The founder of the Taste of the NFL Super Bowl event is taking the concept to golf. The debut of Taste of the Master Chefs will be held during the coming Masters tournament.
Taste of the NFL founder Wayne Kostroski is organizing the event, to be held April 7 at the West Lake Country Club, a few miles from Augusta National Golf Club. The Masters tournament is set for April 6-9. The culinary event is not affiliated with the tournament.
The Taste of the Master Chefs in Augusta will feature the cooking of 10 award-winning chefs from around the country, with well-known chef Jose Andres to serve as chair chef of the event.
But unlike Taste of the NFL, which draws thousands of people, the event in Augusta will start small. A maximum of 600 tickets, priced at $150 for regular access or $250 for a VIP experience, will be sold.
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Jose Andres is chair chef of Taste of the Master Chefs, to debut April 7.
Photo by: Enter Name Here |
“The one difference is that this will be much more intimate,” said Kostroski, who organized the first Taste of the NFL for the 1992 Super Bowl in Minneapolis. “The first-year event is really important. We want to create a hit that is a great value and build on it.”
Like the not-for-profit Taste of the NFL, proceeds from the Taste of the Master Chefs event also will go to charity. The local Salvation Army chapter will receive contributions raised from ticket sales and donations.
“Other events have distribution to other parts of the country, but this is 100 percent distributed in Augusta,” Kostroski said. “There is nothing really geared to families living in Augusta who get wonderfully invaded during Masters week. People get in and then are gone. There isn’t really any part of helping families in that area.”
Kostroski, named the 2010 James Beard Humanitarian of the Year, said he expects to attract a variety of athletes and celebrities to the Taste, but organizers are still finishing those plans. Similar to the Taste of the NFL, Kostroski is selling sponsorships around the event.
A number of the chefs for the Augusta event are from different cities, but unlike Taste of the NFL, which has a chef and player represent each of the specific team cities, the Masters event is not tying chefs to any specific locations, at least in the first year.
The Taste of the Master Chefs is part of a trend of culinary activations around major sports events. There is a similar activation at the Final Four, and the PGA of America, in partnership with Chase, in 2015 created its PGA/Bon Appétit Champions of the Course event, which pairs chefs with PGA pros at the PGA Championship.
The Taste of the Master Chefs format will feature food prepared by the chefs in a more casual, food-station format. The VIP ticket includes a private reception with chefs, athletes and celebrities before the Taste of the Master Chefs main event.
“There is a wide array of food from the chefs all in one place,” Kostroski said. “It is not a sit-down dinner and listen-to-a-bunch-of-speeches event.”
