re: Fueling the Ferrari's

[wayray@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]

No one Artest is such as great defender. All that bean eating means players give
him a certain leeway.
Ray

> ** Original Subject: Fueling the Ferrari's
> ** Original Sender: Tammo29@xxxxxxx
> ** Original Date: Tue, 23 Dec 2003 08:25:57 -0800 (PST)

> 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 


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