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Getting A Taste Of The NFL

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By JEFF HOUCK

jhouck@tampatrib.com

Published: February 1, 2009

ST. PETERSBURG - They call The Taste of the NFL culinary extravaganza a "party with a purpose" for the tens of thousands of dollars it raises for hunger relief groups.

On Saturday night, glitz took center stage as thousands filled Tropicana Field to drink premium wines, gorge on delicious food prepared by chefs from the NFL's 32 cities, and meet football greats and Hall of Fame players.

As cavernous as The Trop can be, the baseball home of the Tampa Bay Rays took on an intimate feel with dimmed lighting and moody spotlights painting hues on the domed roof.

A clot of limousines near the outfield atrium entrance hinted at the star power inside. In addition to such NFL legends as former Miami Dolphins quarterback Earl Morrall and Hall of Fame Los Angeles Rams defensive end Jack Youngblood, guests pegged actor Michael Keaton and Rays manager Joe Maddon for photos and autographs. Over at the "Top Chef" cooking station, Miss America Katie Stam hobnobbed with the show's judge, chef Tom Colicchio.

As for the sumptuous food, chef Marty Blitz represented Tampa Bay by dishing out sauteed calamari with shitake mushrooms, Thai chiles and an edamame soy glaze. It is Blitz's 16th year of participating in The Taste as Tampa's representative restaurant. "The event has grown a lot, but so have I as I've learned what food travels well," Blitz said.

Like Blitz, many of the chefs have been longtime participants, enjoying the prestige of being associated with a famous sporting event.

New Orleans chef Susan Spicer remembers the first Taste in 1991 in a hotel lobby in the suburbs of Minneapolis. The chefs got together afterward and shared corn squeezins. "We all kind of bonded after that, knowing that we had started something that did a lot of good for people," she said.

Buccaneers chef Mike Beadles sampled the fare with his wife, April. He said the cooking he saw inspired him.

"This is the only event I wanted to go to all week," Beadles said.

Reporter Jeff Houck can be reached at (813) 259-7324.

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