Your guide to great football stadium food in America

The sports-loving students of culinary arts programs should know that their options for combining their two passions (sports and great food) are opening up. Gone are the days when the main food options at stadiums are nachos covered in bright orange cheese and foil-wrapped hot dogs. Stadium food is becoming more gourmet, and a lot of great chefs are partnering with parks to offer their good eats to sports fans. Football season is well under way, so here’s a breakdown of five of the most delicious dishes in football stadiums across the country:

Lambeau Field
The home of the Green Bay Packers gives Cheeseheads plenty to love. The arena has some truly amazing grub, but of note is the stadium’s Pack ‘N Cheese, a homemade cup of Wisconsin cheddar mac and cheese with optional toppings that include buffalo chicken and bratwurst. A Lambeau Field runner-up is the park’s very popular hand-breaded cheese curds.

NRG Stadium
Barbeque and brisket rule in the Houston Texans’ stadium, but it’s goat that football fans may want to go for. Local chef Chris Shepard of the Houston restaurant Underbelly now has kiosks inside the park that serve three of his signature dishes, most notably his spicy braised goat served with pan-fried rice dumplings.

FirstEnergy Stadium
Cleveland chef and restaurateur Jonathon Sawyer partnered with Aramark to serve Browns fans hot wings they won’t forget at his stadium spot called Sawyer’s Street Frites. Football enthusiasts love his crispy chicken wings confit tossed in a sweet and spicy peach sauce.

“Food and football go hand in hand,” Aramark President Marc Bruno said about partnering top chefs and stadiums. “So we strive to create menus that make the stadium food experience as exciting as the game itself.”

Ford Field
Arguably Detroit​’s favorite barbeque is from an award-winning restaurant called Slows Bar B​ Q, which partnered with Ford Field in 2012. Now Lions fans can enjoy the game with some of Slows’ greatest hits, including the Yardbird sandwich which is topped with smoked Amish chicken smothered in mustard sauce and covered in cheddar, applewood bacon and mushrooms.

CenturyLink Field
Trophy Cupcakes in Seattle’s football stadium honors Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch with his very own cupcake, aka “The Beast.” Lynch’s namesake cupcake flaunts Seahawks colors and its orange buttercream frosting is topped with skittles and a miniature football.

Almost every football stadium, not just these five arenas, is packed with food its fans can be proud of these days, so students of cooking schools online may find themselves serving up fare for sports fans at some point during their culinary career.

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