The 5-5 New Orleans Saints are atop the NFC South going into the bye week. That's the good news. However, this team will need better home cooking and less hostile Cesars Superdome crowds if they are to make a playoff run. Though the product on the field is a bit hard to digest at times, the new food and beverage options have been a hit with the fans thanks to Executive Chef Lenny Martinson’s overhaul this offseason. Whether it be a College Football Playoff Game or the 2025 Super Bowl, it appears at least one part of the game-day operation is ready for primetime pressure.

A large part of the culinary success this season is because “We have variety. We even have healthy options, vegan options, and it’s all really good… We have different flavor profiles, truly something for everybody,” Chef Martinson explained during our chat. The Saints on the field have the same type of ingredients, but they’ve yet to put together a coherent dish outside of a 34-0 win against the New England Patriots.

The Connecticut-born chef is in the middle of his 16th Saints season in the city and he goes to great lengths to respect New Orleans' traditions and reputation. Most of the menu is made in-house or sourced locally, such as “making our own gourmet pickles for the burgers. It’s a good burger but now it’s great with the attention to detail. We’ve kind of taken things a step up and we’re really excited about that,” Martinson said.

Coming from a role overseeing the Walt Disney World menu, Martinson treats the Superdome as a big theme park under one roof. The difference is “when you’re winning, you can feel the vibe and even our cooks get excited. It's unlike any other experience.”

Most of the hard work behind the scenes goes unnoticed on gameday. Fans are focused on the game after all, but Martinson shared, “I think people think everybody can cook. And everybody can, but to do it on this level and this magnitude, it's a challenge. It takes a team, a total team effort. Look at sports. Nobody wins the Super Bowl by themselves. I can't do this by myself. It's all it's a total team effort.”

“I tell everybody I'm the bus driver, my job is to get you to the game on time. It's the kitchen teams that are doing the heavy lifting. It's the cooks on the range that are making the meals. I think sometimes they're underappreciated. Sometimes I don't think people realize what goes into it all. You know, for us, the Saints game is a 12- to 14-hour day,” added Martinson.

Some recently added menu items made the leap from part-time player to a featured role. “We did the burnt ends a few years ago for Alabama at the Sugar Bowl. We wanted to incorporate and it goes with our homemade white barbecue sauce,” Martinson explained. “Visiting fans want to taste New Orleans while in the Superdome, that’s why “you see the crawfish bread, the boom-boom shrimp tacos, and stuff like that with a New Orleans feel to it. This is not fast food, this is good food fast.”

The chef stressed this makeover is also a huge investment into local businesses since “The burger is local. The crawfish is local and, along with the shrimp po-boy, a fan favorite… We’re going through 1800 pounds of shrimp per game, and that’s just for the po-boy… and we shop local for the bread. Leidenheimer [Baking Co] is what, two miles down the road. They’ve been here since 1869 and in my opinion have the best bread, the best pistolettes. It’s a landmark. We’d be in trouble if we didn’t use them.”

These Saints will be in trouble if they continue to drop winnable games but the season is not over yet. There is still reason to believe they can win the NFC South. Every remaining game is against NFC foes. Four games are versus divisional rivals. The race for a playoff spot is tight enough the tension can be felt back in the kitchen on every play.

Who Dat Nation might be worried about this season but for Martinson, “It's exciting. It's fun. I think this major project of renovating the Dome, it's a whole new field. It looks like a great, you know, I think it's ready for a Super Bowl. It deserves our best and that's one of the things I've tried to instill in our team. You know, we don't want to just be okay, we want to take it to the next level because okay, is not actually okay.”