Mark This: Episode 46, All-Star Eats
Host: Heather Dotchel, Corporate Communications:
Vonnie Negron, Executive Chef, Citizens Bank Park, Aramark Sports+Entertainment
Kevin Tedesco, General Manager, Citizens Bank Park, Aramark Sports+Entertainment
Alicia Woznicki, Vice President, Aramark Sports+Entertainment
It's time to Mark This! A podcast in which we peel back the corporate curtain to reveal the cool and innovative people, programs, and projects that are happening all over Aramark's varied lines of business.
I'm Heather Dotchel. As a member of Aramark's communications team, I see and hear amazing things that are happening across our company every day. These remarkable initiatives happen because we have remarkable people behind them, building opportunity, building innovation, and building community.
Philadelphia is about to become the center of the baseball universe. MLB All-Star Week 2026 is arriving at Citizens Bank Park and Aramark is bringing the heat both on the grill and in the stands. We are sitting down with Citizens Bank Park general manager, Kevin Tedesco and Executive Chef Vonnie, along with S&E Vice President Alicia Woznicki to talk about what it means to host the Midsummer Classic, a summer packed with unforgettable events and the fan voted dish that's going to define the week.
We are thrilled to welcome the three of you to the podcast. It's quite a summer here in Philadelphia. Kevin, before we get started, can you tell us a little bit about how you came to your current position?
Yeah. Well, thank you for having us and this is my 28th year with Aramark. My first year at Veterans Stadium was actually in 1997 with a company called Ogden, which Aramark eventually purchased. I went to the [inaudible 00:01:42] in 1998 through 2001. I came back to the sports complex in 2001. We closed Veterans Stadium and I was part of the opening team at Citizens Bank Park running concessions. I went to Lincoln Financial Field as a general manager after the World Series in 2008 and stayed there through the 2011 series, came back to the ballpark as a GM and have been here ever since.
Excellent. Chef Vonnie, what does your career path look like?
A little different than Kevin's. Just slightly different than Kevin's. I've been in the industry for a little over 40 years. I started my career out in Philadelphia in small local restaurants, a la carte restaurants, before I turned my attention to hotels, larger banquet spaces, catering hotels, banquet halls. Then I decided 21 years ago to take a deep dive into Aramark and I spent five years at the Wells Fargo Center, five years at Lincoln Financial Field and I've been with Kevin here at the ballpark going on my 12th season. So I've been fortunate enough to... My entire Aramark career has been in the parking lot in the city that I grew up in with my favorite sports teams.
And most of it with me. So Vonnie and I worked together at Lincoln Financial Field. When I got there in '09, I came over here to the ballpark and Vonnie came with me. We're an old married couple at this point.
Now, Alicia, I'm not sure what to say after that, but can you please tell our audience a little bit about yourself too?
Well, I have been with Aramark for 11 years, so I've had the pleasure of working with Kevin and Vonnie for that entire time. Obviously not going back quite as far, but prior to working at Aramark Sports & Entertainment, I spent the majority of my career in QSR and fast casual around brand strategy. And prior to that, spent some time in nonprofit. I'm also based here in Philadelphia, born and raised. So it's very fun when our hometown is hosting such a monumental event that we get to be a part of.
And also as a Philadelphian, I feel the need at this point to say go Phils, go birds.
Kevin, let's set the scene. The 2026 MLB All-Star Game is coming to Philadelphia on July 14th. What does it mean for Citizens Bank Park and for your team to host baseball's biggest night?
It's great. We've kind of known about this for a long time. We found out much earlier than you typically do when you host an All-Star Game. We kind of had an inkling even when we opened the ballpark up in 2004 when we did not have an All-Star Game the first few years. Typically, new ballparks get the All-Star Game. We kind of knew we were going to have it in 2026. Obviously we had it in '76, '96, and now '26. And for me, yeah, and the team, like I said, it's the hometown, born in Philadelphia, grew up across the bridge in South Jersey. We are looking forward to it. We're going to be the center of the baseball world for about a week. Everybody thinks it is just, it's the All-Star game. It's actually a lot more than that.
