After a year of preparing, rows of biscuits are ready to be baked and just as many eggs are ready to be fried. Onions are ready to be chopped, bags of chips are ready for snacking, and boxes upon boxes of beer are ready for cracking.
These are just some of the behind-the-scenes workings we saw when taking a scenic golf cart ride, then walking up to a trailer and through a door marked “Production Kitchen” in a tucked-away corner of the Valhalla Golf Club. On the counter, thick binders with the title “Production Kitchen” emblazoned on the front carried pages and pages of information about what will be served May 13-19 during the 106th PGA Championship in Louisville.
The binders are big because this event is bigger than ever. It’s shaping up to be the largest PGA Championship in the history of the revered sporting spectacle, according to those behind the planning.
One of those is Eric Babcook, general manager of PGA of America Championships for the Patina Restaurant Group. The New York-based food service company was hired by PGA a few years ago, and as Babcook said, each running brings something new.
“There’s a lot of pressure, but that’s what we enjoy,” he told the Courier Journal during a media preview on May 10.
The level of pressure makes sense: The food service team stands to feed more people in seven days than a professional football or baseball stadium might serve their whole season.
The pressure might be on for organizers and the field of athletes, but hopefully, the experience is mostly fun for thousands of spectators walking the green fields of Valhalla.
Playing a part in the experience? Coming up with a game plan of what to eat and drink.
“You can get on the golf course and have this unbelievable experience of watching the best players in the world,” Babcook said. “Then you’re also eating some of the best food you can get.”
Your PGA Championship ticket includes some food and drinks
Patina Restaurant Group and contracted chefs and cooks prepare food ahead of the PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club on Friday, May 10, 2024.
Within the past couple years, the PGA rolled out a system called “Championship+,” which covers access to the grounds of Valhalla Golf Club, as well as food and beverage offerings.
“That’s a unique thing,” Babcook said. “This is the largest all-inclusive event in the world.”
The tickets include one entree item, one snack item, and one non-alcoholic beverage per entry into a concession venue. Ticket-holders can enter “as many times as they like.”
If this sounds confusing, the blue signs will tell you what to do upon entry. The course has seven concession stands, called “markets,” instructing attendees to pick one beverage, one food entree, and one snack item.
You then show your wristband to a volunteer and go on your way.
“When you go to a concession stand, you’re not pulling out your wallet,” Babcook said.
“The idea is that you come in, you grab a soda or water, you grab a burger and you come back as many times as you want,” he added. “There’s no gimmicks here.”
The setup is intended to cut down on long lines, too.
What’s on the menu at Valhalla during the PGA Championship?
When building a menu for the PGA Championship, one executive chef on the team said he kept in mind how much walking people would do.
Having some quality and tasty fuel for a day on the course “makes for a better day,” chef Ed Milan told the Courier Journal. “People are going to be hungry.”
There will be breakfast and lunch entrees, along with Pepsi products. You’ll see beef hot dogs, bratwurst, a vegan option in Beyond Burgers, grilled chicken sandwiches, and, what is expected to be the most popular grab, cheeseburgers. The team expects to sell more than 100,000 burgers throughout the tournament,
“Everything is fresh,” Milan said. “When you go up to the concession stand, there will be people grilling hamburgers fresh. Nothing is frozen.”
Patina Restaurant Group and contracted chefs and cooks prepare food ahead of the PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club on Friday, May 10, 2024.
While these things are included in tickets, a price list seen on Friday shows that a hot dog costs $8 and a cheeseburger costs $15.
Outside these stands, attendees will see tents selling alcoholic beverages including Michelob Ultra for $14, premium beer for $15 and a seltzer for $15.
Premium food and beverage areas around the course offer more options.
For more information, visit pgachampionship.com/championship-food-beverage#food-beverage-experience.
