Centerplate Brings Taste Of New Orleans To Super Bowl XLVII

NEW ORLEANS, Jan. 22, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- With dishes that span from alligator sausage and fresh Gulf shrimp to Cajun gumbo and Ponchatoula strawberries, Centerplate is proud to unveil its Louisiana-inspired menu for Super Bowl XLVII, held Feb. 3 at New Orleans's Mercedes-Benz Superdome. For this once-in-a-lifetime Cajun Celebration, Centerplate, a leading event hospitality provider to the National Football League and proud partner to the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, has partnered with James Beard award-winning chef and NOLA legend Chef Donald Link to bring football fans the legendary flavors and flair of the "Big Easy."

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130122/NY46077 )

A New Orleans bakery more than 100 years old, Gulf fishermen, coastal shrimpers, and Louisiana alligator farms, have all been enlisted by Centerplate to deliver a true taste of the Big Easy at the Big Game. Producing a football feast for over 70,000 fans on sports' biggest stage, Centerplate will call upon a team of over 100 chefs, and 1,000 service staff, to produce a Super Bowl Menu that includes:

• Alligator Chili – Alligator sausage from Crescent City Meat, a local NOLA purveyor
• Roast Beef Debris Po' Boy – Rolls from 100+ year old Leidenheimer bakery in New Orleans
• BBQ Shrimp and Grits – Fresh Louisiana Gulf Coast-caught white shrimp
• Chicken and Sausage Gumbo – Dark roux, chicken and sausage in a flavorful broth served with white rice
• Natchitoches Crawfish Pies – Louisiana fried pies with zesty dressing crawfish stuffing
• Chef Donald Links' Chicken Sauce Piquant – Links' take on the traditional Cajun recipe
• Bayou Bootleg – A taste of the South with a splash of raspberry, the special "Craft Cocktail" for this year's Super Bowl.

"From the perfect locally baked rolls for the Po' Boy sandwiches to handmade, local sausages, no detail was too small for a game this big," says Centerplate Consulting Chef Donald Link, CEO of the Link Restaurant Group and New Orleans' famed Cochon and Herbsaint restaurants. "No one throws a party quite like New Orleans, and I think we perfectly captured the city's flavor and flair in our menu, this is what Centerplate does best: make every event and every venue local, authentic and unique."

Centerplate's hospitality plans for Super Bowl XLVII are not limited to the big game – chef teams will fan out across the city for Super Bowl week leading hospitality services at the fan-favorite NFL Experience, the Champions Square festival plaza, and several large-scale catered events. In all, during Super Bowl week Centerplate will serve a staggering 280,000 fans. Leading this complex challenge for Centerplate, are two Super Bowl veteran executive chefs Orlando Morales and Sean Kavanaugh.

"This is the 13^th Super Bowl for Centerplate, and that experience is absolutely essential to delivering world class hospitality at such an enormous event," says Centerplate CEO Des Hague. "From chef inspired cuisine to creative cocktails, our goal is to make every sporting event an incredible experience for fans, but for the Super Bowl, we know how to take football food to the next level."

As the long time hospitality partner to the Mercedes-Benz Superdome and a proud member of the New Orleans community, Centerplate is thrilled to partner with many of the city's top purveyors and suppliers for Super Bowl XLVII, including:

• Leidenheimer Bakery
• Chez Pierre Bakery
• Haydel's Bakery
• American Seafood
• The Louisiana Seafood Board

About Centerplate

Centerplate crafts and delivers "Craveable Experiences. Raveable Results." in over 250 prominent entertainment, sports and convention venues across North America – annually serving over 100 million guests. Centerplate has provided event hospitality services to 30 official U.S. Presidential Inaugural Balls, 13 Super Bowls, 21 World Series, the 2010 Winter Olympic Games, and the largest plated dinner in history at the Alpha Kappa Alpha Centennial Celebration. Last year, the company was named the fastest growing restaurant/ hospitality group in the country by Nation's Restaurant News. Visit the company online at www.centerplate.com

About Link Restaurant Group:

The Link Restaurant Group includes Herbsaint Restaurant and Bar, Cochon Restaurant, Cochon Butcher, and Calcasieu, a private dining facility in New Orleans and Cochon Restaurant in Lafayette. Link's flagship restaurant Herbsaint earned Chef/Owner Donald Link a James Beard award in 2007 for Best Chef South. Cochon was nominated in 2007 for Best New Restaurant in America by the James Beard Foundation; and was listed in The New York Times as "one of the top 3 restaurants that count." Stephen Stryjewski, chef/partner of Cochon, was named Best Chef: South at the 2011 James Beard Foundation Awards. The James Beard Foundation honored Link's first cookbook-- Real Cajun: Rustic Home Cooking from Donald Link's Louisiana (Clarkson Potter) with their top award for Best American Cookbook. Chef Link looks forward to the opening of his newest restaurant in New Orleans later this spring. For more information please visit DonaldLink.com.

SOURCE Centerplate