April 5, 2012

Additional Information

LAWRENCE, Kan. - While athletes at the Kansas Relays look to shatter track and field  records and smash their personal bests, Kansas Athletics will look to set a record of its own, attempting to serve the world’s biggest-ever plate of nachos, as certified by the Guinness Book of World Records.

The event is scheduled to take place inside Memorial Stadium on Saturday, April 21, with service from noon – 2:30 p.m.  Organizers will start building the planned plate of nachos at 10 a.m.  It will be over 80 feet long, two feet wide and 10 inches deep, weighing in at a world-record 4,450-plus pounds. Fans with a ticket stub for the Kansas Relays and a canned food donation, or a cash donation to the LINK Kitchen, will be able to take part in the festivities, and help polish off the world-record nacho feast.  Representatives from the Kansas Department of Agriculture and Food Safety and the Guinness Book of World Records will be on hand to certify the record-breaking attempt. KU student-athletes will also help serve individual plates of the nachos to the fans.

Kansas Athletics, partnering with local restaurant The Salty Iguana and Kansas Athletics’ hospitality partner, Centerplate, is inviting fans to the Kansas Relays to help in the world-record attempt, which will raise money for the LINK kitchen, a Lawrence-based charity that feeds the hungry five days a week.

“With the event being an official Guinness World Record-breaking attempt, it definitely fits within the atmosphere of the Kansas Relays,” said Relays Meet Director Milan Donley.  “We hope to see the Lawrence community come out and be a part of history.  This world-record attempt is fun for the fans, not to mention a delicious way to help a community charity organization.

Centerplate will lead the production of the nachos, using Rico’s corn chips, ground beef, salsa, beans, nacho cheese and freshly made Pico de Gallo. Centerplate and The Salty Iguana will add their culinary expertise to make sure the nachos are fresh, flavorful and delicious for fans. They will use a total of 860 pounds of Nacho cheese topped off with 200 pounds of Salty Iguana’s famous Iguana Dip, 600 pounds of fresh salsa, tomatoes, and cilantro, 860 pounds of beef, 1,200 pounds of beans, 315 pounds of jalapenos and 600 pounds of tortilla chips for a total of 4,450 pound of mouth-watering Nachos.

“This world-record is an incredible challenge for the Centerplate team at KU, but I have total confidence that they have the skill and experience to pull it off,” said Centerplate Region Vice President Ken Frazier.  “It’s going to be a thrill to help KU get in the Guinness Book of World Records, and I think fans are going to love the nachos, too.”

About Centerplate
Centerplate crafts and delivers "Craveable Experiences. Raveable Results." in over 250 prominent entertainment, sports and convention venues across North America – annually serving over 100 million guests. Centerplate has provided event hospitality services to 15 official U.S. Presidential Inaugural Balls, 13 Super Bowls, 20 World Series, the 2010 Winter Olympic Games, and the largest plated dinner in history at the Alpha Kappa Alpha Centennial Celebration. The company was recently named the fastest growing hospitality group in the country by Nation’s Restaurant News. Visit the company online at www.centerplate.com.

About LINK Kitchen
LINK has been in existence since 1985, providing a pleasant, safe place for the hungry or lonely to share a free, nutritious meal and the companionship of one another. We believe loneliness can be as painful as hunger, companionship as powerful as love. Anyone who desires a meal is served, no questions asked. Diners are treated as our invited guests. Our focus is on food and fellowship.  www.lawrencelink.org 

The Salty Iguana
The Salty Iguana has been a longtime partner of Kansas Athletics as well as the Kansas Relays. With five locations across Lawrence and the Kansas City Metro Area, Salty Iguana is unlike any other Mexican restaurant where customers are guaranteed great food, atmosphere and most importantly, service. The Salty Iguana has teamed up with Kansas Athletics for philanthropic events around Lawrence for many years now, but perhaps none other more important than the nacho event this year that will benefit LINK Kitchen.