VenuesNow (03/31/22) Pearl, Wendy

Mega-caterer Sodexo Live! ordered more than 225,000 beverage units and 13,000 pounds of chicken for the National Collegiate Athletic Association Men's Final Four Championship in New Orleans. More than 4,500 people worked over the weekend with 1,800 at Caesars Superdome, assisted by hundreds of local volunteers from nonprofits, according to Sodexo Live! Senior VP Susan Fink. The nonprofits helped supply labor for the Superdome's 500 point-of-sale concession areas. The chef-in-charge of the culinary full-court press, Lenny Martinsen, supervises a work-based learning program for area students who want to work in the culinary field, in collaboration with the National Restaurant Association. Sodexo Live! spent months planning its strategy for the Final Four, a task challenged by the lack of in-seat service at the venue. This involved assessing every available hospitality space and modifying the menu while still delivering New Orleans-inspired options during ongoing stadium renovations. Innovations introduced by Sodexo Live! at the event included a robotic, automated pizza production Picnic station. The caterer also used local food purveyors to lower the risk of supply chain disruptions.

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