The Pittsburgh Pirates rolled out the red carpet for Food Scouts last week.

Special thanks to Carey Cox, Brian Hediger, Brian Warecki, Executive Chef Gabor Kovats for all your time. And Molly Trunzo for helping to set things up. The Pirates are a first-class organization with a new leadership structure. They are building an elite organization that will make the people of Pittsburgh proud of their club for many years.

Exceeding expectations…

The show’s first shoot exceeded expectations in terms of organization, access and scheduling. The first two days proved exhausting as the Food Scouts team worked its way through 16-hour days.

We’ve learned a lot about ourselves as well as the city of Pittsburgh, the Pirates, their fans and what makes PNC Park’s concession offerings a cut above.

If you think it’s still about hot dogs…

Yes, there are hot dogs. And people LOVE their chicken fingers, fries and even a somewhat more complicated hamburger.

The modern stadium kitchen goes way beyond that.

These guys are cooking with top kitchen tech, including $40,000 ovens capable of “steam roasting” a food in several minutes. These ovens are so sophisticated they can literally cook three different racks in three different ways…in the same oven! And you can plug in a USB with recipe instructions and the oven will follow the program.

Executive Chef Captains the Entire Ship

Every pirate ship needs a captain and Executive Chef Gabor Kovats patrols PNC Park’s grounds in a blur of constant motion. The man racks up the miles as he oversees the entire food operation.

A lot of people think ballpark food is about over-roasted or boiled hot dogs or frozen chicken fingers being dropped into a fryer.

Not under Chef Kovats’ watch.

Foods are prepared individually and to order. They are made quickly, but with craft. This results in less food waste and an improved product that’s not rotting away under a heat lamp.

We can’t wait to show you the footage from the kitchen. You’ll see the level of craft that goes into food preparation.

Local Restaurants Work Well with the Pirates

We spent time with owners and chefs from Coop de Ville, Smallman St. Deli, Station and Primanti Brothers. Every one of them has a unique story to tell. Of the four mentioned here, all but Primanti Bros. worked with Chef Kovats to create signature dishes you can only find at the ballpark.

And when you meet these people outside the ballpark, you get amazing stories regarding the culture and neighborhood feel for local foods as well as an opportunity to sample the dishes that have made them local staples.

We ate a ton of food.

K is for Kiosk

Ordering is ridiculously easy.

You walk up to the counter, punch in your choices, pay and get a number. The food is ready almost immediately or, if it’s a custom dish, a few minutes. The wait is worth it.

The best thing about the kiosk is that if you forget or your order is messed up, it’s probably on you! Miscommunication, frustrated and over-worked cashiers are a thing of the past.

What is next for Food Scouts?

Our team is organizing hours of footage and interviews.

We’re going to sit down, look at our script, compare it with the footage we have and get down to producing an amazing 22-minute show!

And then there will be all sorts of goodies…like a special on The Roberto Clemente Museum, extra interviews and footage.

Warning…have a napkin ready. It’s that ridiculous.

And hey, support the Pittsburgh Pirates and get some tickets!