High Performance Preparation in the Kitchen

On 11th and 14th June, the Irish Institute of Sport teamed up with Wagamama to bring a cookery class in the restaurant along with head chef, Juan Mancea, and Institute nutritionist, Sharon Madigan.  It consisted of an interactive learning experience so athletes could acquire new cooking skills. 

The first half of the class consisted of the group breaking up in pairs and experimenting with a different cooking method and then the second half of the class they prepared their own meal, cooked it in the restaurant kitchen and ate the final product.  After their lunch Juan presented each athlete with a Wagamama cookery book, t-shirt, discount card and voucher for a free meal. 

The event was attend by a selection of Ireland's high performance athletes from both Olympic and Paralympics squads including - hurdler Derval O'Rourke, Paralympics table tennis player Eimear Breathnach, sailors Peter O'Leary &Annalise Murphy, pent-athlete Natalya Coyle, boxers Darren O'Neill, Adam Nolan & Paddy Barnes as well asParalympic Swimmer Ellen Keane & runners Catriona Jennings, Fionnuala Britton, Linda Byrne & Michael Kenneally.

Watch some of the action on the video links below

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qUXIsrOsVK0&feature=plcp

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c8FwvxdKiSo&feature=plcp

Wagamama Operations manager, Christine Chung said "It is a very exciting time for Irish Athletes and Wagamamas are delighted to support their healthy eating ethos by assisting them with their meal preparation and teaching them how to cook some of our easily prepared and healthy meals and wish them all the best in their sporting endeavors"

Commenting on behalf of the Institute of Sport, Sharon Madigan, Nutritionist - "We are delighted to have the opportunity to be involved with Wagamama and to have Jaun and the teams expertise to build a really interactive session for our athletes which helps in their preparation, even to the level of food preparation!It's so often difficult in a busy schedule of training and competing to prepare food and Wagamamas are helping us simplify cooking and make it fun for the athletes. The key education point is that our athletes realise that something as enjoyable as what they eat and drink can have a significant impact on their performance and overall health in a high performance environment".