Winning Competitions Off the Court

The past few weeks at UK Athletics have been full of nutrition education, cooking instruction and nutrient-dense meals! It has been such a great time getting to know the athletes and teaching them about nutrition. I love talking to young adults about their dietary habits and nutrition-related lifestyle choices. It is exciting to teach someone who truly wants to learn, like when an athlete asks how to gain weight to improve performance on the field, or when an athlete wants to know the best meals for recovery and post-workout. I really enjoy educating people who genuinely crave knowledge about food!

The UK Women's Basketball Team is a great example of women who like to learn more about cooking and working their way around a kitchen. The women's basketball team came in last week for their cooking class to prepare for their cooking competition the following week. Last week, the ladies split up into five separate groups and helped each other cook fajita "Chipotle" bowls. The first group grilled chicken and shrimp, while the second group made queso sauce and refried beans. The third group sautéed vegetables and cooked rice, while the fourth group set up the guacamole, salsa, and other toppings. The fifth group grilled steak which concluded the amount of cooking that needed to be completed for the meal.

The girls had a great time cooking, and an even better time eating afterwards!

The meal was tasty and nutritious.

After two cooking classes, the women's basketball team was ready to take on the Chopped-style cooking competition at the Nutter Training Lab. The women divided up into two teams for the competition, and each team had to choose an entree and a dessert recipe. Both teams chose a pasta dish, while the 1st team chose banana pudding as their dessert, and the second team chose a brownie trifle.

Just like Chopped (the TV show), there was a secret ingredient that the teams had to somehow incorporate into their meal or their dessert. Monica Fowler, the Director of Performance Nutrition, told the teams that they had to work with both thyme (the fresh herb) and LEEKS into their dishes! Leeks have a sweet, oniony flavor that add depth to a dish. The vegetable has a mild taste, somewhat like a green onion.

The teams had an hour on the clock to cook both of their dishes for the six judges, which meant six entree and six dessert plates had to be made and presented. The players immediately started hustling and cooking when the time started, as they were all so excited to begin!

The teams were being judged on four different categories: teamwork, taste, creativity, and plate presentation. As the players worked together to successfully complete their recipes, the judges walked around and reviewed their kitchen performances. Being the dietetic intern, I was there to help the athletes with any questions they may have had. I guided them through both simple and complex parts of the recipe, alleviating any stress that the ticking timer was giving the teams!

CRDN 2.3: Demonstrate active participation, teamwork and contributions in group settings.

I counted down from 10, 9, 8... to 1 and hollered a "STOP" for the teams to know that their time was up. The first team to present brought up their entree plates for the judges to taste and try. The judges scored each entree and dessert from a 1-5 rating under the four categories. Team two brought their entrees and desserts up as well for the judges to rank. Each team gave a small speech on what their meal was and how it was created.

The Judges' Table

The first team made a chicken and shrimp cajun-style farfalle pasta, with banana pudding as their dessert. The second team also made a cajun farfalle pasta with homemade sauce and shrimp. Their dessert was a brownie trifle garnished with strawberries and chocolate chips.

1st team's pasta dish

2nd team's pasta dish

1st team's dessert

2nd team's dessert

After much deliberating and ranking, the judges came to a conclusion and sent in their final numbered rankings. I, the time-keeper, assistant chef, and score-counter, counted up all the scores and came out with two final numbers for each team. The first team won with 224 points, while the second team had 207 points! The meals turned out AMAZING, and the athletes had such a great time doing it. I didn't expect them to be as ecstatic and hard-working with the meals as they turned out to be. Everything tasted and looked wonderful.

I absolutely love working with the athletes, and I couldn't be more excited to continue doing so as one of the Performance Nutrition Graduate Assistants starting in August!

References:

Filippone, P. T. (n.d.). Learn to Love Cooking With Leeks. The Spruce Eats. https://www.thespruceeats.com/leek-selection-and-storage-1808073.