University of Michigan stadium tempts fans with new menu as college football season gets underway

University of Michigan’s stadium is kicking off college football season with a lineup of new menu items for Wolverine fans. The updated food and drink offerings were unveiled last week by Sodexo Live!, the athletic department’s hospitality partner.

Michigan Stadium’s executive chef, Chris Carr, created the menu, which covers everything from an appetizer of Sweet Chili Chicken Lollipops to Caramel Apple Tarts for dessert. The items are designed to feed game watchers from the main concourse to the premium suites, including catering spreads for private parties.

Chef Carr expanded the meaty lineup with Bourbon BBQ Brisket, featuring sliced hardwood-smoked brisket finished with a bourbon barbecue glaze, herb-roasted fingerling sweet potatoes, caramelized shallots and roasted Brussels sprouts. Sandwich aficionados can grab the Smoked Turkey Brie, a baguette stacked with sliced smoked turkey, brie cheese, baby kale and cranberry aioli.

On the plant-based side, there’s the Southwest Quinoa Salad, a toss of tri-colored quinoa, roasted red peppers, black beans, dairy-free cheese, cilantro and roasted heirloom grape tomatoes with a charred poblano vinaigrette. And new for dessert is a Caramel Apple Tart made with local Michigan apples and served on a bed of house-spiced cider caramel in a flaky tart shell.

Chef Carr taps into local products for the menu; these new Caramel Apple Tarts are made with Michigan apples./Photo courtesy of Sodexo Live!

Chef Carr also makes it a priority to tap into the local food scene. The menu includes a new local partnership with Fairway Packaging Co. to provide a selection of all-natural meats. Three popular operators from the area are also back this season—Barry’s Bagels, Washtenaw Dairy and Dearborn Sausage Co.

“Our partnership with Sodexo Live! helps us continue to provide our fans with an all-around great time when coming out to cheer on any of our teams," Kurt Svoboda, associate athletic director at the University of Michigan, said in a statement. “Chef Carr’s new menu items will really resonate with Wolverine Nation and give visitors one more thing to look forward to this season.”

Sodexo Live! is also committed to working with Michigan Stadium on its zero-waste initiatives, in sync with the university’s sustainability goals to reduce waste sent to landfills by 40% and strengthen the sustainability culture on campus.