Centerplate Introduces New Menu Concepts for 2010 Belmont Stakes

STAMFORD, Conn., May 18 /PRNewswire/ -- Centerplate, the leading hospitality provider to North America's premier sports stadiums and convention centers, will partner with Chef Frank Falcinelli and Chef Frank Castronovo, chefs and proprietors of Brooklyn's Frankies 457 and Manhattan's Frankies 17, two of New York City's most-recognized Italian restaurants to create a menu featuring local foods, premier wines, and signature cocktails for this year's Belmont Stakes.  The final race in the Triple Crown series, the Belmont Stakes draws big crowds, and in recent runnings, Centerplate has served more than 100,000 guests.  

This year marks Centerplate's 15th hosting of the race, and the chefs join Belmont's accomplished culinary team led by Executive Chef Drew Ravella, who will be supported this year by Centerplate's own French Master Chef and James Beard Award-nominee Philippe Chin.

Frank Castronovo and Frank Falcinelli grew up in Queens, just around the corner from Belmont Park. As kids, the two would break through the fence to race their dirt bikes around the Belmont track until security officers chased them away. The two Franks, both veterans of gourmet kitchens, created a menu filled with new classics: Italian American comfort food re-imagined with great ingredients and greenmarket sides.  The Franks' philosophy on food is to "make the past the hippest part of the present." As such, this year's Belmont Stakes menu features recipes prepared by the Franks from their new cookbook, The Frankies Spuntino Kitchen Companion and Cooking Manual.

This year's menu includes:

• Sliced Ribeye with Heirloom Tomato & Red Onion Salad
• Frankies Meatballs with Pine Nuts & Raisins
• House-Made Cavatelli with Faiccos Hot Sausage & Browned Sage Butter
• Buttermilk Fried Chicken with Coleslaw, Remoulade & Buttermilk Biscuit

"This is a hospitality design exercise in translating the Belmont Stakes into food," says John Sergi, Chief Design Officer of Centerplate. "The Belmont is quintessentially New York—the democratic Triple Crown Race—so we went for making the food understandable and home grown, and went way more focused than local, taking the experience to a neighborhood level.  The Derby may have its mint juleps, but the Belmont has Frankies' Meatballs!" The new signature offering is a key feature of Centerplate's commitment to culinary excellence enhancing the overall fan experience and reinforcing the sense of hospitality at Belmont Park.

About Centerplate

Centerplate crafts and delivers "Craveable Experiences. Raveable Results." in 250 prominent sports, entertainment and convention venues across North America. Centerplate has provided services to 11 Super Bowls, 19 World Series, key events for the Democratic and Republican National Conventions, the South Beach Wine and Food Festival, Art Basel Miami Beach, 15 official U.S. Presidential Inaugural Balls and the largest plated dinner in history at the Alpha Kappa Alpha Centennial Celebration.  Visit the company online at www.centerplate.com.

About the Chefs

Frank Falcinelli has worked in Michelin two-star restaurants in France, with chefs Charlie Palmer and David Burke in New York, and was a partner and chef in the New York hot spot Moomba. He lives in Brooklyn with his French bulldog, Frankies mascot Merlin.

Frank Castronovo trained with such culinary superstars as Jacques Pepin and France's Paul Bocuse. In 2003, he opened Frankies 457 Spuntino with childhood friend Frank Falcinelli. He lives with his wife and two daughters in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn.

SOURCE Centerplate