'Top Chef' films at Brewers' ballpark, celebrates local fare

MILWAUKEE -- Season 21 of the Bravo show “Top Chef” casts a spotlight on all things Wisconsin, with contestants tackling everything from the state’s supper club culture to Door County cherries to, yes, cheese. So when American Family Field played host for Episode 7, which aired Wednesday night, chefs prepared dishes to “elevate” some core ballpark fare: The bratwurst, Polish sausage, Italian sausage, hot dog and chorizo.

Or, as they’re more commonly known, the Famous Racing Sausages.

Milwaukee’s racers debuted in their dot-matrix glory as a scoreboard feature at County Stadium before coming to life on June 27, 1993, in a real, live footrace. In the years since, Milwaukee’s sausage race has been copied all across Major League Baseball, from the pierogies in Pittsburgh to the presidents in Washington D.C.

Now, MLB’s original racers are getting some television airtime.

“Bravo did such a beautiful job,” said Brewers chief operating officer Marti Wronski, a longtime Top Chef devotee who oversaw the collaboration. “They showcased so many cool elements of Milwaukee, the Brewers' brand and the food scene. They made us look like who we are, not just the stereotypes of the state.”

The Brewers’ involvement dates to last summer, as Bravo was planning season 21 with the State of Wisconsin and Visit Milwaukee, the city’s tourism bureau.

MLB supported the idea and the Brewers loved the premise. They also had a bit of network television experience, since The Colbert Show visited in 2021. A date was agreed upon for filming: Sept. 5, 2023, the day after Labor Day, while the team was playing in Pittsburgh.

But pulling it off proved tricky. Because Bravo so closely protects the secrecy of the competition, the Brewers and the ballpark concessionaire (Delaware North), each had to sign extensive non-disclosure agreements. To make them work, it meant clearing the ballpark of all employees except those required to pull off the shoot.

That’s more difficult than it sounds when you’re talking about a facility as huge as American Family Field. Only 10 or so team employees knew what was taking place.

“Look around this place and all the people who work here,” Wronski said. “Look at all of the vendors walking around, the cleaning people, our own employees. We couldn’t talk to our partners about it. Even my own son -- he loves Top Chef -- and when they previewed this episode a couple of weeks ago, he looked at me like, ‘What the heck, mom?’

“But we just couldn’t go there. The day they were going to film, we banned every employee from the ballpark and we couldn’t say why.”

It was a success.

The “cheftestants” began their prep work in the stadium kitchens and finished their offerings out on the field in front of a large panel of judges that included American Family Field’s executive chef, Loren Rue; Milwaukee restaurateur Omar Shaikh, whose 3rd Street Market Hall opened an annex at American Family Field this year; and former National League MVP Ryan Braun -- himself a foodie and a former restaurateur who called the day “a unique life experience.”

“My wife and kids are huge fans of Top Chef, which was a big part of my motivation to participate in the show,” Braun said. “I hope all the episodes shine a positive light on the food scene and the many great restaurants in the state of Wisconsin.”

Wronski watched from an office window above as the Racing Sausages raced, with the order of finish determining the order in which each course was served. But while Bravo offered a sneak peek to the club before Wednesday’s episode aired, Wronski passed.

She opted instead to watch live with her family.

“It was such a cool opportunity for us to combine so many things, and to showcase what we’ve got going on,” Wronski said. “This is a show that’s been iconic for a long time. It’s a feel-good show. The reason I’ve watched Top Chef so long is it was something I could always watch with my kids. It was so exciting for us.”