There's a whole litany of events leading up to the All-Star Game and it's been many years of meetings. Just got off of a call with Major League Baseball a few minutes ago, have another one coming up at noon. So we're looking forward to it. We're fortunate with the Phillies that we sell 40,000 tickets a night. So for us to ramp up, it's similar to what we've done for the World Series. We've all worked in the sports complex here for a very long time. We have global soccer right next door happening as we speak this whole month. This is probably the busiest sports complex in the world and we're looking forward to showing off. We do like showing off our ballpark, and this is one of the ones where the whole world will stop and watch what we're doing. So yeah, we're excited actually.
So Kevin, as you mentioned, this isn't just one game. It's an entire week of events from July 10th through July 14th, including the HBCU Swingman Classic, the All-Star Futures Game, MLBx, and the Home Run Derby. From an operations standpoint, how do you prepare for something this massive?
Yeah, they're distinctly different events. So our Friday event, HBCU Classic, we'll have a nice crowd in the ballpark. We're using that as a mini dry run, smaller event. Then we roll into the Sunday Futures Game and all the tickets are out for that game as well. So we roll Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Sunday being the Futures Game with the MLBx afterwards. So that's an afternoon event. So that will be a big one for us. And then obviously the Derby and the All-Star Game. There are two distinctly different events, Monday and Tuesday, whereas Monday, I hate this, it's a party. It's a different atmosphere. It's a fun event. It's all eyes when the home run hitters. It's a different festive event. The game itself is the tried and true, the pageantry. It's a really neat event. We went down to the event last year in Atlanta with the Phillies and we obviously have hosted All-Star Games in different Aramark accounts over the years. We've worked them.
So we have been to this event before. We have hosted this event before with Aramark, but here in Philadelphia, 2026, 250, there's a lot going on, a lot to do and we get to use the ballpark as that center of attention for basically the entire world for a few days. But not just the ballpark. Down the street we have the Philadelphia Convention Center. They're hosting Fan Fest. We have the red carpet event downtown. The draft is downtown. So some places, depending on where you are in the country, you may have events with different companies. Aramark is doing everything from the sports complex down to the convention center. So Aramark really has the entire All-Star under their umbrella this week. So it's not just the ballpark, it's also the convention center. And then obviously the world headquarters are a few blocks away as well. So that adds a whole nother element to hosting the All-Star and the All-Star festivities.
Chef Vonnie, let's talk food. All-Star Week means feeding fans from all over the country. People who may be visiting Citizens Bank Park for the very first time. And on a side note, I would love to visit Citizens Bank Park for the very first time again. It's my family's favorite place to attend an event. How does that change the way you think about the menu and the culinary experience you want to create?
Yeah, of course. We're on the world stage. We're on the national stage, right? And Philadelphia has a great food culture. And with visitors coming from across the country, across the world, I want to showcase what we do well in Philadelphia as well as elevating some of the experiences, right? So we want to do what we do well, show off to the world, and also show our culinary chops a little bit too. So with that being said, we started playing last year when we knew what was happening, when we started writing menus. We increased our sweet menu by 12, 13 items, added some elevated items to that sweet menu. We also, this year, are partnering with some of the best chefs in the city to showcase them during the All-Star Game. We showcased some of the chefs one chef per homestead leading up to the All-Star Game. For the All-Star Game, we're going to have our All-Star chefs that are going to be participating and we're going to be presenting their items to the fans and our guests.
And speaking of menus and the food, this year, Aramark and Major League Baseball did something special by letting fans vote on a signature dish for All-Star Week. Alicia, this is the first time that fans have had an opportunity to do that. What does this say about Aramark's focus on putting fans at the center of the experience?
Yeah, I mean, I think for us, we keep saying that the stars aligned for this opportunity, right? We have America's 250th birthday in the birthplace of our nation and the All-Star Game is really leaning into that. And we though, what better way to celebrate the democracy that we have by letting the fans actually decide what they're going to eat at the All-Star Game the same way they get to vote for their favorite players. So I think for us, this just felt like so serendipitous, especially considering we're also celebrating a major birthday here at Aramark with our 90th.
