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The Stew: He Feeds The Super Bowl Masses

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By JEFF HOUCK | The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 25, 2009

The night before Super Bowl XL, chef Ron Krivosik stood in front of the staff assembled to serve the food at the game.

"Gentlemen, this is what it's all about," Krivosik told his team. "Thirty or 40 years from now, when you're sitting with your grandkids on your knee, you can tell them what you did in Super Bowl XL. This is our time to shine."

If it sounds like a coach's locker room pep talk, that's fine by him. As the vice president of culinary for Levy Restaurants, Krivosik oversees food operations at stadiums and venues across the United States, including big events such as the Kentucky Derby and the Super Bowl.

"I always like to give the guys motivation to think about what they're doing in their specific areas of duty," he told me the other day during my Table Conversations podcast.

"I like to go through all those sports movies like 'Rudy' and 'Miracle on Ice,'" he says. "Being at the game, we're part of the experience of the game, so I like to correlate that."

I first met Krivosik a few years ago, when Levy was debuting its new luxury suite menu for Tampa Bay Buccaneers fans. As the food purveyor at Raymond James Stadium, Levy revamps the menu each year to help the Bucs attract fans through the food offered at the stadium.

Next weekend, Krivosik will oversee hundreds of staff members as they feed up to 75,000 fans at the Super Bowl. The way he figures it, they'll wind up serving three meals to the throng in the suites that day - pregame, kickoff and post-game. Special facilities, such as coolers and cooking equipment, have been brought in to manage the demand. NFL volunteers and staff must be fed as well.

As if the demand isn't enough to worry about, Krivosik's staff also wants to share some of the flavors of Tampa. There will be lechon asada (Cuban-style shredded roast pork), blue crab dip, Gulf Coast shrimp salad, Cuban sandwiches and, get this, alligator sausage.

The item I predict everyone will leave Tampa talking about: the 2-foot-long cheese-steak sub. I told Krivosik I was looking forward to fans whacking people in the head with the sandwich as they squeeze back into their seats.

To hear my podcast with Krivosik, go online to my blog, The Stew, at TBO.com, Keyword: Stew. You'll also find his recipes for the Gulf Coast shrimp salad and the lechon asada.

MARTHA, MARTHA, MARTHA

Martha Stewart skipped Tampa on her most recent tour to promote her outstanding book "Martha Stewart's Cooking School" (she went to Miami instead), but she's coming to visit next weekend.

Stewart will be signing copies of the book at 3 p.m. Saturday at the Macy's at Westfield Countryside mall at 27001 U.S. 19 N. in Clearwater.

Funny what a Super Bowl does to attract the big names, eh?

TIP FOR JERKY FANS

If you like jerky, make the drive to Rick's Meats at 10252 County Road 39 in Lithia for some Strawberry Jerky. The beef starts out with a subtle sweet flavor before kicking in with a strong, peppery aftertaste. Owner Rick Shirley says he made it in time for strawberry season. "People either love it or hate it," he says.

I loved it and so did my newsroom co-workers who tried it.

Before you make the long drive, you'll want to call ahead to make sure they haven't run out. The phone number is (813) 737-6776.

CUPPY THE CAKE

Last year, I wrote a story about Nicole Rogers and what she learned on her way to opening her bakery, The Cupcake Spot, on South Dale Mabry Highway in Tampa. She was nervous about the prospects of a boutique bakery in a shaky economy, but plugged ahead anyway.

Well, she made it through a year strong enough to open a second Cupcake Spot in St. Petersburg. Rogers will open the second store soon at Central Avenue and Fourth Street.

TASTE FOR TAMPA

Minneapolis restaurateur Wayne Kostroski was in town recently to wrap details about the Taste of the NFL event he'll put on for the 18th consecutive year. The event, which features chefs from every NFL city as well as wine and beverage producers, has evolved over the years to become one of the hottest pre-Super Bowl parties. The Taste, as Kostroski calls it, will unfold on Saturday at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg with plenty of glitz and glamour. In addition to culinary celebrities such as Tom Colicchio of "Top Chef" and Emeril Lagasse, country music superstar Faith Hill is expected to attend the $500-a-ticket event.

The goal: to raise tens of thousands of dollars for charity. In the years since the event's debut in an office lobby in Minneapolis, Kostroski and the participating chefs have raised more than $8 million for local food banks. Since Tampa's last Super Bowl in 2000, 30 percent of the profits from the Taste have been donated to local hunger relief organizations.

Other than airfare and hotel accommodations, chefs such as Marty Blitz of Mise en Place in Tampa pay all their own costs to participate, including buying all ingredients and staffing their stations. (For local flavor, Ybor City's Columbia Restaurant and South Tampa pub and bistro Mad Dogs & Englishmen will each host a tasting station.)

You can read more about the Taste in an interview I did with Kostroski at my blog.

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