Fueling the Ferrari's

[Tammo29@xxxxxxx]

Personal tastes
Pacers players employ chefs to meet their dietary needs


By Sekou Smith
December 23, 2003
 

If Indiana Pacers forward Jermaine O'Neal had his way, he'd feast on plates 
full of jerk chicken pasta, jerk chicken wings and peach cobbler.
Al Harrington would settle for three daily meals consisting of heaping bowls 
of cold cereal, the one staple of his diet since childhood.
But as long as chefs Scott Matheson and Fletcher Boyd remain in charge of 
meals at O'Neal's and Harrington's respective homes, gorging on spicy foods or 
sugar-soaked cereals will not be an option.
For professional athletes, that's the benefit and curse of employing 
professionals to prepare your meals. Junk food binges are no longer an option when 
spending up to six figures annually to hire someone capable of cooking a 
succulent, seven-course meal while also catering to the strict dietary needs of elite 
athletes.
"It used to be Apple Jacks and then Fruit Loops; right now it's Fruity 
Pebbles. The Christmas kind," a dreamy-eyed Harrington said of his cereal fetish. "I 
know the sugar is killing my diet, but I have to get at least one bowl a day."
Boyd, who has been Harrington's chef for three years, prefers to serve a 
hearty breakfast of pancakes, turkey bacon, a low fat cinnamon roll and, on game 
days, a side of grits or an omelet made with Egg Beaters.
Boyd navigates the delicate balance between proteins and carbohydrates. He 
knows how to provide enough of the right kind of fuel for Harrington's body to 
operate at a high level.
"If you drive a Ferrari, you don't put the cheap gas in it, do you?" said 
Boyd, 53, who works for Harrington in the mornings and runs Fletcher's of 
Atlanta, an upscale restaurant in Atlanta, Ind., by night. "These guys earn their 
living with their bodies, so they need to be eating as well as humanly possible."
Boyd makes sure Harrington eats well and also has a varied menu. Boyd is in 
charge of planning and cooking three meals a day for Harrington, with plenty of 
input from Joe Abunassar, Harrington's personal trainer.
Huge breakfasts are followed most of the time by light lunches and hearty 
dinners, the latter two meals typically being made after Harrington leaves for 
practice. Boyd plates and wraps them, and Harrington re-heats them later.
Boyd works five days a week, roughly six hours per day, and is also on call 
whenever Harrington has a food emergency. But he's more than just a chef.
"He's become part of the family," said Abunassar, a trainer for more than 40 
NBA players. Abunassar recommended Boyd to Harrington. "He's over there 
changing light bulbs, doing all the shopping and everything else around there.
"You come in that house sometimes and Al will be deep into some philosophical 
conversation with Fletch, who's a really smart guy. They're like family. It's 
great."
Boyd has two children, one older and one younger than the 23-year-old 
Harrington. In many ways, Boyd considers Harrington his middle child.
"I've grown up in Indianapolis and been a Pacers fan all my life, even back 
to the ABA days," Boyd said, adjusting the Pacers cap atop his pony-tailed 
head, "but I had no idea what kind of a toll being a professional ballplayer could 
have on your body until I started cooking for Al. It's amazing.
"I'm here in the morning after games making him breakfast, I see how tired 
his body gets after games. I can't imagine someone eating fast food and 
maintaining the schedule these guys have. It really is unbelievable, the hard work 
they put into being NBA players."
Career sustenance
O'Neal decided over a year ago to hire a full-time chef because he knew 
eating right would prolong his career. He also wanted to guarantee his young 
daughter, Asjia, was eating properly.
The connection with Matheson stemmed from O'Neal's infatuation with spicy 
chicken wings at Bahama Breeze. The best way to ensure he could get the same 
flavor at home was to hire the restaurant's executive chef.
A casual relationship during O'Neal's and Harrington's frequent visits to the 
restaurant turned into a life-altering opportunity for Matheson, whose 
specialty is Caribbean cuisine.
"I loved the restaurant business but it was all nights and weekends. There 
was no quality of life," said Matheson, 35, a father of four who now works from 
8 a.m. to 6 p.m. for O'Neal. "Your kids are only young once. And this is a 
family man I'm working for now, who understands the importance of family."
Matheson declined to reveal the salary he draws from O'Neal, but other chefs 
working full-time for NBA players earn upwards of $100,000 per year. Matheson 
said he knows some executive chefs who make $150,000.
A Lafayette, Ind., native and Purdue grad, Matheson has quickly become an 
integral part of the O'Neal family fabric. When O'Neal's basement flooded last 
summer while he was in Puerto Rico playing for the national team in the Olympic 
qualifying tournament, Matheson broke the bad news to him.
Matheson and a friend of his spent the night drying out the carpet and 
drywall before professionals could be brought in to fix the damage.
"He does so much stuff around the house, it's hard to explain it. You can't 
just say he's the chef," O'Neal said. "Don't get me wrong, the food is 
excellent. He's the All-Star in the kitchen. But it's the other things he does that 
really make you understand how important he (is) to my entire family."
Not everyone, however, is interested in hiring outside help to cook meals. 
Pacers forward Ron Artest said his wife, Kimisha, is an excellent cook and 
provides everything the family needs.
"I only eat beans anyway," Artest said. "Kidney beans, pinto beans, whatever 
kind of beans. It doesn't matter. They're good for me. Anything else, my wife 
takes care of."

Call Star reporter Sekou Smith at 1-317-444-6053.

http://www.indystar.com/articles/5/104865-1655-036.html
Two of Al Harrington's favorite recipes

Big Al's pancakes

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 cup egg substitute (Egg Beaters)

3 tablespoons unsweetened applesauce

1 cup low fat buttermilk

Spray oil (Pam)

1. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a bowl

2. In another bowl, whisk together egg substitute, applesauce and buttermilk

3. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients gradually, whisking 
continually

4. Heat a non-stick skillet over medium high heat, and spray with oil

5. Using {1frac2} cup of the batter per pancake, cook the first side until 
the bubbles around the edge pop and leave a depression

6. Flip pancake and cook until lightly browned

Andy's brownies

1 cup all-purpose flour

2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce

1 large egg

2 large egg whites

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups sugar

1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees

2. Combine the flour, cocoa and salt in a bowl

3. Whisk the egg and egg whites together until bubbly in another bowl

4. Add the applesauce and vanilla extract, and, while whisking, add the sugar 
until it dissolves

5. Stir in the dry ingredients until moist, and then add the chocolate chips

6. Spray an 11-by-7 inch baking dish with oil, and pour in the batter

7. Bake for approximately 35 minutes

* Andy Miller is Harrington's agent