So we really wanted to lean in and do something that reminded people really about all the different things that Aramark is capable of and the fact that we are truly on the world stage, especially this summer between this international soccer. We have the All-Star Game here, we have a bunch of events that we're activating around all of those things that really are bringing the city together and the world to Philadelphia. And so it just felt like a really great time to do something different. And I have to say a big thank you to Kevin and Vonnie as well as our partners at the Phillies and our partners at the MLB, because it was really exciting that we had this idea of how could we do something bigger than just featuring some cool new items at the building, but really trying to make the fans a part of it.
So it was really a collaborative effort. We did a lot of development work together. We brought the MLB to our HQ. They came around the city with us to see how we drew local inspiration and they created some really great content that will air around and during the game to talk about this really unique promotion. So it was a lot of fun to put together and I'm so excited to see how people react when they can actually purchase the products in the stadium.
So let's dig into the food. Chef Vonnie, let's talk about the four contenders that fans voted on. We had the Declaration Dog, the Liberty Stack, the Revolutionary Rib Melt, and Betsy's Banana Ice Cream Sundae. Walk us through what inspired these dishes because these are not your typical ballpark bites. Vonnie, how intentional was that Philadelphia meets Americana theme, especially with the city celebrating the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence this year?
Yeah, it's very important. We're in Philadelphia, the birthplace of the nation. So there's a lot of traditions here. A lot of iconic foods that came out of this area. So obviously when you're at a ballpark you want a good hotdog. So the Declaration Dog is a smoked wagyu beef frank, toaster pretzel roll, candied bacon crumble, apple cider gastrique and crispy shallots and to me, there's nothing more iconic than a hotdog when you think of baseball. So we put this hotdog on a pretzel roll, Philadelphia's known for their pretzels, apple cider gastrique pays homage to PA's agricultural heritage, candied bacon speaks to America's love of sweet and savory combinations, crispy shallots replace yellow onions and add a chef's driven element to the dish, wagyu hotdog replaces this additional ballpark dog and adds a layer of premium elegance. It's a really good hotdog, presents well, packed with flavor.
The next item is the Liberty Stack. The Liberty Stack is a buttermilk brined hot chicken thigh, brown butter, maple glazed donut, charred peach bourbon compote, aged cheddar and pickle Fresnos. And this is inspired by growing American culinary tradition of fried chicken and sweet breakfast flavors. Think chicken and waffles but with something playful and indulgent.
Next time item is Revolutionary Rib Melt. It's a shortbread, aged provolone, charred onion jam, fried peppers, pickle butter, pressed in a ciabatta roll. When we started developing the Grand Slam Pres, the goal wasn't to create another cheesesteak, instead, we wanted to create a dish that pays respect to their heritage while bringing a premium chef-driven perspective to baseball's biggest advance.
And the last but not least, desserts for last Betsy Sundae, it's a banana pudding, vanilla soft serve, crushed vanilla wafers, peanut brittle, hot fudge, strawberry sauce, toasted marshmallow cloud, red and white sprinkles. A lot going on on that sundae. There's a lot going on. With Betsy Sundae, we wanted to create a dessert that felt universally American while still carrying a subtle regional influence. The main component of the dish is banana pudding, one of America's most recognizable comfort desserts. No matter where fans are traveling from, there's a good chance they'll recognize and connect with these flavors.
That all sounds delectable.
So, I mean, I can't wait to get to the ballpark for these. But here's the big question. What was the winning dish? So this is our big reveal week. Chef Vonnie, can you give us the moment that we've been waiting for?
Of course I can. Betsy Sundae came out on top.
Huzzah, banana pudding for the win.
But I will say it was close, right? I mean, all of the voting in every round of the vote seems like we came up with some winners because it was hard for the people to choose. But we're excited to bring this dessert the ballpark.
I think that just sounds absolutely spectacular. Where can the fans find this?
Yeah, so these items can be found over on the main concourse in our left field plaza by the left field gate. Very popular area of the ballpark. A lot of great locations over there, including Bulls BBQ. So it's going to be a hopping area for All-Star.
And Kevin, beyond All-Star Week, this has been a remarkable summer at Citizens Bank Park as we've alluded to previously. What else is on the events' calendar that fans should have on their radar?
It's, yes, very busy summer, like we said before. We have a sold out concert coming up this week on Friday night. We're sold out with Noah Kahan just a couple weeks before All-Star. Then we have obviously the All-Star Week with all the events. And right after that, we go into a nine-game homestand with the Mets, Dodgers, and Yankees. So we come right out of All-Star with one day, turn the billing back over for regular Major League Baseball. So busy summer. And one thing to go back to with the preparation side, we'll have probably 1,200 event day employees in for All-Star. That's food and beverage, cleaning, but also merchandise. We run all the merchandise here with the Phillies as well. So we're in charge of all of the All-Star merchandise, which has been a multi-year process as well with the new locations and all the merchandise that has come in for All-Star.
So it's not just the events itself, but it's the planning and the execution and the storage for everything for All-Star. So it's been a very interesting summer. And we do joke around that we are a catering hall that plays 81 baseball games a year. As Vonnie would alluded to, we do hundreds and hundreds of catering events here every year. Weddings, trade shows, bar mitzvahs, company events, galas, fundraising events. So we have catering literally every day, year round, and our store's open year round. So the sports complex never sleeps.
That is true. My daughter's prom was at Citizens Bank Park.
Yes. We've had a lot of proms here.
My whole family will be back when the Phils come back for the game on July 18th-
... and I will attest that the merchandise is spectacular this year. So it's just been a banging summer basically. Alicia, is there anything else?
Oh, yeah. I was going to say actually the thing I think is also really fun is that we are taking Philadelphia out of Philly as well because we are also providing the food and beverage for the Field of Dreams game for the MLB out in the cornfields in Iowa for the third year and it is very exciting that we have the Phillies playing in that game this year. So our Citizens Bank Park team will get maybe one day of rest while they go out to Iowa.
All right. Well, to wrap this up though, I'm going to put each of you on the spot. If you could only eat one thing at Citizens Bank Park during All-Star Week, just one, what would that be?
I mean, I wouldn't be the true marketing professional that I am if I didn't say that of course I'm going to go eat the Betsy Sundae.
I'm going to eat the Betsy Sundae too. Chef Vonnie, what would you pick if you could only eat one?
It's a tough question to ask the chef. Ask me which of my children are my favorite, right? Tough question for a chef. But since we're going to get a lot of national and international visitors, we're in Philadelphia, right? So I think, hate to say it, but a cheesesteak if you're coming from out of town, all right? You can't come to Philadelphia without trying a cheesesteak. So I had to stick with a local iconic sandwich.
Cheesesteak at Citizens Bank Park is legit. I say that as a Philadelphian, not as a person of Aramark. And Kevin, how about you? Your turn to be on the spot.
My item will be more about timing and convenience. So probably eating on the move, which then limits my item of choice. So if I have one minute, I'll probably swing by, grab a hotdog and keep going. If I have two or three minutes, I'll probably grab a slice of Manco & Manco Pizza and keep moving, but I doubt I'll have time to sit down and enjoy a full meal for about a week or so.
Well, I mean, I will say I'm a fast walker and I have a hard time keeping up with Kevin.
Well, for me, it's not a ballgame until I've had a hotdog.
True. I also agree with that. You always have to.
All right. Well, Major League Baseball All-Star Week at Citizens Bank Park runs July 10th through the 14th of 2026. The winning fan voted dish will be available throughout the week. So get your tickets, bring your appetite and let Aramark take care of the rest. If you'd like to know more, visit our newsroom on aramark.com to access more information. Chef Vonnie, Alicia, Kevin, it was a delight to have you on the podcast and I hope our Mark This! listeners have a chance to join the fun.
Mark This: Episode 46, All-Star Eats
Host: Heather Dotchel, Corporate Communications:
Vonnie Negron, Executive Chef, Citizens Bank Park, Aramark Sports+Entertainment
Kevin Tedesco, General Manager, Citizens Bank Park, Aramark Sports+Entertainment
Alicia Woznicki, Vice President, Aramark Sports+Entertainment
It's time to Mark This! A podcast in which we peel back the corporate curtain to reveal the cool and innovative people, programs, and projects that are happening all over Aramark's varied lines of business.
I'm Heather Dotchel. As a member of Aramark's communications team, I see and hear amazing things that are happening across our company every day. These remarkable initiatives happen because we have remarkable people behind them, building opportunity, building innovation, and building community.
Philadelphia is about to become the center of the baseball universe. MLB All-Star Week 2026 is arriving at Citizens Bank Park and Aramark is bringing the heat both on the grill and in the stands. We are sitting down with Citizens Bank Park general manager, Kevin Tedesco and Executive Chef Vonnie, along with S&E Vice President Alicia Woznicki to talk about what it means to host the Midsummer Classic, a summer packed with unforgettable events and the fan voted dish that's going to define the week.
We are thrilled to welcome the three of you to the podcast. It's quite a summer here in Philadelphia. Kevin, before we get started, can you tell us a little bit about how you came to your current position?
Yeah. Well, thank you for having us and this is my 28th year with Aramark. My first year at Veterans Stadium was actually in 1997 with a company called Ogden, which Aramark eventually purchased. I went to the [inaudible 00:01:42] in 1998 through 2001. I came back to the sports complex in 2001. We closed Veterans Stadium and I was part of the opening team at Citizens Bank Park running concessions. I went to Lincoln Financial Field as a general manager after the World Series in 2008 and stayed there through the 2011 series, came back to the ballpark as a GM and have been here ever since.
Excellent. Chef Vonnie, what does your career path look like?
A little different than Kevin's. Just slightly different than Kevin's. I've been in the industry for a little over 40 years. I started my career out in Philadelphia in small local restaurants, a la carte restaurants, before I turned my attention to hotels, larger banquet spaces, catering hotels, banquet halls. Then I decided 21 years ago to take a deep dive into Aramark and I spent five years at the Wells Fargo Center, five years at Lincoln Financial Field and I've been with Kevin here at the ballpark going on my 12th season. So I've been fortunate enough to... My entire Aramark career has been in the parking lot in the city that I grew up in with my favorite sports teams.
And most of it with me. So Vonnie and I worked together at Lincoln Financial Field. When I got there in '09, I came over here to the ballpark and Vonnie came with me. We're an old married couple at this point.
Now, Alicia, I'm not sure what to say after that, but can you please tell our audience a little bit about yourself too?
Well, I have been with Aramark for 11 years, so I've had the pleasure of working with Kevin and Vonnie for that entire time. Obviously not going back quite as far, but prior to working at Aramark Sports & Entertainment, I spent the majority of my career in QSR and fast casual around brand strategy. And prior to that, spent some time in nonprofit. I'm also based here in Philadelphia, born and raised. So it's very fun when our hometown is hosting such a monumental event that we get to be a part of.
And also as a Philadelphian, I feel the need at this point to say go Phils, go birds.
Kevin, let's set the scene. The 2026 MLB All-Star Game is coming to Philadelphia on July 14th. What does it mean for Citizens Bank Park and for your team to host baseball's biggest night?
It's great. We've kind of known about this for a long time. We found out much earlier than you typically do when you host an All-Star Game. We kind of had an inkling even when we opened the ballpark up in 2004 when we did not have an All-Star Game the first few years. Typically, new ballparks get the All-Star Game. We kind of knew we were going to have it in 2026. Obviously we had it in '76, '96, and now '26. And for me, yeah, and the team, like I said, it's the hometown, born in Philadelphia, grew up across the bridge in South Jersey. We are looking forward to it. We're going to be the center of the baseball world for about a week. Everybody thinks it is just, it's the All-Star game. It's actually a lot more than that.
