This article is part of BruinLife’s BottleRock music festival coverage happening from May 24-26, 2024.
The Williams Sonoma Culinary Stage was absolutely no stranger to massive talent. At this year’s festival alone they had already hosted Cameron Diaz, Tommy Lee and T-Pain, but that was nothing compared to the night’s closing act. Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors took to the culinary stage and, as if that was not enough, Guardians of the Galaxy member Rocket Raccoon, also known as Bradly Cooper, joined the event.
Culinary Stage host, Liam Mayclem, was greeted by an audience packed like sardines in the festival’s massive grounds — the jumbotron even had to have a message telling people not to sit. Mayclem asked the audience where his Warrior’s fan were at and the crowd erupted. The audience was so amped up at this point that they even cheered on the celebrity chef, Jose Andres, as he entered the stage. Known for his humanitarian work as the founder of the Global Food Institute, Andres first wanted to thank the people who made the festival happen.
Then, everyone’s phone cameras had flash on as the greatest of all time, Stephen Curry, bursted onto the stage. Someone in the audience threw a pair of sneakers on stage and Curry signed them. Before anyone else got the same idea, Andres said that was it for shoe signings. Although Curry is already a legend on the court, he is also putting his head in the liquor game with his brand of Kentucky bourbon, Gentleman’s Cut Bourbon. Since the drink is 75% corn, Andres said that it is basically the same as eating corn on the cob.
Since the hype wasn’t high enough, Andres and Curry started to throw frisbees with ham stuck to them into the audience. Ham rained down on the audience like delicious pig flavored water. The two then proceeded to engage in a shooting contest with some form of a bagged snack. Andres missed his first two shots and to the audience’s collective surprise and disappointment, so did Curry. After throwing more of these bagged snacks into the audience, Andres described the meal he planned to cook. The item in question was a Spanish take on a Philly cheesesteak. The bread looked more like a croissant and was filled with a cheese mousse instead of cheese whizz. Not only that, but Kobe beef went on top of the sandwich.
It was at this moment that the energy went from a 15 to a 25 when Bradly Cooper walked on stage carrying a giant traditional cheesesteak, created by his friend and business partner Danny DiGiampietro. DiGiampietro is the owner of what is regarded as the best place for Philly cheesesteaks in Philadelphia, Angelo’s. He and Cooper have teamed up to open up their own cheesesteak restaurant, Danny and Coop’s, in New York, and BottleRock attendees were lucky enough to try it for themselves. Andres then compared his more petite sandwich to Coopers giant one and said this is why he loves America, because things come in all shapes and sizes.
Although the audience had already had ham ladened frisbees and snack bags thrown at them, Cooper, Andres and Curry threw wrapped cheesesteaks into the crowd. Cooper went long with his final throw and it exploded on impact from the grabbing hands of the extracting audience.
Back on stage, Andres chugged a decanter full of Gentlemen’s Cut Bourbon. The chef then asked DiGiampietro about his restaurant and DiGiampietro said that while they might not be the best, they certainly try to be. Andres tried the sandwich and said it was the best piece of meat he put in his mouth — a recurring trend on this year’s culinary stage.
As the shows came to a close, the DJ began playing the song “Shallows” from “A Star Is Born” (2018) and Andres said a few kind words about community and the spirit of BottleRock.
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Featured Image Photographed by Cathryn Kuczynski/BruinLife.
