Metro Event Center

The Chili and Cornbread Served During ‘Oklahoma!’ Serve a Deep Purpose | Eater

"The company's catering operation supplies the vegetarian, spicy poblano chili served at every performance of the revival, preparing it in a 55-gallon boiler at a kitchen a few blocks from the theater and producing roughly eight gallons (about 285 servings) per show. The chili—made with three types of beans, wheatberries, and kale—was chosen for practicality and broader audience appeal; cornbread is baked, cut into neat cubes, and stacked in straw baskets. Food is transported to the theater, kept warm in crock pots placed on stage, and distributed cup by cup during the 12-minute intermission on a first-come, first-served basis, making the dish both sustenance and a theatrical prop (most notably when a character lifts a crock-pot lid in a suggestive moment). The catering director engineered the logistics to keep the food hot and serviceable, and hopes the program’s popularity will expand how people think about using food to deepen immersive theater experiences." - Jaya Saxena