There's a whole litany of events leading up to the All-Star Game and it's been many years of meetings. Just got off of a call with Major League Baseball a few minutes ago, have another one coming up at noon. So we're looking forward to it. We're fortunate with the Phillies that we sell 40,000 tickets a night. So for us to ramp up, it's similar to what we've done for the World Series. We've all worked in the sports complex here for a very long time. We have global soccer right next door happening as we speak this whole month. This is probably the busiest sports complex in the world and we're looking forward to showing off. We do like showing off our ballpark, and this is one of the ones where the whole world will stop and watch what we're doing. So yeah, we're excited actually.
So Kevin, as you mentioned, this isn't just one game. It's an entire week of events from July 10th through July 14th, including the HBCU Swingman Classic, the All-Star Futures Game, MLBx, and the Home Run Derby. From an operations standpoint, how do you prepare for something this massive?
Yeah, they're distinctly different events. So our Friday event, HBCU Classic, we'll have a nice crowd in the ballpark. We're using that as a mini dry run, smaller event. Then we roll into the Sunday Futures Game and all the tickets are out for that game as well. So we roll Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Sunday being the Futures Game with the MLBx afterwards. So that's an afternoon event. So that will be a big one for us. And then obviously the Derby and the All-Star Game. There are two distinctly different events, Monday and Tuesday, whereas Monday, I hate this, it's a party. It's a different atmosphere. It's a fun event. It's all eyes when the home run hitters. It's a different festive event. The game itself is the tried and true, the pageantry. It's a really neat event. We went down to the event last year in Atlanta with the Phillies and we obviously have hosted All-Star Games in different Aramark accounts over the years. We've worked them.
So we have been to this event before. We have hosted this event before with Aramark, but here in Philadelphia, 2026, 250, there's a lot going on, a lot to do and we get to use the ballpark as that center of attention for basically the entire world for a few days. But not just the ballpark. Down the street we have the Philadelphia Convention Center. They're hosting Fan Fest. We have the red carpet event downtown. The draft is downtown. So some places, depending on where you are in the country, you may have events with different companies. Aramark is doing everything from the sports complex down to the convention center. So Aramark really has the entire All-Star under their umbrella this week. So it's not just the ballpark, it's also the convention center. And then obviously the world headquarters are a few blocks away as well. So that adds a whole nother element to hosting the All-Star and the All-Star festivities.
Chef Vonnie, let's talk food. All-Star Week means feeding fans from all over the country. People who may be visiting Citizens Bank Park for the very first time. And on a side note, I would love to visit Citizens Bank Park for the very first time again. It's my family's favorite place to attend an event. How does that change the way you think about the menu and the culinary experience you want to create?
Yeah, of course. We're on the world stage. We're on the national stage, right? And Philadelphia has a great food culture. And with visitors coming from across the country, across the world, I want to showcase what we do well in Philadelphia as well as elevating some of the experiences, right? So we want to do what we do well, show off to the world, and also show our culinary chops a little bit too. So with that being said, we started playing last year when we knew what was happening, when we started writing menus. We increased our sweet menu by 12, 13 items, added some elevated items to that sweet menu. We also, this year, are partnering with some of the best chefs in the city to showcase them during the All-Star Game. We showcased some of the chefs one chef per homestead leading up to the All-Star Game. For the All-Star Game, we're going to have our All-Star chefs that are going to be participating and we're going to be presenting their items to the fans and our guests.
And speaking of menus and the food, this year, Aramark and Major League Baseball did something special by letting fans vote on a signature dish for All-Star Week. Alicia, this is the first time that fans have had an opportunity to do that. What does this say about Aramark's focus on putting fans at the center of the experience?
Yeah, I mean, I think for us, we keep saying that the stars aligned for this opportunity, right? We have America's 250th birthday in the birthplace of our nation and the All-Star Game is really leaning into that. And we though, what better way to celebrate the democracy that we have by letting the fans actually decide what they're going to eat at the All-Star Game the same way they get to vote for their favorite players. So I think for us, this just felt like so serendipitous, especially considering we're also celebrating a major birthday here at Aramark with our 90th.
