The Olympic training table: how do you feed an elite athlete trying to earn a gold medal? Very carefully

Muscle & Fitness/Hers, August, 2004 by Daryn Eller

IMAGINE THIS: Every day you go to work and feed anywhere from 100 to 400 hungry young people. You are responsible for making sure they have what they need for breakfast, lunch and dinner, plus a few snacks in between, all the while keeping in mind that their daily energy needs range from 2,000 to 8,000 calories, and that their days--indeed, their very lives-may be vastly affected by what you serve them.

And your mother thought she had it rough.

Welcome to Chris Brill's world. As the executive chef of the dining hall at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, CA, it's Brill's job to make sure that elite athletes in sports from track and field to archery to kayaking get all the calories and nutrients they need to maximize their performances. Oh, and the food needs to taste good besides. "Some people live to eat; these athletes eat to live. But we still want them to find the food pleasurable," says Brill, who trained at the Culinary Institute of America. "So we try to stay current, serving sushi and other popular dishes."

While it isn't Brill's job to prescribe any particular way of eating-the athletes' coaches and nutritionists do that--he does make it his business to offer as many healthful choices as possible. The cooks go easy on the oil, and entrees are always prepared with a minimum of sodium and no heavy cream or trans fats. Athletes who need extra calories--rowers are among the biggest calorie-burners--add them by topping off dishes with sauces or butter; and there's always a choice between regular and low-fat salad dressings, and between nonfat frozen yogurt and more indulgent cakes and pies. On the menu too: plenty of fruits and vegetables (the center spends more money on produce than on any other type of food) and, each day at lunch and dinner, two entrees of either chicken or fish and beef or pork.

EATING FOR EXCELLENCE

As one would expect, pasta is also a daily staple. Unlike the rest of Americans, "Athletes haven't forsaken carbs," says Janet Francis, manager of the center's food and nutrition services. "They know their performance depends on them."

When athletes or their coaches have special cuisine requests, Brill is accommodating. Once the track and field coach worried that his athletes weren't getting enough iron, so he asked Brill to serve liver and onions once a week (which he did, and a surprising number of athletes actually ate it). In case there's any question about the health status of the dining hall's food, which is served cafeteria-style, nutritional stats are posted above every dish. Even all the items at the salad bar are accounted for.

The concern for the athletes' health extends to the way food is handled in and out of the kitchen. Brill's staff follows HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point) guidelines, a very strict program established by the FDA in order to prevent food contamination. The program calls for a variety of measures, including checking food temperatures regularly and documenting safety actions. One hopes that all kitchens serving the public are as diligent, but the need for rigorous standards here is particularly critical: Food poisoning could send not a few dreams up in smoke. "We're here to support the athletes' training, and they trust us," says Brill. "If they were to get sick from the food, they wouldn't be able to go to the Games."

So what are the athletes eating and drinking in anticipation of Athens? A lot of seafood, soups, sandwiches, smoothies, energy bars, nuts, flax seeds, Powerade and Minute Maid juices (Coca-Cola, which owns the latter two, is an Olympic sponsor)--and, yes, less-than-virtuous foods like chips and cookies.

Brill, though, aims to make the dining hall more than just a place for athletes to refuel. "We want to feed their nutrient needs, but also make them feel comfortable," he says. "The hall's not open to the public, so it's a place where they can come and just be themselves."

If you can't go to Athens this summer, you can still get a taste (literally) of Olympic fervor. These three recipes, which come courtesy of Chris Brill, executive chef of the dining hall at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, CA, are among those dishes served to help athletes gear up for the Games. How nice, too, that they happen to be just what we recreational athletes like: healthy, yummy and fairly simple to prepare. Each recipe serves a crowd, so invite your friends over, fire up the plasma screen and switch on NBC--or one of its four other networks--which between them, will be providing 24-hour 2004 Olympic Games coverage.

Grilled Tuna with Black Bean Mango Salsa

Makes 16 servings

FOR THE SALSA

3/4 cup mango, peeled and medium dice
1/2 cup black beans, dried and cooked or canned and rinsed
2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and minced
1/2 cup red onion, small dice
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
1/2 cup fresh lime juice
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. freshly ground pepper

FOR THE TUNA

16 tuna steaks, 3/4-inch thick (6 ounces each)
1/4 cup garlic, minced
1 1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. freshly ground pepper
Vegetable oil spray