Q & A: Dr. Ilya Rachman

There’s no shortage of theories on how to lose weight in this world. What there does seem to be a shortage of is hearing from people who actually know what they are talking about.

Here at the Concession Stand, we love our food. But we also love sports and fitness. So today, we’re combining all three. In a good way, of course (we’d never swim right after eating! Never!).
Dr.  Ilya Rachman (pictured) is an internist that specializes in treating weight-related issues. He’s a Clinical Instructor at the UCLA School of Medicine and he’s also an Attending Physician at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles (so, if you want to read between the lines here, he knows his stuff). In 2006, he founded the Trim360 weight loss program. The idea for Trim360 came after seeing how people were facing significant health problems due to poor eating habits.

Dr. Rachman was kind enough to speak with the Concession Stand about Trim360 and about the proper approach for anyone who wants to lose weight, particularly athletes who want to achieve specific fitness goals.

CS: How did you get interested in helping people improve their overall health and fitness? 
IR: It was actually kind of an organic process. Most of my day was spent in a doctor’s office fixing what people caused to themselves by eating. Little by little, people are eating themselves into sickness.

(I thought) it would be more common sensical to fix the way they eat and live and it was just a natural progression. We offer practical options in terms of a healthy lifestyle.

CS: How long has Trim360 been going and why did you want to start the program?  
IR: We’ve been doing medical weight loss for about 5-6 years. Physicians don’t get taught weight loss or weight management in medical school or residency, which is quite stunning when you think about it. All we are taught to do is manage cholesterol and give you medicine.

The idea behind Trim360 is practical. It’s common sense and “B.S. free,” so to speak.

CS: Have you worked with athletes in the Trim360 program (or otherwise) before? If yes, what are some common issues they consult you about?
IR: We’ve been fortunate that we’ve been able to implement this to all demographics, age, categories and types of people. Initially when we started out, we offered it to patients and our patients brought it to their parents their friends, and their children. We’re fortunate to have several generations of family members. Athletes, dancers, business professionals, all kinds of medical backgrounds and social backgrounds (have used Trim360). 

CS: What are some health tips for athletes or people who are physically active who might be changing their diets to achieve a certain fitness goal? 
IR: First thing I would say to any athletes:  if people don’t devote to some thought to the nutritional component, it’s almost pointless to exercise. 

If you don’t consume enough of high-quality protein on a daily basis, there’s no point in exercising; you can’t build muscle, you can’t build muscle memory or any other type of memory that supports your athletic performance.

Minerals and vitamins are little facilitators, so without those new things it’s almost pointless to exercise. You also need unsaturated fats — the right amount of healthy fats — in your diet as well.

CS: What are some common misnomers from people who want to lose weight? 
IR: Not to be derogatory towards exercise, but we don’t want people to get unnecessarily frustrated (when they don’t see results).

Exercise is great for working through weight-loss plateaus, but it’s not great for weight loss itself. Calorie reduction is the best thing for weight loss.

CS: You are working on a book right now. What is it about?  
IR: It’s about dispelling myths and giving people the reality of how to lose weight. It basically gives you a realistic breakdown of what it takes for real people (to lose weight) that have jobs, that have family and that have commitments.

They don’t need to reinvent the wheel. They can implement it so they can have a healthy lifestyle. More specifically, we found it really takes a combination of knowing what your personality type is. Weight-loss approach should be tailored to your personality type. The reason so many people struggle with weight loss issues is they try to implement the wrong plans for their lives.



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The Concession Stand is very appreciative that Dr. Rachman was willing to take the time to answer some questions. If you would like more information about Trim360, visit their website at http://www.trim360.com./

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Q & A: Dave Roberts

I’m super excited for this week’s Q & A, because it’s with one of the nicest guys to ever put on a Major League Baseball uniform. Ask any baseball writer, player, manager, whoever, that’s been around Dave Roberts (I know several and can include myself in that group after covering the Padres in 2006), and they'll probably tell you the same thing.

You’ll get to hear from him about his new role with the Padres as a Special Assistant to Baseball Operations and his take on Spring Training. He also gives us some restaurant suggestions.

But before we get to Dave, allow me a minute to talk about the awesomeness that is Spring Training.

Do the Spring Training games matter? No. Is Spring Training more exciting than the NCAA Tournament? Definitely no. Is a Spring Training game possibly the best way to spend an afternoon in the history of the world? Yes.

