This is the Stradivarius of pots and pans, an entire orchestra of them.
The InterContinental Miami temporarily pulled the culinary accoutrements from its executive kitchen to help celebrate the Miami Heat's 2012-2013 NBA Championship.
As the Miami Heat rounded the homestretch of today's parade, InterContinental staff and guests took to a small stage along the parade's route to smash ladles against soup pots and smack spoons against baking pans.
The cacophonous pots and pans celebration has become synonymous with sporting success in South Florida. The Sun Sentinel and WSVN have both taken stabs at explaining the tradition, each ultimately pointing towards Latin American political demonstrations as the potential source.
Now pots and pans are being embraced as a mainstream Miami tradition, as evidenced by the InterContinental's "pots and pans private party" (yes, there was a velvet rope around the stage).
The hotel is a short walk south of American Airlines Arena and was tough to miss during this year's playoffs. Thanks to a $30-million upgrade, the InterContinel now functions as a giant LED television screen. Hardly a Goodyear blimp shot passed without showing a pro-Heat message scrolling across the hotel.
More than three dozen of the executive kitchen's pots and pans, ladles and spoons were parade-side today. Robert Hill, general manager of the InterContinental Miami, said his executive chef had no problem temporarily loaning his gear.
"He helped set everything up and get ready for this morning," said Hill, "he's a big Heat fan as well. It was easy to convince him to do this for the Heat."
Hill said he practiced on a few pans to find his favorite: a 20" frying pan that he called "not for the faint hearted."
As for beating up some rather expensive kitchenware, Hill said, "these pots and pans are pretty heavy duty stuff... they (would take a) good amount of beating to put any dents in them."
