First can you let me know how you got started as a chef?
I grew up on a farm and cooked with my family growing up. I got inspired by that and knew that this is what I wanted to do. I went to culinary school after high school then got a job afterwards with Parkhurst Dining Services and have been here for 11 years.
How and when did your Steelers work start? Why this type of cooking?
My company contracted here with the Steelers and Pitt. They saw my work ethic and thought I’d be a perfect fit here. It’s a lot of work feeding two teams every day – hundreds of people to feed each meal.
Did you ever expect to be cooking in this capacity? Is this the ultimate goal?
Good question. It was the path given to me and I accepted and embraced it. It’s helped me to grow over my career. I love the work and the buying power it gives you, cooking for teams like this and working for a company like this – it gives you the budget and the chance to buy from more purveyors and have more fun with it.
Anyone help mentor you – especially as a chef cooking for so many athletes like this?
My family first of all. Chris Johnson – he’s a chef here in downtown Pittsburgh – he’s helped me to become the person I am today. And Bryan Marince at Parkhurst. He’s my boss here and has shown me a lot about the business side of the job.
When determining the menu for the team, do you you work with trainers, coaches etc. to ensure you’re hitting certain nutritional/other expectations that may be unique to feeding a group of football players?
Absolutely. Pitt and the Steelers both have nutritionists we work with. But it’s really more the players that tell me what to look for and do. They usually don’t like big frills – they want good quality proteins and starches and vegetables. Nothing fancy. So it’s more player driven.
For example TJ Watt – he asks for grilled chicken and rice. He let me know that he doesn’t want to eat heavy before a practice.
What are some of the nutritional and other considerations for feeding the athletes that would not exist in a regular restaurant-type setting?
In a restaurant we don’t have to think about recovery. What we do to to help players before and after a practice is to help them recover and prepare the right foods for them. That concern doesn’t exist in a restaurant.
For the players, that means healthier proteins and rice, good proteins and a lot of focus on hydration. That means organic chicken, line-caught fish, whole wheat pastas and grains and fish vegetables. And good waters.
How do you source the food for such quantity?
We have a garden on the roof and grow some of our own vegetables. And we have lots of purveyors. I’m lucky – the company sees our vision and we get a myriad of purveyors to help us grow. And as much as possible, we stay local. We buy local – that’s an important part of what we do.
It’s not all glory – what’s the toughest part of the job?
We’re working seven days a week – it can be a grind. When it’s training camp and we have both teams here after St. Vincents, it can be tough. It’s non-stop. We’ll spend $30,000 to $40,000 a week in food. Just keeping enough food on hand is a job in and of itself. It’s in and out which is a good thing – you don’t want it sitting around.
Any fun experiences with players or coaches you can share?
Just being around the players – that’s the most enjoyable and the most challenging part of the job – it’s one and the same. If they have a bad game and bad weekend, Monday can be a real tough day. We try to prepare something special then, unless it was a real bad game and Coach T. tells us not to. Sometimes he’ll tell us not to after a bad gene – no steak and lobster for them this week!
Seeing guys like Troy Polomalu and James Harrison – Harrison could be tough at times, but fun too. It’s a great, hard-working group of players and we appreciate that – we work hard too.
What have been some of the favorite dishes over the years that players like most?
Over my 11 years, we’ve brought in a smoker, a pizza oven and press our own orange juice. Sometimes we order wagyu beef ribs and smoke them with chicken and baked beans – all homemade. We also have a seafood meal we prepare with scallops and line-caught fish. And a hand-rolled sushi day. All made to order.
What have you enjoyed cooking most for the team?
Anything seafood I like to prepare. I like it when we order a whole salmon and break it down. That’s fun for me to do. But I like it all. In the end I’m here to give the best food I can for the athletes.
Any other memories stand out most to you?
It’s less one thing than what it’s like working for the organization. They treated me like family since I walked through the front door. I’ve never had a bad experience here.
Some fun memories are more of the pranks I’ve seen – though I haven’t seen many of those recently. I’ve seen cars towed away, filled with popcorn and covered with Saran Wrap. Most of that was by veterans who did that to rookies. But it’s a young team and I haven’t seen any of that recently.
For me – seeing guys like Mel Blount, Troy or Ben come back and walk in, those are memories that I’ve grown with. When Ben and Troy come back and say “Kevin – how are you doing?” That they remember me – that is special.
Read more by former Steelers via the book Steelers Takeaways: Player Memories Through the Decades. To order, just click on the book:
