SUPER BOWL CHEF

Written by Afrikachef on October 9, 2008

For a chef who loves football, there is nothing more exciting than getting the opportunity to work the Super Bowl.

Last February, that opportunity came true for me, thanks to the fact I was living in Phoenix at the time, it was a no brainer. I got signed up with the food service contractor and spent several days working in the bowels of the stadium, prepping for the game day.

Nothing could compare to the excitement and stress as the chefs, cooks and assistants worked, for about a week, round the clock, to prepare enough food for all the hospitality and celebrity suites, not to mention some of the concession items.

And the really smart Phoenix chef made sure to check craigslist.com for other job listings during the week of Super Bowl. VIP party, upon VIP party, upon VIP party prevailed and caterers were desperate for qualified help. I made really good money working as a Mercenary that week!

Point being, to all of you chefs in the Florida area, now is the time to get signed up to work at the stadium for Super Bowl, and here’s how you do it…..

Levy Restaurants is the food service contractor at the Raymond James Stadium in Tampa. Contact their H.R. department at ….

Levy Restaurants (Concession Company)
Human Resources
813/350-6401

Or you can contact Executive Chef, David Picou, dpicou@Levyrestaurants.com.

Be prepared to go through a serious background check when applying to work at the game. There will most likely be some kind of deadline for applications due to these background checks, so be sure to inquire now while the football season is still young. You may even get hired to work during the regular season Buccaneer games, if you want.

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As for what you should know about working the Super Bowl, I can tell you this….

1. Because I worked for a food service subcontractor, my assignment, on game day, wasn’t all that exciting. However, if you work at the stadium during regular season games, your chances of getting assigned to a VIP hospitality suite is greatly enhanced.

2. Unless you live in the Tampa area, or know someone who does, forget about working the big game. Hotels are hard to come by and extremely expensive. But hey, maybe some of you rich guys can do something like that so who am I to say what someone can afford or not. But most of you would find it challenging to get cost effective accommodations during that time frame.

3. Be sure to bring your camera phone with you to the stadium. I don’t have one and missed out on taking Alicia Keyes picture while she rehearsed on afternoon.

4. As chefs, we always get invited to the very best parties, and Super Bowl is no exception. Last year I worked a huge NFL sanctioned event that played host to Boys to Men, Earth, Wind and Fire and Foreigner, it was electrifying! Watch craigslist.com for job postings of chef jobs available the week of Super Bowl, there will be many.

Game day itself was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Who cares that they made the employees park five miles away and take a shuttle. And that it took me one hour to go from the freeway exit to the employee parking lot (it was a half mile distance), and that literally thousands and thousands of employees had to sign in and stand in long lines to obtain their credentials. It was worth it!

In all my life to come, I will never forget the thrill of watching the opposing teams come onto the field as 70 thousand fans go wild; or how Jordan Sparks brought the house down singing the national anthem and later seeing Tom Petty wail away on the guitar shaped stage during a half time show that was way too short.

So, if you are a chef, live in the Tampa area, and can be available that first week of February, then check into working the game, you’ll be glad you did.

Now, about last year’s game……I know, everyone thought the game was very exciting how the Giants had this comeback to win, but for me it was bittersweet. The Giants beat out the Packers in order to go to the Super Bowl and Green Bay is, after all, my team.