LIVIGNO, Italy — You can find this U.S. Ski Team kitchen by following your nose upstairs from the Calanda market to an apartment filled with the aromas of a fresh, home-cooked meal.
Here you’ll also find Steve Vierk, U.S. Ski & Snowboard’s chef of the past eight years, hard at work with Chris Allen, a U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee contract chef, and Hunter Baum, the team’s dietician.
“We started cooking two days before the Games began, as people came into town.” Vierk said, looking around a clean but unassuming apartment. To help make the operation work, Vierk and Allen rented a convection oven from the Calanda owners, who have been helping supply food. “All out of this kitchen.”
While most of the athletes and support staff have eaten Vierk and Allen’s meals on the go, last week the chefs welcomed downhill gold medalist Breezy Johnson to the apartment for dinner.
U.S. Ski & Snowboard has contracted chefs for all the competition locations at these Games, though they don’t have kitchen setups like this one.
Vierk and Allen said they have heard nothing but positive feedback so far. In addition to the home-cooked meals, they are aiming to provide some of the comfort of home, which could be a small difference in winning on the slopes.
“Everybody’s super happy,” Vierk said. “That’s why they call and say, ‘Can we come down to dinner tonight?'”
The menu has included burgers, butter chicken and teriyaki salmon. Monday night was teriyaki tofu. The chefs are trying to mix things up and keep everyone from eating pizza and pasta for every meal.
Back home, real home, Allen works out of Lake Placid, New York, and Vierk is from Park City, where he often cooks at U.S. Ski & Snowboard’s Center of Excellence for 50 to 80 people. There, he’s known for his “green crack” marinade with lime, jalepeño and cilantro, his Latin and Asian food, and his weekly themed family meals.
“I cook for Olympic gold medalists. You don’t get to say that at a lot of other cooking positions,” Vierk said. “Initially, I might have felt pressure, but not now. I’m pretty comfortable and confident in my abilities.”
This season, he began traveling with the moguls team.
“We train in Park City from the beginning of May until the end of October, so I’m there full time during those months,” Vierk said. “I work Monday through Friday, and my primary job is to provide lunch for the athletes, but we also do a continental-style breakfast.”
Baum, the dietician, works with the athletes on where and when to eat the chefs’ cooking. Many athletes are interested in their diets, and others prefer mac and cheese and chicken nuggets for every meal. Baum said one athlete requested Dino nuggets during the Games, which he approved as a taste of home.
“I work with athletes on every team,” Baum said. “It’s just about being a part of their lives and being able to help in any way that we can.”
Baum attended halfpipe practice Monday night, after Vierk and Allen served up teriyaki tofu, sesame noodles and vegetables. Baum said he hopes his presence serves as a visual clue to athletes in Livigno to properly fuel up.
“Hopefully they’re taking advantage of a lot of things that Steve and Chris are able to provide,” Baum said. “If that helps them in their performance, that’s what we’re here to do.”
