A private chef for a top NBA star has shared what she cooks for the player on game night and the delicious-looking meal isn’t too tricky to replicate at home.
From playing 82-plus games a season, practice sessions and countless media appearances, professional basketball players have huge demands on their time and so many will turn to private chefs to cook them nutritious meals that keep them fueled up and ready to perform.
Private chef shares the meal she cooks for NBA player on game night
Private chef Stephany Victoria shares her cooking exploits on social media and boasts more than 500,000 followers on TikTok and a further 330,000 on Instagram.
In a recent video, posted on April 21, Stephany shares what she cooks for her player client on the night of a game, this means ‘a light dinner,’ she says in the caption.
The video, which has earned more than 11 million views on TikTok, sees the chef preparing an appetizer and main for the player and his wife as well as a dish of pan-seared chicken thighs for a high-protein snack, oatmeal banana cookies for dessert and pureed protein and vegetables for the couple’s child.
The appetizer that Stephany prepares is a shrimp ceviche, a popular dish in Latin America alongside baked plantain chips and Belgian endive, which is a leaf vegetable of the same family as chicory.
Meanwhile, for the main dish, the chef cooks up pan-seared grouper, topped with a citrus salsa and served alongside sautéed green beans, and pan-seared radishes on a cashew and cilantro spread.
Stephany doesn’t reveal the identity of her NBA client in her video but detective fans in the comments have a theory.
How to prepare the meal yourself at home
Stephany doesn’t share her exact recipes in the video but if you fancy having a go of making the meal yourself, we’ve found some similar recipes online.
Appetizer – Shrimp Ceviche
Recipe courtesy of Inspired Taste.
- To make shrimp ceviche, start by quickly poaching the required portion of shrimp in salt water for one minute (this process can be skipped if the shrimp is very fresh). You don’t want to leave it in for long, however, as the shrimp in this dish is supposed to be raw – the citrus juices ‘cook’ the protein in the shrimp.
- As seen in Stephanie’s video, she quickly places the shrimp into ice to stop it from cooking further. The poaching step is only there to kill off any bacteria in the shrimp.
- Cut the shrimp into ½ inch pieces and toss with lime juice and lemon juice and then mix with red onion, cucumber, minced chili peppers and cilantro before refrigerating for 30 minutes.
- When serving, stir in a little diced avocado.
For baked plantain chips – a savory cousin of bananas – thinly slice a plantain, place the pieces on a parchment-lined baking tray, add a little salt and bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes at 350° F (roughly 180° C) until crisp and golden along the edges.
There are several ways to prepare Belgian endives, but Stephany appears to serve them raw (or potentially ever so slightly braised) with her dish, perfect for scooping up the shrimp ceviche.
Main – Pan-seared Grouper
Recipe courtesy of Champagne Tastes.
- Dust grouper fillets with flour and season them with salt
- Add butter and oil to the frying pan and begin frying the fish once the butter melts.
- Allow to cook on one side for three to four minutes before flipping then cook for another three minutes.
To make the citrus salsa, cut a grapefruit by carefully slicing out the flesh and leaving the white pith (which we see Stephany doing in her video), chop up some red onion, cilantro and jalapeño peppers and mix with lime juice and olive oil. This is then drizzled on top of the fish.
For the sides, sauté a portion of green beans and pan-sear a portion of radishes, the latter are placed on top of a cashew and cilantro spread, a recipe for which you can find on The Rustic Foodie.
Aside from the meal itself, we also see Stephanie preparing pan-seared chicken thighs to grab for an easy, high-protein snack as well as some oatmeal banana cookies, which make for another healthier alternative to their chocolate chip counterparts. You can also find recipes for these online too.
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