In March, the weather in Arizona has not reached its heatstroke-inducing heights yet. So basically, we’re talking about 80-85 degree days. You buy cheap tickets, lay out in the grass just over the outfield fence and watch baseball.

Do you really need to know anything more than that?

It’s also the best place, hands down, to interact with players and or baseball legends. You know, if you’re into that sort of thing.

True story: last year, my sister and I went to Arizona for a few days for Spring Training, and in the process of taking in a few games, got sunburned. As we were walking into Camelback Ranch for the first time, new Spring Training home of the Dodgers, someone behind us was making fun of our sunburned shoulders. It was Fernando Valenzuela.

So, with baseball season almost here (thankfully) I spoke with Dave Roberts via e-mail.

Yes, the Dave Roberts who stole one of the most famous bases in baseball history while with the Red Sox. That 2004 stolen base turned the fortunes of the Red Sox around and led to their first World Series title in eleventy billion years (That’s not the exact number. I’m just rounding down).

Here are his answers:

CC: What have you enjoyed so far about your new role as a special assistant?
DR: Getting to know and work with players has been a thrill. Also, having the access to the front office has given me a completely different perspective on baseball. Everyday is different and has made my transition from player to staff more intriguing.

CC: Why did you want to stay in the game of baseball after your playing days ended?
DR: It is something I have always wanted to do. Baseball has given me so much and I've always felt compelled to give back to this game in some capacity. 

CC: What does it mean to you to be able to have this position with your hometown team?
DR: Being back in a Padre uniform is really special to me. I don't think I would have taken this position in any other organization. The opportunity that I have been given by my hometown team was something I could not pass up. Geographically it makes sense for me and I believe in the organizational philosophies on and off the field.

CC: What do you enjoy most about Spring Training?
DR: I enjoy playing a bunch of day games and having the chance to go out to dinner. Having the fan interaction in a more laid back environment is always fun. It doesn't matter where you are in Spring Training; a sense of optimism always surrounds the teams.

CC: What is your schedule like during Spring Training in your new role?
DR: My Spring Training is pretty much double duty. I get to the park around 7:30 (a.m.) and leave around 5:00 (p.m.). The first part of my day is spent with the on-field staff and players and the second part is spent with the baseball operations staff. It has been quite an experience.

CC: What are some tips you have for fans to keep in mind who are visiting Arizona for Spring Training?
DR: Get to the park early and watch them do fundamentals and take batting practice. Also, it's much easier to get access to the players for autographs!
 
CC: Any restaurant suggestions?
DR: There are so many great restaurants in the Scottsdale area. My two favorites are Mastros Ocean Club (warm butter cake for dessert) and Sakana ( for sushi).

Again, a big thanks to Dave Roberts for taking the time to do the Q & A. If anyone goes out to Spring Training, I hope you enjoy it!

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Olympic Q & A: Sweeping the ice with curler Jeff Isaacson

 

Photo of  Jeff Isaacson courtesy of USA Curling

When the Olympics are on, I get all swept up in it. It sucks me in.

The precise turns made in traffic on the speed skating track make my heart pound. When an ice skater does a jump, I get all nervous that they won’t land it right. I marvel at how freakin’ crazy you would have to be to do aerials skiing or ski jumping.

All of these sports get me excited about the Winter Olympics. But few of the sports suck me in more than curling.

For real.

It will come on TV and then suddenly, it’s an hour later, and I haven’t moved from the couch. Curling is one of those sports that is completely foreign to me (as a resident of Los Angeles, I don’t hear too much about curling events coming to town), but it’s so fun to watch during the Olympics.

So, exactly two weeks out from the first round of curling matches in the Winter Olympics in Vancouver, we’re going to get some serious curling discussion in with our next Q & A.

Today we are hearing from Jeff Isaacson, a curler from Minnesota who was part of the 2009 national championship team. He’ll be representing the U.S. in curling with teammates Jason Smith, John Shuster and John Benton. The 26-year-old Isaacson spoke to the Concession Stand via e-mail and discussed what his job is during the curling match, why he almost walked away from curling competitively, and what his favorite food is.

CS: How did you get started in curling? What do you like about it? 
JI: Most people get involved with curling because they have family members who curl.  This was the case with me as well.  I would go with my dad and watch his teams compete anywhere from weekly league nights to state and national championships.  When I was 13, I decided it was time to try the game for myself.  I have been playing ever since.  By age 18, I won the Minnesota State Championship and was runner-up in the nationals competing with my dad before he retired from the game.  I was fortunate to learn and compete with him.  Some of the things that I like about curling are the great people you meet.  Curlers truly are some of the best people you will ever meet.  It is a game that is far more complex than it looks.  It involves a great deal of strategy as well as athleticism.  I also enjoy traveling, and curling has given me the opportunity to see the world, having competed in tournaments all across the U.S. and Canada as well as South Korea, Italy, Switzerland, Norway, and Denmark.

