LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – The NHL season is a marathon and for the players, the best way to survive the long haul is by staying healthy.
One of the ways that’s accomplished is by taking care of their bodies on the ice and in the kitchen.
“A normal person is going to burn 1,800 – 2,000 calories in a day, these guys will burn 1,800 – 2000 calories in 20 minutes on the ice. Their nutritional needs are way more than the average person,” explained Golden Knights Executive Chef, Brian Perkins.
He explained, “If you think about it as a car — I’m a Yugo, so you can put regular, unleaded gas into me. But if you’re driving a Ferrari, are you going to put regular, unleaded in that Ferrari? Is it going to perform well? No, you have to put the premium fuel into the Ferrari to get the performance.”
Those who have been to City National Arena know McKenzie River restaurant, and its pizzas and sandwiches available to medieval maniacs. What they don’t know, however, is that there is an entirely separate culinary team fueling the Golden Knights.
“I work with the nutritionists and the strength and conditioning coaches, they are the ones dealing with the players daily, looking at blood work and performance and evaluating,” said Perkins. “What they do is give me goals for meals. Today, for example, is brain health and recovery. So I design the menu with ingredients that target those areas of the body.”
On the ice, the Golden Knights have the reputation of sparing no expense when it comes to building a championship team. That aggressive mindset extends to the kitchen as well.
“Not all organizations feed the players the same way. For lunch, we do Chilean Sea Bass and a Filet prime rib. You name it, we can get it in,” explained Golden Knights Executive Chef, Jay Gross. “This salmon is sourced from the Andes Mountains about 7,000 feet up. Fresh, fresh, fresh.”
“From a Chef’s standpoint, this is not an ordinary job… So to have the ingredients at my fingertips. ‘Hey, I want to try this!’ ‘Okay, we’ll ship it in.’ It’s been an amazing, an amazing experience.”
“With me and the culinary team, this would take 2-3 hours. Prep, you got to marinate the meat, everything gets cooked separately. you’re layering the flavors, so the guys don’t get bored. We build menus, catered to them, for what the strength coach wants, what the nutrition team wants, and my culinary team makes it happen. Team helping team, supporting team.”
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