So we really wanted to lean in and do something that reminded people really about all the different things that Aramark is capable of and the fact that we are truly on the world stage, especially this summer between this international soccer. We have the All-Star Game here, we have a bunch of events that we're activating around all of those things that really are bringing the city together and the world to Philadelphia. And so it just felt like a really great time to do something different. And I have to say a big thank you to Kevin and Vonnie as well as our partners at the Phillies and our partners at the MLB, because it was really exciting that we had this idea of how could we do something bigger than just featuring some cool new items at the building, but really trying to make the fans a part of it.
So it was really a collaborative effort. We did a lot of development work together. We brought the MLB to our HQ. They came around the city with us to see how we drew local inspiration and they created some really great content that will air around and during the game to talk about this really unique promotion. So it was a lot of fun to put together and I'm so excited to see how people react when they can actually purchase the products in the stadium.
So let's dig into the food. Chef Vonnie, let's talk about the four contenders that fans voted on. We had the Declaration Dog, the Liberty Stack, the Revolutionary Rib Melt, and Betsy's Banana Ice Cream Sundae. Walk us through what inspired these dishes because these are not your typical ballpark bites. Vonnie, how intentional was that Philadelphia meets Americana theme, especially with the city celebrating the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence this year?
Yeah, it's very important. We're in Philadelphia, the birthplace of the nation. So there's a lot of traditions here. A lot of iconic foods that came out of this area. So obviously when you're at a ballpark you want a good hotdog. So the Declaration Dog is a smoked wagyu beef frank, toaster pretzel roll, candied bacon crumble, apple cider gastrique and crispy shallots and to me, there's nothing more iconic than a hotdog when you think of baseball. So we put this hotdog on a pretzel roll, Philadelphia's known for their pretzels, apple cider gastrique pays homage to PA's agricultural heritage, candied bacon speaks to America's love of sweet and savory combinations, crispy shallots replace yellow onions and add a chef's driven element to the dish, wagyu hotdog replaces this additional ballpark dog and adds a layer of premium elegance. It's a really good hotdog, presents well, packed with flavor.
The next item is the Liberty Stack. The Liberty Stack is a buttermilk brined hot chicken thigh, brown butter, maple glazed donut, charred peach bourbon compote, aged cheddar and pickle Fresnos. And this is inspired by growing American culinary tradition of fried chicken and sweet breakfast flavors. Think chicken and waffles but with something playful and indulgent.
Next time item is Revolutionary Rib Melt. It's a shortbread, aged provolone, charred onion jam, fried peppers, pickle butter, pressed in a ciabatta roll. When we started developing the Grand Slam Pres, the goal wasn't to create another cheesesteak, instead, we wanted to create a dish that pays respect to their heritage while bringing a premium chef-driven perspective to baseball's biggest advance.
And the last but not least, desserts for last Betsy Sundae, it's a banana pudding, vanilla soft serve, crushed vanilla wafers, peanut brittle, hot fudge, strawberry sauce, toasted marshmallow cloud, red and white sprinkles. A lot going on on that sundae. There's a lot going on. With Betsy Sundae, we wanted to create a dessert that felt universally American while still carrying a subtle regional influence. The main component of the dish is banana pudding, one of America's most recognizable comfort desserts. No matter where fans are traveling from, there's a good chance they'll recognize and connect with these flavors.
That all sounds delectable.
So, I mean, I can't wait to get to the ballpark for these. But here's the big question. What was the winning dish? So this is our big reveal week. Chef Vonnie, can you give us the moment that we've been waiting for?
Of course I can. Betsy Sundae came out on top.
Huzzah, banana pudding for the win.
But I will say it was close, right? I mean, all of the voting in every round of the vote seems like we came up with some winners because it was hard for the people to choose. But we're excited to bring this dessert the ballpark.
I think that just sounds absolutely spectacular. Where can the fans find this?
