- 6 hours ago
How do you feed 40,000 fans—almost four times a week—for seven months straight? At the Atlanta Braves’ Truist Park, it takes more than 2,000 staff, 400 cooks, and a relentless game plan to deliver everything from classic stadium fare to filet mignon and lobster. With 81 home games and over a million hot dogs sold each season, every detail is calculated, down to the estimated 1.2 hot dogs eaten per fan. Step behind the scenes with Executive Chef Jaco Dryer and the team as they cook from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m., fire up thousands of burgers, and execute “a thousand small decisions” that keep game day running. From massive walk-in freezers to fine dining dishes made à la minute, this is the high-stakes logistics of feeding a Major League Baseball stadium. Major League Baseball footage and trademarks used with permission of Major League Baseball. All rights reserved.
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00:00How do you feed the population of a small city almost four times a week for seven months straight?
00:05And how do you deliver a massive variety of food styles at high-level quality over and over and over?
00:11Welcome to Game Day. We're here. We've been cooking since 6 a.m.
00:14We're going to keep cooking until 9 o'clock tonight.
00:16We're doing hot dogs. We're doing hamburgers. We're doing filet. We're doing lobster.
00:20A lot of people will say, what are you thinking? We are the Atlanta Braves. We do things different.
00:24We are the biggest restaurant in the Southeast on a Game Day.
00:27We have the best food in baseball.
00:32Here we are in Truist Park. We're in the heart of Braves country right now.
00:37We will feed more than 40,000 fans on a nightly basis, and we will do that 81 times throughout
00:44the regular season this year.
00:46Oh, how many hot dogs do you think we make?
00:49About seven, 800.
00:51How many burgers?
00:53At least 600.
00:55The fun part about this is I love math. It's all stats.
00:59How many hot dogs is everyone going to eat? How many sodas are they going to drink?
01:02How many gallons of beer do we need? One person might eat three hot dogs. One person might eat zero.
01:06So is that 1.2? So 1.2 times 41 times 81. I mean, we're going to sell a million
01:11hot dogs this year.
01:12That's going to be almost 100 miles of hot dogs laid end to end.
01:1676,000 pounds of brisket. It's going to be the equivalent of 25 cars.
01:20130,000 gallons of beer this year. That's the equivalent of about seven swimming pools, and I'm only going to
01:26have a little bit.
01:28At the center is executive chef Jaco Dreher, running a system of nearly 2,000 people, powered by Delaware North,
01:35the Braves food and beverage partner at Truist Park.
01:38For weeks now, approximately seven trucks a day have been unloading everything this operation depends on.
01:44We go from zero to 100, you know, in a matter of moments.
01:48Once the pellet drops on the dock, it gets dispersed throughout this building.
01:52For each homestand, he unloads 650 gallons of ice cream, 8,000 pounds of popcorn, 18,000 pounds of cheese,
01:59and over 73,000 pounds of french fries will pass through this loading dock.
02:03Enough bread, produce, and beef to sell nearly 15,000 burgers. Sorted, staged, and sent through the maze of Truist
02:09Park.
02:10You know, for today, this is all the bread that we are planning on serving. We do go through thousands
02:14and thousands of packages of nuts. It would not be a ballpark without nuts.
02:18And during opening week alone, chef Jaco walks almost nine miles a day, keeping the whole machine moving.
02:25Because different parts of the stadium are fed in different ways, ingredients are first routed to several central kitchens, like
02:31the concessions, main production, and commissary kitchen, which may contribute to the concourse operations.
02:36Or the delta kitchen, which is connected to the club spaces.
02:39These fully equipped kitchens are where most of the prep and cooking gets done, by roughly 400 cooks, 50 stewards,
02:45and nine chefs.
02:46From these hubs, food moves out to its next stop.
02:49For concessions, by far the largest operation, that means feeding nearly 90 stands across the stadium, many without the same
02:55space for full production.
02:57From kitchen to customer, every step is determined by where it's going and how it's served.
03:02There's a wide range of food experiences.
