Monday, April 21, 2008 Unsung heroes make sure athletes stay fit By Marian C. Baring Sun.Star Staff Reporter
PUERTO Princesa—One hundred eighty kilos of meat, 180 kilos of fish and dozens of eggs, sacks of vegetables, fruits and rice are being whipped up into nourishing meals everyday by a kitchen staff of four—the unsung heroes of the Palaro—for the 600 athletes and officials of Region 7 who are staying at the Palawan National High School.
“We are feeding 600 persons without counting the security personnel that are being assigned to us. Our kitchen is always busy,” said kitchen supervisor and dietician
Jesusa Macalisang, who is also the head of EcoTech.
Nutrition
Yesterday morning, the athletes had a hearty breakfast of rice, pork tocino, fish and banana.
Macalisang, who also specializes in sports nutrition, said that their main concern in preparing for the menu is the nutritional balance since they have to look after the athletes’ needs.
“At first they were on a regular diet and nearing the start of the competitions, we minimized the rice intake,” she said. The athletes have been in Palawan for one week already.
Macalisang added that there are those who request for special diets like the taekwondo, boxing and swimming teams.
“They have diet restrictions and are mostly on fruit diet. So we set this aside for them and the coaches will get it from the kitchen,” Macalisang added.
Another main concern for Macalisang is the cleanliness and handling the food during preparations. “I see to it that everything is clean. When we buy meat, we do not buy the those that are already cut . We slave to slice the meat and wash them with running water,” she said.
Macalisang said that one thing she prays does not happen is for anyone to suffer stomach problems because of the food.
“I hope that will not happen. While we do not want that to be the reason why our athletes could not play, I also do not want to lose my license,” she said.
Macalisang brought along with her are all trained personnel to be assured that they serve good, clean food.
“We have three cooks, servers and waiters. The only one we hired from here is the dishwasher,” she said.
Every meal time, all 600 of the delegation line up to get their meals. Right after meals, however, the kitchen is already busy and it never rests as it starts right away preparing for the next meal for its 600 hungry customers.