CS: What is your position in curling? For those who aren't as familiar with curling, what is your job at that position?
JI: The team has four positions; lead, second, third, and skip.  I am the second on the team.  This means that I throw the second set of rocks (each player throws two rocks per end, 10 ends per game, with an end being similar to an inning in baseball).  When I am done throwing I sweep for the other guys.  Sweeping does two things, it causes the rock to travel further down the ice and it also keeps the rock straighter.  I also work with the lead on the team to communicate the speed of the ice to the skip.
 
CS: What are you most looking forward to about the Olympic experience?
JI: I am looking forward to the chance to compete against the best curling teams in the world on the biggest sports stage.  Our team has spent lots of time and worked very hard for this moment and we are all excited for the opportunity.  So many people talk about what a great experience the Opening Ceremonies are.  It will be nice to be a part of that.  It will also be great to experience the Olympic Village where we can meet other athletes and hopefully get a chance to go out and cheer them on as well during some of our down time.

CS: What are your goals for the Olympics?
JI: My goal is to go out and play the best I can play and have the best tournament possible.  If I can go out and do my job, it makes everyone else’s job that much easier.  Our team wants to make the final four after the round robin.  After that, it’s just two games.  We want to be on the medal stand.

CS: I read that for awhile, you considered giving up curling competitively. Why did you want to stop and what made you decide to come back?
JI: After graduating from college, I spent a couple seasons curling.  It was just getting to the point where I felt it was time to move on and start working on a career.  So many people told me that I was still young, and if I have a chance to curl and make a run at the Olympics I should do it now while I still can.  With the encouragement of my teammates, I decided curling was what I loved to do and we stayed together to make a run at representing the United States at the Games.

CS: What does a typical training day look like for you?
JI: I live with two of my teammates so we usually practice/train together.  We have practice ice available to us after 10 a.m.  This allows us to sleep in as none of us are really morning people anyway.  Monday through Thursday — when we are not on the road — are our practice days.  We spend around an hour and a half to two hours in the late morning going through practice drills on the ice.  Attached to our curling club is a skywalk system that we use to walk to the gym where we work on cardio, free weights, and core exercises.  After that we have a light meal (usually at Subway) and go home for awhile.  On Mondays we have an additional night practice and on Tuesday we compete in a competitive league at our curling club.

CS: What is our routine on the day of competitions? What do you eat before matches?
JI: When competing at tournaments, we usually have a team breakfast.  Usually this involves some cereal, eggs, and toast.  We then travel to the competition venue.  Depending on the time of the game, I like to have something light, such as a sandwich and some type of fruit before I begin preparing for the game.  I try to learn information on the ice, rocks and our opponents and mentally prepare for the game, which involves blocking out distractions and visualizing positive outcomes.

CS: Are you a big fan of any other sports? If yes, which teams?
JI: I have to admit I am not a huge sports fan.  I enjoy watching a good tennis match, with my favorite player being Pete Sampras.  I find it interesting reading about certain athletes, what they go through and what makes them tick.  So much can be learned by reading about other people’s stories.

CS: What is your guilty pleasure food?
JI: I do have a weakness for pizza.  It also doesn’t help living with a cook from a local Italian restaurant.  He brings home great meals and desserts so I find myself eating way more than I should sometimes.

CS: What do you enjoy doing when you aren't training or competing?
JI: Being from Minnesota, there are lots of outdoor activities that I enjoy.  I live around a lot of lakes, so I like to get out and go boating and fishing, although the past few years I haven’t got to do very much of that.  There are lots of 4-wheeling trails so it is fun to make a day or two out of that.  I do love to travel, so when I can I like to get away and see new places.  I was able to go to Sweden and Finland with some family members this summer and also enjoy Las Vegas and the nice beaches of Florida and Hawaii.  As I am finding out, time goes by very fast, so I try to make the most of what I have and make the best of it.  It is important to take time for the simple things in life.

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Many thanks to Jeff for answering my questions! Good luck in Vancouver!

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Olympic Q & A: Bobsled time with Emily Azevedo

                       Emily Azevedo,  who will be competing in the bobsled for the 

                       Winter Olympics in Vancouver which start Feb. 12. Photo 

                        courtesy of the U.S. Bobsled and Skeleton Federation.

