Firestone Grand Prix: Meet the chef fueling the race teams for close to 30 years
Racing team chef cooks up race day meals
FOX 13's Kailey Tracy reports from downtown St. Petersburg.
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Some drivers at the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg have said that one part of why they love coming to St. Pete is all the great food.
When they’re at the track, though, most teams have at least one chef who cooks for the drivers, the crew, and their sponsors.
Peter Herold fuels Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing.
Chef Peter Herold in the kitchen.
Dig deeper:
He says between the drivers, crew and sponsors, he and his counterpart feed between 250 and 300 people every day.
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"We're trying to create a restaurant experience here at the racetrack," Herold said. "So, we're doing high-end foods, beef tenderloin, high-end seafood, you know, in a quality way where it's not cooked off-site."
"We don't like to do a lot of heavy items. You’re not going to see too much mashed potatoes and lasagna up here," Herold continued. "A lot of fresh options and a lot of healthy options too, especially, obviously, for the drivers and the crew. They don't want to feel like they need to take a nap after they're done eating lunch or dinner or breakfast."
Area for drivers, their crews, and sponsors to eat Herold's cooking.
The backstory:
Herold has been in the role for close to 30 years.
A race in Ohio nearly three decades ago sparked his interest, but he had worked at a high-end hotel as a chef before this role.
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"At the end of the race, I was leaving to head towards my car, and I was seeing all these tents and trailers and like all these hospitality areas. And I thought, ‘What's that all about?" Herald said. "My first thought was, ‘I wonder if they're cooking on site.’ And sure enough, I looked inside one of the trailers. It was a full kitchen ready to operate. And that's where, that's where I realized that that position was available."
Herold now has his own kitchen inside the team’s tent right next to the track.
"I spend a lot of time in the kitchen. There are some days where I don’t leave it," Herold said. "We're the first ones here; usually 4 or 5, 6 in the morning."
Herold does have a TV in the kitchen, though, where he says he keeps tabs on the races if he can’t peek his head outside.
Preview of Firestone Grand Prix
Local perspective:
He buys all the food locally, too.
"We've got 40 pounds of salmon and 40 pounds of fresh grouper. We've got 60 pounds of beef tenderloin. I just trimmed up 40 pounds of chicken thighs," Herold said.
Part of the menu offered by Herold.
"We love coming to St. Pete, first of all. But we love supporting the area. They’re excited to see us," Herold said. "They have questions about the race and what we do and, ‘what are you buying all this food for.’"
Whether the team wins or loses on the track, Herold wants them to have a good overall experience, and a lot of that revolves around a home-cooked meal.
"It just doesn't work out for everybody. So, we want to walk away and say, ‘Hey, we had a great day anyway,’" Herold said.
According to Herold, if there’s any food left over at the end of the weekend, they donate it to local food pantries in every city they’re in.
The Source: FOX 13's Kailey Tracy collected the information in this story.
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