Who Is The Utah Jazz Pickiest Eater?
May 8, 2020, 2:27 PM
Pan-seared scallops (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images for Vegas Uncork'd by Bon Appetit)
(Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images for Vegas Uncork'd by Bon Appetit)
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Who is the Utah Jazz pickiest eater? How is the team maintaining fitness during the coronavirus pandemic? Who is the healthiest eater on the team? Chef Anthony Zamora answered those questions on the latest episode of the “Drive & Dish” podcast with Georges Niang.
The podcast is one of several productions from the Jazz, including the “Ingles Insight” and the “Quarantine Cookbook” that the team has rolled out.
Teammates, local public officials, and now Zamora have appeared alongside Niang on the show.
🚐| Utah Jazz chef Anthony Zamora jumps in the minivan to chat with @georgesniang20 about the #QuarantineCookbook, establishing diets for an entire NBA team & calls out the pickiest eater on the team 🤔#DriveAndDish
𝙵𝚄𝙻𝙻 𝚅𝙸𝙳𝙴𝙾 » https://t.co/k9ZgWmaVbc pic.twitter.com/olTnHYWxlu— utahjazz (@utahjazz) May 8, 2020
Utah Jazz Healthiest Eater
Which player is the Jazz healthiest eater? Zamora and Niang agreed that All NBA center Rudy Gobert is the most cautious about his diet.
“It’s always hey does this have–what kind of oil did you use,” Zamora said. “Those kinds of things.”
However, Gobert isn’t the team’s only healthy eater.
“I know Mike [Conley] is super cognizant of what he’s putting in [his body],” Zamora said. “He’s really dialed in but at the same level, I think Rudy is about there. too.”
Zamora has been working with payers throughout the league’s hiatus to maintain proper nutrition. The chef has provided players with raw foods, meals, and even cookware in recent months.
“During this time that we’ve been quarantined, you’ve been bringing meals to our house,” Niang said. “We can stay in shape, and work out, and have the right intake, and communicate with you on a day to day basis.”
“You came over to my house and gave me food and items and pans and things that I have never heard of before.”
Utah Jazz Pickiest Eater
Though Niang claimed Gobert is also the Jazz pickiest eater, Zamora said that honor belongs to the team’s starting backcourt.
“I am going to give picky to Donovan [Mitchell] or Michael Conley,” Zamora said. “They know what they like and they are kind of locked in with it.”
However, just because Mitchell is a picky eater, that doesn’t mean he has limited tastes.
RELATED STORIES
“For people who don’t know, if Donovan could have scallops for every meal I think he would,” Niang said. “I’ve never seen anyone eat more scallops than Donovan Mitchell.”
According to Zamora, not every player’s diet has to be the same to be effective.
“It depends on the individual and what their goals are,” Zamora said. “I help to plug into those puzzle pieces and fill it in to make it the best possible thing that you can adhere to.”
The Quarantine Cookbook
Players and coaches have been releasing videos of themselves cooking up their favorite meals at home. Alongside Niang who made a breakfast sandwich, Coach Quin Snyder, and Royce O’Neale have released their favorite dishes.
It’s a project Zamora holds near and dear to his heart.
“The ‘Quarantine Cookbook’ is something really special,” Zamora said. “And all thanks to Coach Quin for getting this thing rolling.”
Quin Snyder, the usually private @UtahJazz head coach used his time away from the game to share this easy dessert recipe from his childhood. #TakeNote #QuarantineCookbookhttps://t.co/94iCqxQ1pV
— KSL Sports (@kslsports) May 2, 2020
The videos range from 2-10 minutes and are sometimes recorded by Zamora himself.
“It was [Snyder’s] idea to start with and then just us going back and forth, it morphed into this virtual cooking show,” Zamora said. “It’s been really special for me. With the guys that I have been able to go over and help them out because while they’re learning, we’re both in a way learning together.”
The chef is more than just a food provider and dietician for the team. He’s become a key cog in Snyder’s vision for the organization.
📓| Just as the Utah Jazz coaching staff agonizes over every detail of player development on the court, Anthony Zamora, the team’s executive performance nutrition chef, is doing the same thing in the kitchen at the Zions Bank Basketball Campus.
— utahjazz (@utahjazz) March 13, 2019
“Who is the most important part of our organization that keeps it running?” Niang asked? “Everyone will say that it’s Anthony Zamora.”
In turn, the chef says his time with the Jazz has become more than a career.
“It’s really an honor for me to help guys learning how to cook some of the recipes that they love,” Zamora said.
“I like to get there on a personal level and it’s a great opportunity to express our love and how we feel through food.”
