TORONTO - Toronto FC unveiled its new lineup ahead of Saturday's home opener and BMO Field faithful can look forward to some beefy new additions.
Off the field, that is.
The Major League Soccer club is serving up 11 new menu items at games this season, and looked south -- think slow-cooked meat --for its food inspiration. The club purchased a traditional Texas-style smoker, and tested its new fare on a handful of big-eating reporters this week.
The smoke and smells from the big-barrelled barbecue alone this season will be enough to make both foodies and footies rejoice.
"The focus is around the barbecue pit and making it a real sports barbecue atmosphere," said executive chef Tony Glitz.
There's the BBQ beef brisket sandwich, the BBQ pulled pork burger, and the smokehouse chili foot long.
And for anyone with a major league appetite, the "triple threat" is a smoky gut-stretching combination of pulled pork, grilled peameal and sliced beef brisket.
Toronto FC has kept its favourites -- and international flavour -- on the menu, with curry fries, the popular chip butty (fries on bread), and have added a chicken 'n' chip butty to this season's lineup.
Robert Bartley, head of food services for TFC owner Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, and a former executive chef at the Four Seasons Hotel, said the menu was designed through a focus group with several dozen season ticket-holders, and in collaboration with MLSE's restaurant Real Sports Bar & Grill.
"We were passionate about doing American-style barbecue, and we thought about bringing in the brand of Real Sports, purchasing a real smoker and then developing recipes," Bartley said. "We just thought it was a natural fit to an outdoor stadium."
Bartley said the cooking process will begin long before kickoff. The brisket takes 14 hours of slow cooking, while the pulled pork requires a full 18.
Toronto host the Portland Timbers in its home opener Saturday.
