ARAMARK, the Philadelphia-based managed services provider at the Astrodome and the George R. Brown Convention Center and Theater District in Houston, has been challenged with serving the World Energy Council's 8,000 guests throughout their week-long event including daily press breakfasts, meeting room and booth service catering, coffee breaks and boxed lunches, keynote and VIP session receptions and a gala sit-down banquet at the Astrodome for over 4,000. And both the food and the service need to be perfect.

So how does ARAMARK pull this off?

"By setting up the gala sit-down dinner as seven different dinner parties -- or zones -- for 800 people each, it becomes much easier to handle," according to Mark Williams, ARAMARK's Regional Vice President based in Houston. "There will be an ARAMARK senior manager and executive chef assigned to each zone to oversee the operation. In all, over 75 ARAMARK managers and chefs from the Houston area and from ARAMARK accounts around the country will be descending on the city to help manage the event." Besides the daunting task of serving thousands of people at the same time, the culinary challenges are also great.

"Because many of the guests, including the OPEC oil ministers, have specific religious dietary restrictions, the food choices need to be sensitive to their needs," said Manuel Arredondo, ARAMARK Executive Chef at the Houston Astrodome Complex and the manager who will be coordinating the food and beverage logistics of the evening including the menu planning. "Our chefs will be preparing both a Black Angus filet mignon and a grilled chicken breast with cilantro as entrees, as well as a very high-end vegetarian plate so that every guest will feel comfortable with both the cuisine and the ambiance of the entire evening."

Because the kitchens at the Astrodome are not equipped to handle this kind of volume, ARAMARK is building temporary full-service kitchens on the main service level of the Astrodome. Construction of the kitchens will began September 10, allowing only four days of construction prior to the event. Culinary preparations for the dinner began on September 14 and final preparation will continue right up until the meal is served on Thursday night.

"This is the kind of event that allows ARAMARK to showcase it's talents," said Joe Pistone, ARAMARK's Area President for Sports Entertainment. "For many years we have served everyone from Olympic athletes to world leaders and every single day we serve 15 million people around the world. This event will be another chance for us to do what we do best."

In the Houston area, in addition to the services provided at the Astrodome and the Convention Center, ARAMARK provides managed services to, among others, the Houston Independent School District and Union Texas Petroleum.

ARAMARK's Sports and Entertainment division is a leading provider of food, recreational activities, lodging, and merchandise services to more than 50 million people annually at more than 70 professional sports facilities, 18 convention centers, and national and state parks, resorts and tourist attractions. ARAMARK Corporation, headquartered in Philadelphia, is a $6.3-billion world leader in providing managed services -- food, clothing, education, recreation and facility services -- to the business, government, education and healthcare markets. ARAMARK has over 160,000 employees serving 15 million people at 500,000 locations in 11 countries every day.