03:04Out on the concourse, it's classic ballpark staples.
03:08Premium stands push things a bit further.
03:09More complex, but still built to move.
03:11And in the clubs, like the Delta Club or the Truist Club, it shifts into an elevated, restaurant-style experience.
03:18On a day like this, with an evening game, the main kitchen is up and running by 5 a.m.
03:22The commissary, delta, and concessions kitchens are not far behind, and open at 7.
03:26By mid-morning, all four kitchens are buzzing with less than six hours till gates open at 4.30.
03:31The concessions team begins heating the proteins for the day.
03:34Meats they've seasoned from scratch and prepped in bulk.
03:36It's all designed to make the most of limited space.
03:39Small footprint, massive L button.
03:41This is the main concessions production kitchen.
03:45This is where the tire meets the track.
03:48If you look at the size of this kitchen, this kitchen feeds 42,000 people.
03:52We have all of this data right next to you that tells us where is everything going by quantity.
03:59From here, it gets dispersed up into the stands.
04:02Chef Yako's system is meal prep on steroids.
04:05Eight weeks before opening day, the concession team starts bulk-producing proteins,
04:09since it's one of the most demanding parts of the process.
04:11It's just too much quantity.
04:13Bulk production is items that we know takes more than two hours to produce.
04:16So I would identify all my proteins.
04:19We smoke brisket.
04:20We grill chicken.
04:20We smoke pork butt.
04:21It has to get pulled out.
04:23It has to get chilled.
04:23And then we bag it, label it, vacuum seal it, and place it in the freezer and or in the
04:27refrigerator.
04:28We choose to find small nuances and efficiencies throughout our operation.
04:32As an example, eight packs on each shelf, each bag at five pounds a piece.
04:39Two bags, that's $40.
04:40Three bags, that's $60.
04:42Four bags, that's $80.
04:44All right, everybody.
04:45This is what I call the pull-thaw cooler.
04:48If you think about in your mom's house, you can pull something out of the freezer,
04:52you can run it underwater, and it goes right into the frying pan.
04:54Over here, I don't have that luxury.
04:56We allow it in a safe space and environment to thaw out naturally.
05:00Once it's thawed out, we will take it up and send it to all of the stands and disperse it
05:04accordingly.
05:05We don't guess what goes where.
05:08So a lot going on, but a lot of fun.
05:10And if you think eight weeks is a lot of lead time,
05:13Chef Jaco began designing the 2026 menu all the way back in October of the previous year.
05:18Everything has to be shaped and adjusted around what actually works at this scale.
05:21So five months is necessary for pressure testing, because if something breaks, it's going to break thousands of times.
05:27Concessions is fast-paced.
05:28So when I do design a menu for our concessions, I think about, first and foremost, the speed.
05:34And what that means, there's 41,000 people that have to be fed in about four hours.
05:38So we have to have what they want ready when they want it,
05:40and that's why we're always trying to figure out how do we become faster?
05:43How do we boil it down to just the bare minimums that have the most flavor and the most excitement?
05:48We want to make sure their beer is cold, because I'm in charge of making sure the beer is cold.
05:52We want them to be able to take it to their seat.
05:53You know, can they walk from the concession stand and maneuver themselves throughout to get to their seat
05:58and eat it without making a big mess on themselves?
06:01It doesn't seem complex. It's a hamburger or a hot dog.
06:04But, you know, if I ask you to make me 24 different types of hot dogs, I'm sure you'll scratch
06:07your head.
06:08Concessions is also more than hamburgers and hot dogs.
06:10Premium offerings like the tacos created by Michelin star-winning chef Carlos Gaitan
06:15have to deliver authenticity and flavor at game-day speeds.
06:19It's way different than what I normally do.
06:21You create the menu according to the place that you're going to be.
06:25If you're going to be doing, like, 5,000 tacos, it has to be something very simple, very easy to
06:31execute.
06:32If you do a burrito, it's about seven to eight steps.
06:36And when you do a taco, probably it's going to be only three steps.