 Emily Azevedo took the next logical step after her track and field career.

Bobsledding.

OK, so maybe it’s not logical for you or me, but that’s only because we couldn’t pull that off.  The 26-year-old happens to have rocked that transition in a short amount of time.

In the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy, Azevedo was watching the bobsled events on TV and thinking it looked like something she might try. Four years later, she’s the brakewoman for driver Bree Schaaf in one of  three American bobsled pairs headed to the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver.

She was kind of enough to answer some questions via e-mail about why she took up bobsled, the training differences for bobsled and track and what she likes to do when she’s not in a bobsled.

CS: You are pretty new to the sport of bobsled. Why did you decide to get into it? What do you like about it?
EA: I was looking for the next step in my life and I was not ready to be finished with my athletic career.  I love competition and what better team to compete for than Team USA?  I love the thrill of the ride and the competition.  I also like how technical everything is as I feel I am constantly learning new things and new push form.

CS: You used to do track and field. Has it been weird to transition from a warm weather sport to a cold weather sport?
EA: Honestly, I am not a huge fan of the cold, but I am able to train in warm weather during the summer which helps to make up for the cold during the winter.

CS: What are you most looking forward to about the Olympics?
EA: I am most looking forward to walking in Opening Ceremonies.  I cannot imagine the thrill of representing my country on such a large stage.

CS: What are your goals for the Olympics?
EA: I think every athlete goes into the Olympics with a goal of a medal.  Special things seem to happen at the Olympic Games, so I think it can be anyone’s day.

CS: What events did you do in track and field? How is the training for bobsled similar and/or different from track and field?
EA: I was a hurdler at the University of California, Davis.  Bobsled training is similar to track training because we still have to have speed and do sprint workouts, but it is different because we are more focused on short bursts rather than long sprints.  The longest we will sprint is about 60 meters.  We also do a lot more weight lifting then is done in track and field.  We want to be as strong as powerful as possible, so we focus on a lot of Olympic lifts and squats. 

CS: What does a typical training day for you look like?
EA: During the off season a typical training day consists of waking up, eating and then heading to the track to do a sprint workout.  After the sprint workout I take some time to rest and refuel before going to the weight room for a lifting session.  During the season we have long hours at the track where two training runs can take hours to complete.  On top of sliding we have to find time in the day to lift and keep up with our strength training.

                                     Photo  courtesy of the U.S. Bobsled and Skeleton Federation.

CS: What is your routine on the days of competitions? What do you eat before races?
EA: I first attempt to eat some breakfast and then I get mentally prepared for the race and try to stay as calm as possible.  I often have a hard time eating the days of races, but the night before ideally I would have steak, potatoes and broccoli or green beans. 

CS: Do you enjoy cooking? If so, what do you like to cook?
EA: I do not really cook that often as I am mostly on the road or at training centers, but when I do I like to make Mexican food.

CS: What is your guilty pleasure food? 
EA: I love to eat and I love food.  Any kind of good food is my guilty pleasure, but I mostly love dessert.

CS: What do you enjoy doing when you aren't training or racing?
EA: I like to spend my time doing craft projects.  I also like to play cards with my teammates and watch movies. 

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Thanks Emily and good luck in Vancouver!

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Olympic Q & A: Shooting the breeze with Tim Burke

Tim Burke working it in the kitchen. Photo courtesy of Tim Burke

With the Winter Olympics less than a month away, I thought it would be fun to track down some Olympic athletes and find out more about them as they gear up for Vancouver.

Often times we only get to see these athletes when the Olympics roll around every four years, and that’s a shame; they work ridiculously hard and many of them have incredible stories about what they went through to achieve their goals.

So, here at the Concession Stand, we want to give them their much-deserved due.

We’re starting out with Tim Burke, a New York native who competes in the biathlon. This event is fascinating to me because it combines two things I’ll always be colossally bad at; skiing (I have some fairly disastrous stories) and shooting (never done it, but my aim suggests I should stay away from guns in any form).

Now, the 27-year-old Burke is not just any biathlete. He’s one of the best in the world currently, and possibly the best America has ever produced. So you know,  he's kind of a big deal. He’s currently competing in the biathlon World Cup right now, sitting in fourth place after this weekend’s race in Ruhpolding, Germany.

Even though Burke is super busy taking the biathlon world by storm, he was nice enough to take some time to answer some questions for us via e-mail about how he got into biathlons, his training routine, and achieving something no American has ever done before. 

