The Right People, No Matter When or Where

The Miami Grand Prix may only be 57 laps long, but it takes thousands of people, months of planning, and military-like precision to ensure a terrific fan experience and smooth event execution. Sodexo Live! applies the same precision and talent to every event, whether it's F1 racing, MLB All-Star Week, or the biggest trade shows in North America. When it comes to serving hundreds of thousands of fans at major events or providing experienced front- and back-of-house staff to seamlessly onboard new clients, Sodexo Live! has a team of traveling professionals ready to mobilize and take their expertise wherever needed.

Meet some of our talented and driven traveling team.

Chef Florence Chauvet

Chef Flo began her restaurant career in Paris and worked in London and Amsterdam before moving to the United States. After four years as the Executive Sous Chef at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center, Chef Flo opened two food trucks, bringing a French twist into the Dallas food truck scene. "When I sold the trucks after eight years, I didn't want to return to the same life I had before. I don't want to be still. I love meeting new people and having different experiences." 

Chef Flo has now been part of Sodexo Live!'s traveling culinary team for over four years and has worked events from the F1 Miami Grand Prix to Mardi Gras at the Ernest Morial Convention Center in New Orleans. "It's a different challenge every time. Everybody's got a different way of doing things in a kitchen. But at the end of the day, you're in their house. You do whatever it takes to make them shine."

On average, Chef Flo spends three weeks out of every month traveling to assist Sodexo Live! venues.

Salita started working in food and beverage in graduate school. "A friend told me I should apply for a job as a supervisor at a football stadium. I got the job and continued working part-time in the field, in addition to my daytime job teaching 18th-century British literature."

In 2021, the same friend called Salita again. "He asked if I was interested in hitting the road and taking my front-of-house experience where it's needed. I decided to see what it was about and started traveling between semesters. Eventually, that turned into full-time!"

Salita took roles as a food and beverage manager, premium supervisor, banquet assistant, bar manager, and even barista. "My background means I can do just about everything. I've been called to train and develop standards of operations, too, using my experience as a teacher."

No matter where she finds herself, Salita finds that the team at every venue does their best to maximize the ways that she can support. "The climate at Sodexo Live! venues is very friendly. I might be there for five days, I might be there one day, but I've got to figure out the building and how they operate very quickly to be effective."

Salita loves the opportunity to flex her skills while still being able to tap into her adventurous side. "I'm an adrenaline junkie, but my adrenaline comes from problem-solving."

Chef Richard Skoglund

While in vocational school to become an electrician, Chef Richard found himself cutting carrots with one of the culinary school's instructors. "He told me I could join his class that same day. A few months later, I placed in a competition, won some scholarship money, and never looked back. That was the beginning of my career." He moved to Las Vegas, working with some of the top chefs in the world, including Iron Chef Morimoto, before working as a seasonal sous chef traveling between the northeast and Florida. After taking a mobile position with the PGA, he decided to pursue a full-time career as a traveling chef. "I'm a big fan of change and constantly being challenged. You never know what you're going into until you get there."

For Chef Richard, Sodexo Live! stands out with how they support the success of team members. "I've worked for big companies, and one of the things you find is that the people at the top are nonexistent. You're left on your own to figure it out. At Sodexo Live!, they care about their chefs, and that's an amazing feeling. They're chefs at heart."

Even though the traveling team is there to support Sodexo Live! partners, the opportunities for the group to grow and learn are unparalleled. "We need to nurture the next generation of chefs. You come out of culinary with the basics, but it takes 20 years to learn what we know. How are you going to put out the next fire? The tenderloins didn't come in; what are you going to do? The whole staff didn't come in, and you have five hours to assemble a gala for 300 people. You can't teach that in college. You need to learn it on the job."