06:39I want people to do it faster, but do it the right way.
06:43The stadium's most premium dishes can be found at its clubs here.
06:46Presentation matters, which means the structure and sequencing of the preparation is critical.
06:50So out of this kitchen, we are catering to the Delta Club and the Choice Club.
06:56The Choice Club is an elite club serving about 180 to 200 guests,
07:00and the Delta Club serving about 1,300 to 1,500 guests.
07:03The menu needs to be geared for the volume that we do and the time constraint that we have.
07:07We don't cut corners. You have to think about the process.
07:10The Choice Club operates like a restaurant.
07:13Yes, we do have a buffet, but all the food gets fired a la minute,
07:18meaning there is absolutely nothing sitting in a box.
07:21A la minute. Cooking to order, not in advance.
07:25In this setting, it doesn't mean starting from scratch.
07:28No one's waiting 12 hours after ordering a braised brisket.
07:31It's about finishing touches right before serving.
07:33Several will come to the kitchen.
07:34Chef, we need more short ribs. Chef will fire the short ribs back into the oven,
07:38get it hot, get it glazed, you know, place it into the pan, garnish it, re-season it, and go
07:43out.
07:43There are those dishes that you cannot scale up.
07:45So that's why we're trying to make sure that everything we do is thought out.
07:49For example, small, thin pieces of fish overcooks very quickly.
07:53So we tend to buy kind of big fish and to have a nice fillet of fish on the menu.
07:57We try to roast whole meats and carving versus single pieces of meat.
08:01Like today, we are doing a whole roasted chicken because it stays juicier.
08:06How is the guest getting this food?
08:08It might be great when it comes out of the kitchen,
08:11but then if it's there for a half hour, how does it look?
08:14How does it eat?
08:15By the afternoon, the Delta kitchen is in full swing,
08:18par-cooking large batches of proteins, pastas, and vegetables.
08:22Now is the time to pay attention to more delicate items,
08:25which have been scheduled for the last possible minute
08:27to preserve quality and freshness at scale.
08:29If you have tomatoes on the sandwich,
08:31they want to be as far as possible from the bread.
08:33Otherwise, the bread will get soggy.
08:34If you have many components of a salad,
08:37we don't toss all the ingredients together
08:38because when you mix all the salad with all these ingredients,
08:41all the little ingredients fall on the bottom of the salad.
08:45We layer the ingredients.
08:46The lettuce goes on the bottom,
08:48they're tossed a little bit with vinaigrette,
08:50and then all the ingredients sprinkled on the lettuce.
08:53And then we add another layer of lettuce,
08:55like if you would build a lasagna.
08:57For us, it's so important, you know,
08:59utilizing the ingredients fresh.
09:01If you want to do a guacamole for 400 people,
09:03the first thing that you have to have ready is the lime juice.
09:06So it's going to help to preserve the avocado.
09:10So cut the avocados, but you don't open it
09:12until you get everything else.
09:14Diced tomatoes, diced onions, julienne cilantro,
09:17and then you open it, take the pizza out.
09:20Otherwise, the avocado is going to turn color.
09:22It's doing it the right way all the time.
09:25Carlos' team will go through almost 300 avocados,
09:28three cases of cilantro,
09:29and over 190 pounds of jalapenos
09:31in each three-day homeschool.
09:33About an hour before gates open,
09:35food for concessions is finished,
09:37loaded into carts, hot boxes, and coolers,
09:39and pushed out to nearly 90 stands across the concourse.
09:42These concession stands can handle up to 1,000 orders per game.
09:45They don't need or use ticketing to process orders
09:47from their simple menus,
09:49which keeps food getting into fans' hands that much faster.
09:51The reason why I separate these cheese
09:53is because of the fast pace that we're at.
09:55It's just easier for the crew to grab it.
09:57That way, when it comes off the grill,
09:59we can just pop it on and go.
10:00Opening week, they alone sold 14,800 burgers.
10:04That's almost 30,000 slices of cheese.
10:06If that trick saves a second per slice,
10:08you're looking at over eight hours saved already,
10:10just on cheese.
