Alabama and Georgia meet Monday at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis for this year’s College Football Playoff National Championship. And the food on offer was designed to fuel fans’ excitement for the showdown between the country’s two best college football teams.
Sodexo Live! Executive Chef Shimelis Adem created a special menu that reflects the teams’ home turfs. For University of Alabama, whose team is nicknamed The Crimson Tide, there’s The Crimson Tide Dog—a ¼-pound grilled hot dog topped with pulled pork and onion straws, then drizzled with a spicy BBQ sauce and served on a fresh-baked bun.
University of Georgia is getting Bulldog Shrimp Tacos in honor of its mascot. The tacos are stuffed with Cajun grilled shrimp and grilled peaches—a Georgia-grown fruit—and topped with peach pico and peach crema sauce.
Each menu item will be sold at multiple general concourse locations throughout the Stadium. In addition, the Crimson Tide Dog will be available at Playoff Fan Central at the Indiana Convention Center, also managed by Sodexo Live!, where Georgia fans can enjoy Bulldog Brisket Sliders.
Chef Adem/courtesy of Sodexo Live!
Indiana-inspired menu items are also on hand at both venues, including Indiana Whiskey Sour Pork Wings, featuring locally sourced smoked pork with a whiskey-orange marmalade glaze; a Heartland Beer Cheese Steak Sandwich topped with cheese fondue made with Sun King Brewing ale; and a Hoosier Fried Chicken Sandwich with pimiento cheese on a brioche bun.
A number of menu options are also geared to vegans. Ancient grain bowls, bell peppers loaded with plant-based meat and a sweet chili glaze, and several salads are on offer. And for dessert in the premium spaces, there are sugar cookies decorated with team logos baked by a Carmel, Ind., bakery.
Sodexo Live!, formerly known as Centerplate, is hosting the CFP National Championship for the third straight year; the previous games took place at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans and Hard Rock Stadium in Miami. Once again, the company will donate prepared but unused food to local charitable organizations, including Second Helpings and Gleaners Food Bank of Indiana.