Stadium Team Wins Culinary Award

Centerplate’s Assistant General Manager and Executive Chef take home award for Best On-Premise Catered Event

(Glendale, AZ--- May 21, 2008) Centerplate, the exclusive caterer and concessionaire at University of Phoenix Stadium, has received the “Best On-Premise Catered Event” award at the recent 2nd Annual Arizona Event Industry Awards. Assistant General Manager Judy Moline and Executive Chef Sean Kavanaugh were awarded for their culinary presentation for the Gridiron Chef event, a charity fundraiser produced by the Arizona Cardinals that took place at the Global Spectrum Managed University of Phoenix Stadium.

“Centerplate is proud of its culinary and catering achievements.  We encourage Sean’s creativity and seek to deliver service that matches the superior food.  Our mission is to craft and deliver extraordinary entertainment experiences,” said Centerplate’s General Manager Steve Trotter.

Cardinals Charities teamed with Centerplate to produce the Gridiron Chef event on the main floor of University of Phoenix Stadium on November 9th. Over 400 guests attended the event which resulted in contributions of nearly $200,000 to charity.  A take-off of the hit show, The Iron Chef, the event featured three teams, each consisting of a local Valley chef and two Cardinals players.  After a cocktail hour, the guests were invited into “Kitchen Stadium”. The Iron Chef teams were then introduced and the countdown clock was started at 60 minutes and the competition began! When the Chairman announced the end of the competition, the chefs brought their offerings to the main stage for judging.  The judges were ‘The Chairman’, a local newspaper food critic and a dinner guest who bid for the privilege of being a judge.

This is the second year Centerplate has received this award.  Last year’s award was presented for the stadium’s opening gala, “Tribute to Teamwork”. 
The public is now offered the opportunity to cook with Chef Sean as Centerplate has created a corporate culinary teambuilding experience that can include up to 20 attendees. Attendees will have the opportunity to cook a meal with the chef and his team, complete with customized chef jackets, menu books and preparation tools to take home. The guests then enjoy the dinner together which can include wine tasting.

For information on booking a culinary team building experience, or any event at the facility, log on to www.universityofphoenixstadium.com and click on EVENT BOOKING.

For information on Cardinals Charities, visit www.azcardinals.com.

###

Contact:                                                                                   

Scott Norton, Director of Marketing & PR

Phone: (623) 433-7108

E-mail: snorton@universityofphoenixstadium.com