Durango – Gentlemen, start your ovens.
The blur of speed and metal on the Indy car- racing circuit isn’t confined to the track or the pits. Husband-and-wife culinary team Michael and Birgitte Lutfy are the chefs for the champion Andretti Green Racing Team.
Step inside the the Durango couple’s mobile kitchens and experience a dizzying pots-and- pans race lasting from sunup to dark, sometimes 14 days in a row during the Indy Racing League season, spring to fall.
The menus include everything from grilled swordfish to sponsors’ treats, such as the Oscar Mayer hot-dog cart.
“We’ll serve about 300 people in an hour and a half on race days,” Michael Lutfy says. “It’s intense. There are no breaks.”
Michael handles the entrees. Birgitte is the dessert chef, sandwich-maker and manager of a huge salad bar.
In addition to cooking breakfast, lunch and some dinners for the team, the Lutfys cater special events, including VIP parties and the occasional baby or bridal shower.
“The drivers are great, very down to earth,” Birgitte Lutfy says. “They love to joke around. And they’re not too picky.”
Those drivers are among the top names in racing: Dan Wheldon, Brian Herta, Dario Franchitti and Tony Kanaan. Co-owner Michael Andretti is a racing legend, and so is his dad, retired superstar Mario.
Team co-owner Kim Green says the Lutfys’ food is “five star,” sometimes even a little too fancy for the average crew member. But the chefs also have to please sponsors and their guests, frequently chief executives from Fortune 500 companies.
The Lutfys, who have been married since 2000, have worked for Andretti and Green since 2001. It’s been a full-time gig since mid-2002.
The Lutfys say they seldom repeat a dish during the IRL season – unless it’s a pre-race ritual, such as the lucky “driver’s pasta.” (Not too much garlic – it can parch a driver’s mouth in the 150-degree track heat.)
There are no leftovers in racing – no refrigeration on the road. So the league donates tons of surplus food to local food kitchens each season.
At every stop, the Lutfys go shopping for fresh ingredients, with a nod to local flavor.
“We don’t do Mexican in Wisconsin. We do bratwurst,” Michael Lutfy says.
And when the cooking is done, there’s more work.
“I wash my own dishes. We break down the kitchens, travel to the next race. The (hospitality) team sets up a tent, and we start all over,” he says.
The last Lutfy meal of the season was a celebratory feast Oct. 15.
The roughly 80-member Andretti Green Racing Team had a spectacular 2005 season, winning the IRL championship and the coveted Indy 500.
“It’s been very exciting to be part of this team,” Michael Lutfy says. “It’s one big family, with great chemistry.”
Green says the chefs are also championship material.
“They have the same passion in their field that our drivers have on the track.”
Staff writer Electa Draper can be reached at 970-385-0917 or edraper@denverpost.com.