10:12That's the system.
10:131,000 small decisions adding up.
10:16Most of the concessions menu keeps it simple,
10:18fast, repeatable.
10:20And then there's this thing.
10:22It's the bat flip.
10:23I'm not going to lie to you, it's a beast,
10:24but it's a beautiful beast.
10:26We are the Atlanta Braves.
10:28We want to wow our guests.
10:29The bat flip is a seven-inch hamburger bun,
10:32braised pork belly,
10:33two patties,
10:35truffle cheddar cheese,
10:36beef short rib,
10:37fresh jalapenos,
10:38crunchy fried onions,
10:40two fried eggs,
10:41just topped off with chipotle aioli.
10:43I know someone out there is going to try to finish it,
10:45and they might succeed.
10:46Something like this,
10:47a burger the size of a baseball hat,
10:49should slow everything down.
10:50But it works,
10:51because every part of it
10:52has already been built into the operation.
10:54The long stuff happens early.
10:56Aioli, made in-house, bagged, ready to go.
10:58Three different proteins,
11:00each handled at a different stage.
11:01Short rib,
11:02batch produced,
11:03portioned,
11:03and ready in the pull-thaw system.
11:05Pork belly,
11:06sliced and par-cooked ahead of time.
11:08The beef itself
11:09gets made in the production kitchen downstairs.
11:12I had to decide
11:13whether it's going to be lean,
11:14whether it's going to be fatty.
11:15What type of seasonings
11:16am I going to put in there?
11:17Do I want a bunch of crunch
11:19with the onions and the peppers,
11:20or do I want a smooth bite?
11:22Then there are the parts of the process
11:24that only happen day of.
11:25The bread comes in from TGM.
11:27I was like,
11:27hey, can we get a seven-inch bun made?
11:29So we reached out to a local bakery,
11:30and she came back three days later,
11:32and she's like,
11:32I got your bun.
11:33We go ahead and cut it,
11:34put it back in a bag.
11:36We'll actually take the onions day off,
11:38because it keeps the freshness,
11:39it keeps the crunch.
11:41You cannot teach, develop, mentor,
11:43anybody by opening up a bag.
11:45There is no basic fundamentals.
11:46Buying stuff that's pre-cut, pre-diced.
11:49I know I can buy tomatoes sliced.
11:51I think there is stadiums
11:52that gets three sliced tomatoes.
11:53I don't think anything is wrong with that.
11:55Feeding thousands and thousands of people
11:56you have to do what's right for your operation.
11:59Lettuce, I'm identifying any, you know,
12:02spoiled or blemished such as this,
12:04so I know what our guest is having
12:07and experiencing is ultimately the best.
12:09From there, we will build out the station
12:11in order of the sandwich.
12:13And then there are the parts
12:14that happen a la minute.
12:15We're always thinking about,
12:16how do I get this to the guest quickly?
12:18So we are going to have burgers going nonstop.
12:20The eggs will be over there.
12:22That'll get cracked when you order it.
12:23Really, it's mostly assembly.
12:24It's just that egg has to finish the dish.
12:27If you think about efficiencies within the kitchen,
12:29everything does not come down to the ingredient.
12:31You create a system
12:33that helps you to have a continuous service.
12:36You want to build the intensity of the service,
12:39build it up until you reach the peak.
12:41And once you have the peak,
12:42you say, wow, that was easy.
12:45Every single hot dog we do touches a grill.
12:48It gets a grill mark on it.
12:49That's not normal for a million hot dogs.
12:51I work for the Atlanta Braves.
12:53And so I don't think there is anything
12:55too complicated to pull off.
12:56We will find a way to execute it.
12:59The work at Truist Park is never done.
13:00Even after tonight's last out,
13:02tomorrow will bring over 40,000 new fans
13:05and the whole operation starts again.
13:07If I can take something as simple as food
13:09and make you smile,
13:10that for me is a job well done.
13:12That's why I got into cooking.
13:14I'll see you next time.
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