For the past three years, the Texas A&M University football team has descended upon the banquet room at Traditions Club in Bryan, Texas on Fridays before every home game, for a full buffet of strength-building, soul-satisfying and downright delicious food.
Traditions Club has always had a strong relationship with A&M, with the club and affiliated residential community located just minutes from the school’s campus in College Station, Texas, and its two Nicklaus-designed courses serving as home base for the Aggies’ men’s and women’s golf teams.
THE GOAL: Build on an already strong partnership between Texas A&M University and the Traditions Club, while creating a new club tradition. |
So when the A&M football program approached Executive Chef Michael Menchaca about hosting the team for pre-game dinners three years ago, Menchaca jumped at the opportunity, and began to work with the team’s nutritionist to prepare a full buffet of team favorites each season.
The menus prepared by Menchaca and his team of cooks feature everything from canned green beans (a team favorite) to a salty chicken noodle soup, rib eye steak, lasagna, molten chocolate lava cake and soft-serve Blue Bell ice cream.
“It took me a season to see what they liked and didn’t like,” says Menchaca, who has been at the club for five years. “I’ve also had help from the Executive Chef at the [on-campus] complex where they eat most of their meals. We’ve developed a friendship that has helped both of us refine our menus.”
After each season, the Traditions Club’s event coordinator joins Menchaca and the team’s nutritionist to discuss what might need to be changed or added for the upcoming year. There are always a few must-haves on the menu, but for the most part—as long as Menchaca serves traditional, home-style fare that isn’t fried or overly unhealthy—everyone is happy.
The dinners are served at either 5 or 6 p.m., depending on the next day’s game time, to roughly 125 players and coaches in just less than one hour. Coaches eat first, followed by players in a seniors-first rotation. The club’s banquet rooms are set up for the whirlwind meal with eight-top round tables that are vigilantly positioned in the exact same spot each week, so as not to mess with any superstitions.
After dinner, a rope line (see photos above) is set up for the team as they leave the club, giving members and their families a chance to exchange hand slaps with the players while giving the traditional cry of “Gig ‘em, Aggies!”
After the team leaves, though, the event continues, with a special dinner for members, featuring a menu that is a combination of what the team ate, as well as a sampling of some traditional dishes from the opposing team’s region.
The club also hosts live Texas bands for each specific game, and former yell leaders from the school are brought in to perform several cheers, before ending with the Aggie War Hymn.
Typically, the club hosts between 250 and 300 members during these events. But for big games, such as when the Aggies played rival Louisiana State University (with Cajun specialties as part of the menu), the number can jump to 450.
The Traditions Club staff has 45 minutes to flip the banquet room into a member-friendly layout for the larger groups. “Action stations play a big role in the success of these events,” says Menchaca. “They help us to spread members throughout the room, so we don’t overload any space.
“These team meals have become a really big part of our club,” Menchaca adds. “For a school with as much history as [Texas A&M], we’re honored to be part of a new tradition for them—and for us.”
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