For the past six seasons, chef Eli Collins has been responsible for feeding players from the Philadelphia 76ers, including three as the team’s executive chef, writes Kiki Aranita for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

As executive chef, how he builds his menus and breaks dishes down is analogous to basketball.

“Three to four proteins, two starches, three to four veggies of varying degrees of cookedness, a giant salad, maybe a sweet treat, maybe a soup,” he said.

Collins works with Emily Werner, the team’s dietitian, who gives him suggestions on menus and advises him on a slew of personalized smoothies for him and his staff to whip up.

For lunch, Collins makes meals entirely from scratch using ingredients from Philadelphia’s top purveyors.

While he travels with the team, Collins doesn’t cook for them on the road. Instead, he uses those opportunities to observe how the players interact with food when he isn’t the one feeding them. 

“It’s hard work but it’s fun work. I love it so much. Feeding our athletes is amazing. We have such an incredible staff. Everyone is working hard, working towards the goal of winning, trying to be champions. The whole building has that championship mentality,” said Collins.

Read more about how Eli Collins feeds the Sixers and his views on the Philly food scene at The Philadelphia Inquirer.

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