Yeah, so these items can be found over on the main concourse in our left field plaza by the left field gate. Very popular area of the ballpark. A lot of great locations over there, including Bulls BBQ. So it's going to be a hopping area for All-Star.
And Kevin, beyond All-Star Week, this has been a remarkable summer at Citizens Bank Park as we've alluded to previously. What else is on the events' calendar that fans should have on their radar?
It's, yes, very busy summer, like we said before. We have a sold out concert coming up this week on Friday night. We're sold out with Noah Kahan just a couple weeks before All-Star. Then we have obviously the All-Star Week with all the events. And right after that, we go into a nine-game homestand with the Mets, Dodgers, and Yankees. So we come right out of All-Star with one day, turn the billing back over for regular Major League Baseball. So busy summer. And one thing to go back to with the preparation side, we'll have probably 1,200 event day employees in for All-Star. That's food and beverage, cleaning, but also merchandise. We run all the merchandise here with the Phillies as well. So we're in charge of all of the All-Star merchandise, which has been a multi-year process as well with the new locations and all the merchandise that has come in for All-Star.
So it's not just the events itself, but it's the planning and the execution and the storage for everything for All-Star. So it's been a very interesting summer. And we do joke around that we are a catering hall that plays 81 baseball games a year. As Vonnie would alluded to, we do hundreds and hundreds of catering events here every year. Weddings, trade shows, bar mitzvahs, company events, galas, fundraising events. So we have catering literally every day, year round, and our store's open year round. So the sports complex never sleeps.
That is true. My daughter's prom was at Citizens Bank Park.
Yes. We've had a lot of proms here.
My whole family will be back when the Phils come back for the game on July 18th-
... and I will attest that the merchandise is spectacular this year. So it's just been a banging summer basically. Alicia, is there anything else?
Oh, yeah. I was going to say actually the thing I think is also really fun is that we are taking Philadelphia out of Philly as well because we are also providing the food and beverage for the Field of Dreams game for the MLB out in the cornfields in Iowa for the third year and it is very exciting that we have the Phillies playing in that game this year. So our Citizens Bank Park team will get maybe one day of rest while they go out to Iowa.
All right. Well, to wrap this up though, I'm going to put each of you on the spot. If you could only eat one thing at Citizens Bank Park during All-Star Week, just one, what would that be?
I mean, I wouldn't be the true marketing professional that I am if I didn't say that of course I'm going to go eat the Betsy Sundae.
I'm going to eat the Betsy Sundae too. Chef Vonnie, what would you pick if you could only eat one?
It's a tough question to ask the chef. Ask me which of my children are my favorite, right? Tough question for a chef. But since we're going to get a lot of national and international visitors, we're in Philadelphia, right? So I think, hate to say it, but a cheesesteak if you're coming from out of town, all right? You can't come to Philadelphia without trying a cheesesteak. So I had to stick with a local iconic sandwich.
Cheesesteak at Citizens Bank Park is legit. I say that as a Philadelphian, not as a person of Aramark. And Kevin, how about you? Your turn to be on the spot.
My item will be more about timing and convenience. So probably eating on the move, which then limits my item of choice. So if I have one minute, I'll probably swing by, grab a hotdog and keep going. If I have two or three minutes, I'll probably grab a slice of Manco & Manco Pizza and keep moving, but I doubt I'll have time to sit down and enjoy a full meal for about a week or so.
Well, I mean, I will say I'm a fast walker and I have a hard time keeping up with Kevin.
Well, for me, it's not a ballgame until I've had a hotdog.
True. I also agree with that. You always have to.
All right. Well, Major League Baseball All-Star Week at Citizens Bank Park runs July 10th through the 14th of 2026. The winning fan voted dish will be available throughout the week. So get your tickets, bring your appetite and let Aramark take care of the rest. If you'd like to know more, visit our newsroom on aramark.com to access more information. Chef Vonnie, Alicia, Kevin, it was a delight to have you on the podcast and I hope our Mark This! listeners have a chance to join the fun.
