The New Orleans Pelicans hope to contend for an NBA title next season, but for that to happen they will need a healthy Zion Williamson.
All signs point to that happening, as Zion has been working out with teammates, and looks to be in great shape.
A big part of that is diet and nutrition, which will be handled by Christian Green, a MasterChef contestant and Zion’s personal chef.
Chef Green is from Louisiana and has spent the last 15 years cooking in New Orleans, where he owns a catering company and cooks for athletes like Marcus Davenport of the Saints among many others.
Chef Green is a rising star in the culinary world and now has his most high-profile client in Zion Williamson. He was kind enough to answer some questions I had about food, sports and Zion’s health, which will be crucial to the success of the Pelicans next season.
I’d like to thank Chef Green for sharing some of his expertise, which you can also check out on Instagram.
He shared some insight into Zion’s diet, his favorite ingredients, what it’s like to be on MasterChef and made a bold prediction for the upcoming season.
New Orleans Pelicans: Interview with Zion Williamson’s personal chef
Hello Chef Green, thank you so much for taking the time to speak with me, I really appreciate it. As an NBA writer whose passion is food, this is a dream interview.
-How would you describe your food style and how does it relate to the culture of New Orleans?
“I tell people all of the time, I’m more of a rustic chef, you know, my food style is very rustic, unique, distinct and very creative. I feel that’s what my food style is.”
-How did you get into cooking for athletes? Do you play sports yourself?
“I used to play sports, not any more, but I got into cooking with athletes when I was contacted by the Pels a couple years ago and also when I started doing little private catering gigs. I also cooked for Alvin Kamara and his friends, as well as CJ Spiller, Chris Ivory, Mark Ingram and I can go on and on, so even though I’m not professional (athlete), I’ve been around those guys, and it’s pretty dope.
New Orleans Pelicans: Interview with Zion Williamson’s personal chef
-There has been a lot of talk/worry about Zion’s health, so does he have a strict dietary regimen you’ve been asked to follow? What’s a typical day of meals look like?
“Understanding and knowing what athletes need to take into their body, because I used to be an athlete myself, he’s very much so on a strict diet. In the morning, it’s very simple, egg whites, maybe half a cup of baked breakfast potatoes, turkey sausage. Midday, he may have one sandwich, with keto bread, and then for dinner, depending n the carb we may use, whether it’s sweet potatoes or we may go brown rice, I do a half a cup of brown rice, and I do between eight to 12 ounces of protein and four ounces of vegetables.”
-What dish of yours is Zion’s favorite?
“Wooooo, ummm, my wheat ground turkey spaghetti. Lamb chops is good, the salmon is good, but I’d say the healthy spaghetti that I do for him.”
-What healthy dish do you make that would surprise people? Your food has big, bold flavors, so how do you balance that with the need to make healthy food that can fuel a pro athlete?
“My dish, I’m sure you guys read about it, my Cajun honey salmon, I think that is the dish people would be very much excited for, and I serve that with just a vegetable medley, no carbs, so you just really get the salmon and the vegetables, similar to a stir fry, a salmon stir fry, but it’s really just a nice filet of salmon, with sautéed vegetables.”
-Do you have a favorite ingredient to work with?
“Ummm, a simple ingredient, ooooh, shallots. I love shallots, which is a purple baby onion, they’re much sweeter than your regular onion, your regular purple onion, umm, I like using shallots, bell pepper, people don’t know bell peppers have high vitamin C in them…and so I’d say bell peppers, garlic, anything that you can probably think of that’s grown, from the onions to the garlic to any style of vegetable, but I’d say honestly most importantly I like bell peppers because people don’t realize how much vitamin C is in bell peppers.”
New Orleans Pelicans: Interview with chef Christian Green
-Do you think it’s more nerve wracking to play in the NBA playoffs or stand in front of the judges on MasterChef?
“Oooooh (laughs), that’s a good question. Ummm, honestly could I pick both? To be honest, I’d say it’s a little bit different because when you’re standing in front of judges, you may be 100 percent about your dish, but you really don’t know what the judges are thinking, right, like you really, really don’t know what they’re thinking because their palate is at a high and they’re looking at your food in such a different way versus a team that’s been studying another team getting ready for the playoffs. So, the judges don’t study me, they study me maybe as I’m cooking or putting it together, but in regards to having time to, we are going to study Christian to see if he can really nail this dish, you can’t really do that for a MasterChef versus a guy that has been in the NBA for X number of years…you know how to study your opponent, you know how to study the guys you’re about to play against, so I think it’s very different, but I’ll tell you this, it’s nerve-wracking on both sides, both sides of the ball.”
-Any advice for aspiring young chefs in New Orleans?
Definitely. And I say this all the time, I was nominated best chef in Louisiana in 2020 would have never thought in a 1,000 years I’d be nominated the way that I have been and also recognized the way I’ve been recognized. I just tell these young chefs, just stay focused, put God first, keep your faith and just work hard, always be a student and in anything that you do, it could be tying your shoe, just be focused and be committed and be confident. Have confidence in the work that your doing and love what you do, and work hard. One thing about these young chefs nowadays is that they think it’s just going to come, and I feel like success doesn’t just come overnight, you really have to put in the work. I’m a living witness, I’ve put in the work for X amount of years, I’ve been cooking since 1999, so for me to be where I’m at today is truly a blessing, so for chefs that are currently coming up, trying to fill the shoes and go through some of the doors I’ve opened with working with professional athletes, actors, actresses, you just gotta stay confident, stay confident within yourself, keep your faith and just work hard, always put your head in a book, there some things you’re not going to always know, so always be a student to the game. That’s it.
-Just to put you on the spot: Make one bold prediction about the Pelicans or Zion’s upcoming season.
MVP.
Thanks again to Chef Green, and If Zion does win MVP we’ll know one of the people behind the scenes who helped him get it done.