JUNE 2018 • LONGISLANDPRESS.COM 65
PRESS MAIN DISH
CENTERPLATE AT BELMONT:TRIPLE CROWN CHEF
By NICK CICCONE
The June 9 Belmont Stakes will be
Chef Drew Revella’s fifteenth at
Centerplate Inc., which coordinates
the racetrack’s restaurants and
catering. But this year he is racing
to prepare for a bigger crowd than
usual.
Even with that cushion of experience
and his yearlong preparations now
coming to a close, there’s no telling
what challenges 90,000 hungry
guests might bring on the day of the
event.
“There’s a love of that chaos,” Revella
says. “It’s not like every other job.”
The third and final leg of the
American Triple Crown, the
Belmont Stakes is the longest of
them all at 1½ miles. That, coupled
with the fact that front-runner
Justify, the horse that won both the
Kentucky Derby and the Preakness
for two years — haven’t seen it,”
will be catering to a VIP echelon of
in May, has the potential to become
says Robert DiChiaro, regional vice
guests (nearly 6,000) who have paid
the thirteenth-ever Triple Crown
president of Centerplate Inc., the
as much as $1,200 for a premium
winner, makes it likely that the
event’s caterer. “I’ve worked Super
experience.
crowd at Belmont Park’s Elmont
Bowls, World Series, Stanley Cups,
arena will be full.
Final Fours — very rare that I’ve
“We have a very New York-centric
seen anything.”
theme this year,” Revella says.
Triple Crown years have a markedly
“We’re taking some old subway
different feel, Revella says, adding
He shrugs it off and catches the
signs and displaying food on that,
that he is not generally a horse
highlights the next day.
and there’s pictures of Old World
racing fan. He said it was incredible
New York.”
when, in 2015, he saw American
Revella describes working the event
Pharoah cross the finish line and
as a “near-death experience.” In a
Some of the new menu items this year
win the Triple Crown.
similar fashion to the horses’ circuit,
include Brooklyn-cured GMO-free
“I had one manager who worked
Revella moves in circles around
pastrami, hot dogs, sausages and an
with me over 10 years, she was
more than a dozen satellite kitchen
literally crying in my arms because it
stations, making sure everything
was such an emotional experience to
is going according to plan. Food
be part of something that exciting,”
preparation begins about nine days
Revella recalls. “When you’re down
before the event, but the bulk of
on the track and you feel the horses
the work can be done only in the
run by, there’s a feeling you get that
hours before race day to preserve
— it’s very hard to put words to it
freshness.
— but people know it who watch it.”
Revella, 47, of Staten Island, might
Such moments are rare, though.
clock in as early as 2 a.m. during
Catering executives and employees
those last few days of preparations,
rarely catch a glimpse of the events
coordinating with hired vendors
they work.
to execute the menu he crafted
specially for this year’s 150th
“I’ve been at the Belmont Stakes
anniversary. His primary focus
array of other charcuterie. Revella
aimed to source food as locally as
possible, tapping Brooklyn-based
Gotham Greens, which produces
urban rooftop-grown lettuces that
Revella will hand pick ahead of the
event.
Revella, who attended culinary
school at Johnson & Wales University
in Providence, R.I., says he started
cooking at age 6, helping out with
the family business — a catering hall.
He says he was “bouncing around in
the kitchen throwing ingredients in
soup kettles.”
Now, as a regional executive chef
for Centerplate, he says he channels
that fun-loving creativity into how
he leads his kitchen staff. In a highstress
role such as preparing for the
Belmont Stakes, he urges his staff to
stay calm.
“Never panic,” he tells them.
“There’s always a solution. And
don’t be afraid to ask for help.”
After thousands flood Belmont Park
for the big day, Revella says he will
likely “fall down,” but come 8 p.m.
he’ll start tweaking his ideas for
next year’s event. And June 10 is a
regular racing day at Belmont Park,
which means the Centerplate team
has to be ready to go the next day.
“We still gotta open for another
normal day on Sunday,” DiChiaro
says. “It’s organized chaos.”
Chef Drew Revella is racing to prepare for Triple Crown crowds at the
June 9 Belmont Stakes. (Photo by Nick Ciccone).
From sandwiches to steaks, Belmont has racing fans covered.