Chef at the Rogers Centre as well as Edward Lake, East Regional Chef, both of Aramark Sports and Entertainment. The night was wonderful and a great deal of “behind the scenes information” was provided.  

We started by discussing the most popular items at the Rogers Centre which include a foot-long, fully loaded ball park hotdog found at Garrison Creek while the hearty nachos and a variety of pulled pork sandwiches can be ordered at Muddy York Market. Other items receiving honourable mention were the Hall of Famer wrap situated at 12 Kitchen Concept and poutine style home cooked potato kettle chips which make their home at a number of concession stands throughout the stadium. Chef Lake also acknowledged how all items are local and have a Canadian theme when it comes to their titles and the specific ingredients used to culminate the final product.  

From there we explored the case of serving the athletes and for the most part, Chef Birch stated “that it is not too often that current players are directly served. Many former athletes, such as Robbie Alomar, have become the centre of attention with respect to food, as signature items have been and continue to be crafted and named in their honour.” Chef Birch also mentioned that “cook outs occasionally do take place for team parties where players and their families are present but that is as far as serving athletes directly goes.”

Dietary needs increase daily and when asked if it poses any difficulties when preparing foods for the masses, both Chef Birch and Chef Lake surprisingly said “it isn’t an issue at all. There is plenty of variety and individuals with these needs always have options, regardless of their situation.” 

Rogers Centre is home to many events but it's most commonly known to house MLB’s Toronto Blue Jays and the CFL’s Toronto Argonauts. When asked if there was a difference in the food served for these types of sporting events, the answer was rather shocking. Chef Lake expressed the love of hand held foods such as hot dogs and nachos for the bulk of baseball fans, where as football lovers lean more towards meats, sandwiches and barbecued foods. The tailgate experience is king for football fans and the chief reason for such a difference in the types of food offered.  

As the interview progressed, we began to turn our focus to the concession stands. I enquired about concessions and how closely the chefs work with them due to the vast majority throughout the stadium and both agreed that they do work hand in hand. “The concessions are very culinary based and offer many types of sandwich style pleasures.” When asked how they develop these delicate works, I was surprised to hear that demographics play a large role. History of sales, understandably, is the main reason because if the product does not sell, why invest the time and money. From here we began to discuss "when is the item actually ready for the public?" Well, to my surprise, Chef Birch explained that “the items, dishes or sandwiches served are often changed up to a dozen times as they're put through exhausting taste tests and reviews. It's an intriguing fact, but then again, why else do most of the items served in stadiums taste like a slice of heaven? 

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed my time with Mr. Curley, Chef Birch and Chef Lake as they opened the doors to information only a select few hold the key to. Directly sampling many of the delicious items that sports fans have the opportunity to purchase, with the actual hands that created them, was and always will be an experience my mind, taste buds and stomach won't soon forget.  

I'd like to take this opportunity to, once again, thank Aramark Sports and Entertainment, the Rogers Centre, the Toronto Blue Jays and all their associates for affording myself the opportunity to go behind the scenes and experience, in my opinion, world class cooking and service the way should always be.