I should confess something. I’m no longer a die-tough football fan. I’m not blown away by using encountering an Eagles soccer participant in any component of my existence. I do not attend each recreation or occasion. However, as the primary cook dinner for Flik Hospitality at the NovaCare Complex, I get to look at these men every day, up close and personal. I arrive at 4:15 in the morning to put together for the breakfast rush. It’s no longer just players and coaches who we prepare dinner for. It’s the entire front-workplace body of workers. The sheer amount of meals is astounding.
Over 250 eggs need to be hand-cracked, 15 kilos of bacon and sausages want to be cooked, up to 20 pounds of potatoes was home fries, forty-five or greater Avocados split and sliced. And this is just to get breakfast commenced. Add inside the complete smoothie and fruit bar; the breakfast unfold in our cafeteria is the entirety you may want to start your morning right. I paintings tough along the alternative cooks in our kitchen, and we strive every day to tackle the daunting mission of feeding an entire soccer company.
This is just a small part of my day, of course. Lunch and dinner are a veritable smorgasbord of freshly reduce fillets of salmon, steaks, and chops – a multitude of specials made to reserve sparkling. Add to that each of the alternative delicious offerings from our salad bar, pizza oven, and highlight movement station, we cook and serve food and snacks all day for our team. Anything this is required to sustain these guys is available, and all of us paintings long hours to make certain that now not only all in their dietary wishes are met, but that we’re presenting first-rate tasting meals each day at each meal. Over time, I’ve absolutely become desensitized to the superstar reputation of the bigger-than-life athletes and coaches we feed each day. Our mission is truly to feed and nourish hungry people.
On May 13, however, I found myself clearly amazed and overjoyed – a true fan second. Chef Robert Irvine, a die-hard Eagles fan, hosted the Beats ‘n Eats charity event at the Fillmore in Philadelphia. All of the finances raised visit guide the Robert Irvine Foundation, an enterprise that serves “the ladies and men defending our u. S. A ., first responders, and the various heroes in our lives (lively, retired, and veterans).”
Now, I’ve met Chef Irvine earlier than. I was able to sit down and interview his final season for our Feeding the Birds podcast. It becomes one of the first-rate interviews I’ve finished up to now, and I found out a lot approximately the everyday life of a world-class chef. Robert could be very committed to his art and uses those competencies to offer again to humans in want. He travels the sector 345 days 12 months, elevating money with special occasions for his charity. He is worried about producing meals documentaries and series that show off his specific brand of tough the not possible meal.
Despite being an imposing figure, TV superstar chef and all, he could be very on hand and friendly. When you communicate with him, Robert greets you with a company handshake and a pat on the lower back, seems you right in the eye, encourages communication, and invites questions and stories. He has a superb chortle, and he’s going to tell you whatever and everything approximately cooking, and his love of food and service inside the military.
He shared stories of cooking in her Majesty’s Royal Navy and instituting an Afternoon Tea, which exists to at the moment, testimonies about his mom’s cooking and his love of sparkling and match the food. I become capable of prepare dinner for Robert earlier than his interview, and he advised me later that the steak I had made him changed into pro and cooked perfectly. I take into account this very high praise, as this came from a man who I had watched rip other chefs to shreds due to the fact their meals changed into horrible on Restaurant Impossible.
Imagine that strain, Robert Irvine walks up to you and orders lunch, and he is going to be brutally honest about your cooking. I am confident in my skill as a chef. However, it became still a chunk daunting for me. I learned that Robert Irvine isn’t simply the person I noticed on television, but a peer, some other chef within the food community committed to using his skill to nourish. I felt that I had stepped into a bigger global the day I spoke with and cooked for him.
