Until a Professional Soccer Player's Meal is Ready

Before I started cooking for the day, the weather was bad and the shop was surprisingly slow, so I felt a mysterious sense of leisure.

As a result, I ended up in a living hell right before departure time, as usual...
Here is the note from around 12:00 on that day↓

I am currently in charge of three professional soccer players.
One player from Avispa Fukuoka and two players from Sagan Tosu.
There are other players who request meals on a one-off basis, but I started this note to document the reality of cooking for players for whom I prepare meals more than half the days of the month.

My involvement in meal preparation varies from player to player.
Compared to around 2019 when I started making athlete meals, this year's meal preparation has changed so much that even I am surprised, and thankfully, I am now in a position where I have to tearfully decline contract requests.
I deeply feel that it was good to keep making them.

Even though it's tough.

Now, the reality of actual meal preparation.
(This time, it's the version for a business trip meal for an Avispa Fukuoka player)
Around 9:30 in the morning on this day, I quickly listed as many ingredients as I could think of that I might want to use today and sent them to the group LINE with the player and their exclusive registered dietitian.

Then, after a while, I got a reply with some instructions.

This day was about carrots and apples.
So, I wrote that down in my notebook so it would be easy for me to understand. (I call it a blueprint)

Something like this↓

Since I also run my shop while preparing athlete meals, I use diagrams to check things as I go.

I did the prep work and cooking while rushing around until it was time to leave.

Actually, while I make nutritionally balanced meals for others, I don't even have time to eat my own meals. That's how packed my daily schedule is.
I'm currently working on improving that part little by little!

Even with the shop like this, time was ticking away and I was almost in tears.

I prepared until the very last minute before departure, got into the car, and set off.

Once I arrived, I immediately started cooking and finishing up.

Now, there was a request for lots of carrots on this day.
I usually steam carrots and use them as a topping for salads.
Usually about 20 to 30g.

But since there was an instruction to use between 100 and 150g on this day, I was worried...
I was worried about how to use them...

If the player hated carrots, it would turn into a hellish menu.
It's okay! I wasn't told they hated them.

I grilled about 90g of carrots...
And this is the remaining amount.

Just throw it in the soup curry! I was running out of time and panicking, so I just gave up and threw it all in.

I tossed the carrots into the squid and octopus soup curry.

And so, I somehow managed to get it done.

Please don't mention my messy handwriting! lol
I keep scribbling notes as I go.

The finished athlete's meal. ↓

While they are eating, I spend the time cleaning up, preparing extra rice, and scrubbing the stove and microwave I used.
Since I received some strawberries that day, I also processed them for storage.

In between, I answer questions about ingredients and cooking methods.
If a player is curious about something, I immediately contact the registered dietitian to confirm.
That day, it was about the deep-fried tofu.

Every day is truly a learning experience.
Although it wasn't this day, there have been times when I couldn't answer questions, wasn't satisfied with the result, or forgot something...
I often feel down about my own incompetence.
In reality, I haven't reached the passing grade for what's required, and in the last three months, there have been about five days where I cried in the car on the way home out of frustration.

I still need more training.

When I get back to Tosu, I return to the shop to continue prep work, and when that's done, I head home.

I eat dinner (which is often my first meal of the day), relax a bit, and then compile the day's meal records into a file before I forget.
I take photos and report via LINE.

This is pretty much the daily routine.
Just when I think I'm done, I start thinking about the next day's lunch and athlete's meal, and the day ends in a flash.

The business trip meals started in January.
Three months have passed, and I finally feel like I've gotten into a rhythm.

I was honestly hesitant about whether to accept the offer, but I feel from the bottom of my heart that I'm glad I did.

There were many moments even in this short period where I almost teared up seeing how earnestly the players dedicate themselves to soccer.
I think this is a side of them I wouldn't have seen just by serving meals at the restaurant.

Because my respect for the players is at the root of my cooking, I can keep doing my best tomorrow and the day after.

That's all for today. I wonder what I should make tomorrow.