CS: How did you get into competing in biathlons?
TB: Living in Lake Placid it of course made it easier to start in some kind of winter sports. I tried a lot of things, also alpine or ski jumping. But in the end it was the excitement and difficulty of biathlon that I really wanted to feel and train for.

CS: For Americans who maybe aren’t as familiar with the sport, put your achievement of taking the lead in the World Cup standings in perspective.
TB: That never happened before. Over the years the US athletes were always the underdogs in biathlon. There were some Top-15 or Top-10 finishes but to get the yellow bib is a different kind of achievement. You have to stay on top of your game over a long time and gain enough points to stay up front there.

CS: What has changed, if anything, for you over the last couple of years to lead to your World Cup success?
TB: It all started with hiring our coach Per Nilsson in 2006. He is from Sweden and introduced us to a new kind of training. Until I met Per I thought I trained hard. After meeting him I got to know what hard training really looks like!

CS: What do you enjoy most/enjoy least about the Olympic experience?
TB: It’s nice to see athletes from all over the world coming together to compete at one event. We see the biathlon family all year long so it will be nice to catch up with friends from different sports again. It probably will be amazing to compete on the American continent. The only Olympics I’ve been to were in Torino so I think Vancouver will be somehow like a home game for us.

CS: What are your goals for Vancouver?
TB: Of course I want a medal but we’ve seen it at the last Olympics: The Games have different rules. Just because you’ve been on the podium (during) the season does not ensure you a podium at the Olympics.
 
CS: What does a typical training day for you look like?
TB: Under the World Cup we get up in the morning and drive to the stadium together. What kind of training I do is decided beforehand with the coaches. Either we work some more at the shooting or I’ll do intervals on the tracks. It really depends what you’re working on. After that we’ll have lunch and rest a bit, maybe do some running or skiing later on, before we head to dinner.

CS: Do you pay careful attention to your diet? If so, what foods do you feel are beneficial to you competing at your best? 
TB: Of course we cannot eat whatever we want. The nutrition is quite important for a professional athlete. We have a good rich breakfast and often salad and pasta for lunch or dinner. It really depends on which World Cup location we are at. But the hotels do a pretty good job serving the teams what they want these days. So no one can complain about that.
 
CS: Do you enjoy cooking for yourself? If so, what do you like to cook?
TB: If I have the time I of course like to cook for myself. But again it depends on the time you have. We like to cook ourselves when we’re on training camps but in the winter it’s not that easy to find some time cooking. After the World Cup in Oberhof I made a big American breakfast at my German girlfriend’s house. She really liked it!

CS: What is your routine on days you compete?
TB: Getting up and getting in shape basically. On normal days you have breakfast, head to the stadium and start zeroing. But sometimes the competitions are in the evening so we do some small workouts in the morning.
 
CS: When you don’t have to worry about what you are eating, what is your guilty pleasure food?
TB: Probably Pizza in Europe or some good barbecue back home.


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If you want to keep up with Burke, he writes a blog at www.timburke.us/. Good luck in Vancouver Tim! We'll be watching!

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Straight from the Commish's mouth

             Joe Cahn, middle, is the self-proclaimed Commissioner of Tailgating. 

      Left, is a guy who demonstrates why I don't mess with Philly fans. Photo courtesy of Joe Cahn

                             

Let me start out by saying I’m incredibly jealous of Joe Cahn’s “job.”

He travels the country, meets tons of cool people, and grubs with them.

That my friends, is what we here at the Concession Stand call a dream job.

Cahn travels around as a professional tailgater (is there a website where I can apply for this job?) and has tailgated at more than 500 stadiums and traveled some 500,000 miles on this 14-year journey. The Fort Worth resident (and New Orleans native) also has his own TV show now on TLC called “Tailgate Takedown” where he searches for the country’s top tailgaters.

Cahn, 61 (“24 in tailgate years” he says) was kind enough to chat with me about being the Commissioner of Tailgating, this weekend’s playoff match ups (watch out for brisket vs. bratwurst), what NFL city would win the Super Bowl of tailgating, and he also gives us a recipe to try.Oh, and by the way, the guy used to run a cooking school in New Orleans. He knows a thing or two about good food.

CS: Will you be at any of the games this weekend?
JC: I went to the Dallas (vs. Philadelphia) game last weekend. I had some great BBQ. But this weekend I’m going to see how it is to watch it on multi televisions in a sports bar and save everything for the Super Bowl and the Pro Bowl.

