Make sure to bring a healthy appetite to the U.S. Open

Should you be eating a Philly cheesesteak for breakfast? It’s a culinary debate for the ages.

Dick Atzeni of Sligo, Clarion County, and his granddaughter, Hannah, certainly weren’t against it, as they chowed down on their sandwiches around 10:30 a.m. Tuesday at the U.S. Open in Oakmont.

Atzeni has been here before, having worked as a marshal in 2016, helping to manage attendees at holes and grandstands. He said he isn’t looking for any particular meals.

“I’ll probably just pick something up that’s nearby when I get hungry,” he said.

While event staff, police and public safety officials were shepherding thousands of people in and out of Oakmont Country Club on Tuesday morning, employees in kitchens all over the course were busy getting their breakfasts, lunches and dinners prepared.

Even before the official rounds start, the morning shift is plenty busy for staff in the National Grind coffee stand near the U.S. Open’s main entrance, and they worked hard to prepare.

“I personally strained about 99 gallons of cold brew,” said Cheyenne Ault. “Two of my co-workers strained about 60 gallons. Our whole back room was filled with giant buckets of cold brew.”

Barista Blake Lloyd of New Castle said his uncle was one of two vendors roasting National Grind’s coffee beans for the concession stand.

“He said he really had to do a lot of bulk roasting to get it all done in time,” Lloyd said.

Jenni Godwin and her husband, Greg, traveled from San Antonio to attend the U.S. Open, and they were sampling the local cuisine.

“We both got pepperoni rolls,” she said. “We chose the Pittsburgh Favorites concession booth. Greg was there yesterday and thought it was very good.”

But the Godwins were more interested in the golfing than the snacking.

“We’re not sure how long we’re going to stay today,” Jenni Godwin said. “We may look for something sweet a little later on.”

Staff at the Pittsburgh Favorites booth said pepperoni rolls and the shaved kielbasa sandwich were very popular.

“We have six foil pans of kielbasa in the back, at least,” one staffer said. “And that’s just for this morning.”

While Aramark food-service staff was preparing meals for gallery ticket-holders, about 100 employees from Washington, D.C.-based Ridgewells were joined by more than 700 local hires in preparing for a busy culinary week at sponsor tents and VIP areas.

“Right now, we’re making 12,000 crabcakes,” Ridgewells CEO Susan Lacz said as she strode past wooden pallets filled with crates of kosher salt, bags of salsa and oversized cans of garbanzo beans.

Lacz was making stops at several Ridgewells kitchens to ensure pantries were fully stocked and food prep was being executed properly.

“The first shift comes in at 3 a.m., and by 5 a.m. we’re off and running,” she said. “The main kitchen starts up around 7 a.m., and the second shift starts around 9 a.m.”

Higher-priced tickets which offer entry to places like sponsor tents, the Champions Pavilion and the 1895 Club also come with some higher-end food options, and a menu that changes daily.

Organizing all of that cuisine falls to executive chef Kashif Browne, who has worked at Ridgewells for 14 years — although this is his first U.S. Open.

“Up to now, my biggest event was 6,000 people,” Browne said. “This is closer to about 45,000 people per day.”

While each catered tent has its own kitchen and storage areas, the main Ridgewells kitchen is the heart of the upscale dining operation, with more than 10 refrigerated storage trailers out back and constant traffic with deliveries arriving and prepared product loading up to be sent out.

“When I first saw the kitchen, initially I thought, ‘I’m not sure I’m going to be able to do this,’ ” Browne said with a laugh. “We changed the kitchen layout probably four times on paper, and then one more time after we arrived and started setting up.”

Browne said the final layout gives him a great view of all the cold-food production, hot-food production and food-packing areas.

“Having all the logistics in place, along with a great staff, is what makes something like this possible,” he said.

Correction: Dick Atzeni served as a marshal in 2016. A previous version of the story contained incorrect information.