Business View Magazine | September 2022

171 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 9, ISSUE 9 apart is the food. Run by Sodexo Live! and Chef Ismael Lasalle, the Convention Center’s cuisine is a step above the rest. “When it comes to convention center food, a lot of people think of rubber chicken or frozen food, but we are nowhere near that at all,” Medina says. “We are on par, and we strive to be on par with world class hotels and restaurants and dining options that you become accustomed to when you travel to high-end luxury brands. ” Sodexo Live! tries to source its food from a 250- mile radius of the MBCC, and puts a priority on choosing women-owned or minority-owned local businesses, as well as introducing local flavors into their meals. “We want to infuse the flavor of the area,” Medina explains. “We’re so close to the Caribbean, so close to Latin America, that a lot of that is influenced. Miami is known for its strong Cuban culture. I was born and raised in Miami and I have a strong passion to make sure that the flavors are authentic, just like my grandma made. Ismael is the same way, and we make sure that we source and incorporate authentic dishes when we do that.” Sodexo Live! also subcontracts from local restaurants, to drive home that Miami feel for visitors. “When guests come in they’re getting a real taste from the local owners,” Medina says. “We have fresh pastries from Rosetta, a big bakery chain that started down here in South Beach. Cheeseburger Baby brings in her food trucks.” With all the food that comes in and out of the convention center on a daily basis, Sodexo Live! has been careful to implement several sustainability measures to help ensure they’re not producing large amounts of waste. Their used cooking oil is picked up by a company called DAR PRO Solutions that converts and cleans it to resell for energy use. In addition, the MBCC is committed to supporting sustainability and climate change actions by incorporating environmentally friendly building features and sustainable business practices. The MBCC is a MI AMI BEACH CONVENT ION CENTER