Celebrity Chef Marcus Samuelsson To Host Taste of Tennis Pavilion at WTT Finals
New York’s top chefs will be serving up signature dishes at the 2016 Mylan World TeamTennis Finals presented by Citi onFriday, August 26, at Forest Hills Stadium in Forest Hills, N.Y.
The Taste of Tennis Pavilion, hosted by Marcus Samuelsson, is an interactive culinary experience that will feature cuisine prepared by top local restaurants, handcrafted cocktails and a variety of exciting VIP experiences including photo opportunities and player meet-and-greets. The event precedes the championship finals match which will feature the top two teams from regular season action of Mylan WTT presented by GEICO. The 2016 regular season concludes on Saturday, August 13.
Four celebrity chefs, including Samuelsson, will step out of the kitchen and onto the court in an exciting tennis exhibition on stadium court prior to the start of the championship match.
AYS Sports Marketing created and produces Taste of Tennis, the World’s Premier Food & Tennis Experience. Over the past 17 years, AYS has produced Taste of Tennis events in New York, Miami and Melbourne, Australia, to kick off major tennis tournaments in those cities. The concept has recently been expanded to include several exciting new experiences including Taste of Tennis Pavilion, Taste of Tennis Master Class and Taste of Tennis Player Party. In 2017, Taste of Tennis events are scheduled to take place in Indian Wells, Miami and New York.
VIP ticket packages are currently available and include access to both the Taste of Tennis Pavilion and the Courtgirl Lifestyle Experience, where high-end retail partners will set up shop and sample displays for guests. VIP Lower Club seats are $100 and include exclusive pre-match access to two VIP experiences – the Taste of Tennis Pavilion and the Courtgirl Lifestyle Experience. The Taste of Tennis Pavilion and the Courtgirl Lifestyle Experience are open from 1:30-3:30pmand require VIP Club tickets.
MYLAN WTT FINALS PRESENTED BY CITI – SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
1:00 p.m. Gates Open
1:30 p.m. VIP Fan Experiences (VIP tickets required for Taste of Tennis & Courtgirl)
2:00 p.m. Wilson World Demo Tour Registration
2:15-3:15 p.m. Wilson World Demo Tour Clinic
4:00 p.m. Start of Championship Match – Teams TBD
TASTE OF TENNIS PARTICIPATING CHEFS (subject to change)
►MARCUS SAMUELSSON – RED ROOSTER: Marcus Samuelsson is the acclaimed chef behind Red Rooster Harlem, Ginny’s Supper Club, and Streetbird Rotisserie. A committed philanthropist; and the youngest person to ever receive a three-star review from The New York Times, Samuelsson has won multiple James Beard Foundation Awards including Best Chef: New York City, and was tasked with planning and executing the Obama Administration’s first State dinner. Samuelsson was also crowned champion of television shows Top Chef Masters and Chopped All Stars, and served as a mentor on ABC’s The Taste. Samuelsson co-produced Harlem EatUp!, a food and culture festival launched in Harlem, New York in 2015, and he is also the founder of the website Food Republic. He is the author of The New York Times bestselling memoir Yes, Chef, the young adult version, Make It Messy, and his newest cookbook, Marcus Off Duty. He has recently announced the opening of a new restaurant at MGM National Harbor outside of Washington, D.C. at the end of 2016 and the opening of Red Rooster Shoreditch in East London. In May 2016, he was indicted into the James Beard Foundation Who’s Who of Food and Beverage in America. (http://www.marcussamuelsson.com/)
►A LIL’ BIT OF FUN: Serving the best (gluten free) mini funnel cakes in different flavors.
►BEN & JACK’S STEAKHOUSE: Admir Albasic is the executive chef of Ben & Jack’s Steak House. (http://benandjackssteakhouse.com/). With a background in Food Science, Chef Admir continues to challenge discretionary pallets through his perfection of dry aging and putting a spin on conventional dishes. In addition to competing in several food competitions that require him to transform a single ingredient and make it the star of the dish, Chef Admir is also actively involved in various philanthropic events, where he utilizes his skills to give back to those in need. Chef Admir has been featured on FOX & Friends, PIX 11, Daily Meal, Huffington Post, Buzz Feed, Food Republic and Resident, to name a few.
►THE CANNIBAL BEER & BUTCHER: Christian Pappanicholas is the genius behind acclaimed restaurants The Cannibal & Resto. Both restaurants have received critical accolades, including 2 stars from The New York Times. (http://www.cannibalnyc.com/)
►CASA DEL CHEF: Casa del Chef is an Ecuadorean-owned farm-to-table bistro owned by Chef Alfonso Zhicay, who made his bones at places like Bouley and Union Pacific, and worked with Dan Barber for many years. (http://www.casadelchefny.com/)
►MP TAVERNA: Michael Psilakis is a recipient of many awards including Food & Wine’s Best New Chef and Bon Appetit’s Chef of the Year. Psilakis’ upscale Greek restaurant, Anthos, has been nominated for a James Beard Award for Best New Restaurant, “Chef of the Year” by Esquire Magazine and was ultimately awarded a Michelin star and named the third of ten best new restaurants by Frank Bruni, The New York Times restaurant reviewer. (http://michaelpsilakis.com/mp-taverna/mp-taverna-astoria/)
►RESTAURANT NORTH: Chef Eric Gabrynowicz is the co-owner of Restaurant North in Armonk and was a semifinalist for the award for Best Chef Northeast by the James Beard Foundation. This is his fourth nomination; three for this category and one for Rising Star Chef, in 2011. (http://www.restaurantnorth.com/)
►TACUBA: Julian Medina is a critically acclaimed chef most notable for his restaurant Yerba Buena in New York City. Medina earned his first accolade during his time at Maya, where the restaurant earned 2 stars from The New York Times. Yerba Buena was named one of 2008’s Best Restaurants by New York Magazine, 2009 Reader’s Choice Award for “Best Reason to Brush Up on Your Spanish” by Time Out New York. Yerba’s second location received 4/5 stars from Time Out New York. (http://tacubanyc.com/home)