CS: If there was a Super Bowl of tailgating, which NFL city would win and why?
JC: Well, I would think you would have places like Houston, which has really embraced tailgating with the Texans and there’s probably more family tailgates than any other city. It’s more families, more children, more young children and more people who are coming to the tailgate who don’t have tickets (to the game); Texas hospitality to visitors and fellow tailgaters alike.

Kansas City, you can see the smoke rise on the horizons. Planes can’t fly over the stadium because of the smoke.

CS: Really?
JC: No. I made that up. But it sounds good.

Green Bay, it’s bratwurst and hospitality. Just about every city, it would be close; whether it’s San Francisco, Oakland or San Diego, whether it would be New England or Miami or Philadelphia or Chicago. They are all in the hunt for the Super Bowl of tailgating. Too close to call, but I’d like to be the referee.

                  Cahn, left, stirs up a big pot of jambalaya. Photo courtesy of Joe Cahn

CS: Out of those eight cities (left in the playoffs) what was your overall favorite tailgating dish you had and why?
JC: Baltimore has regional food, we’re talking about crab cakes. We put the crab cakes against Midwestern food meat and potatoes (for Indianapolis). Hard to handicap that one. It comes very close.

We go up to Minnesota, playing Dallas, it’s brisket vs. bratwurst. It could slightly favor brisket but I don’t know...

I am New Orleanian. I’m from New Orleans and I have to favor New Orleans over anybody. It has its own cuisine. But Phoenix has some incredible Tex-Mex and incredible Southwestern cuisine. But I’d give the edge there to New Orleans.

San Diego and the Jets  is a toss up.  You can’t get any further away than that. It’s a lot of skirt steak and a lot of guacamole (in San Diego). With the Jets, every ethnic group is represented, whether it be Italian or Irish or German, the Jets’ stadium is virtually a smorgasbord. The Jets and Giants probably lead the league in diversity.

CS: What gave you the idea to be the Commissioner of Tailgating?
JC: This is my 14th year. I have been to over 500 stadiums and covered over 500,000 miles. Tailgating has become the new American social. We don’t have block parties anymore, 4th of July picnics…the community (now) gathers in a parking lot, whether it be pro, college, or Nascar or polo, or Jimmy Buffet concerts. It’s all about the socialization of America eating well.

CS: Did you ever imagine tailgating would lead to so many opportunities for you? You have a TV show now right?
JC: "Tailgate Takedown." In the beginning it’s what I wanted to do. In 1996 I went to every NFL stadium in a season and wanted to do a TV series on the road in my motor home. This is before the food channel and everything else. After the first three or four years I didn’t want a TV series. When I signed the contract with TLC I was asked 'are you excited?'

(I said) I am excited…but to tell you the truth it cuts into my tailgating time. It’s not work work, but it’s cutting into my tailgating time. I don’t get to be with my friends, I don’t get to walk around as much, and that’s very important to me.


CS: Do you actually go and see the games afterwords?
JC: What game? There’s a game after tailgating? I was wondering where everyone was going. I gotta write this down and put it on my website. (laughing)

Very rarely do I go in and the reason I don’t go in is I’m a fan of every team. I root for the home team. Wherever I am, I am a fan of that team. I have jerseys from every team. I have learned not to go inside because I go nuts.

CS: Why do you think food is so intertwined with sporting events?
JC: We have something in common. Normally a sporting event — that’s what makes football so ideal — normally it’s on a weekend where we have leisure time. No. 2, there’s a big area for this to happen; there’s a big parking lot that we can bring our grill, bring our tables. It is a very large area. We come out and we celebrate the team; not only the team, but the city. We come out to Baltimore we not only celebrate the Ravens, we celebrate Baltimore and the area of Baltimore. It’s an ideal place to have sports as the catalyst for the city.

Football is so ideal also because the time of year. It’s fall. Sociology and anthropology show it’s a time of year that we have to fatten up ourselves for the winter. So we have the fattening up that is still very much, I think, active in our brains.


CS: One recipe on your site I should try?
JC: They’re all really good. The simplest one is my jambalaya recipe. It’s an easy dish to do and feeds a lot of people. You can make it with anything. You can make anywhere from a vegetarian jambalaya to a seafood jambalaya and everything in between.

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The Concession Stand would like to thank the Commissioner of Tailgating for taking the time to talk. If you'd like more info on "Tailgate Takedown" or more recipes from the Commissioner, check out his website at www.tailgating.com/ 

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