It may not be the Team Sky luxury bus, but Team Saxo Bank riders will have their own gourmet rolling kitchen and pro chef catering to their dietary needs throughout the season. Seimens and Invita have sponsored the creation of a mobile gourmet kitchen, which will be put to work doing some “Performance Cooking” developed by Danish chef Thorsten Schmidt, owner of two restaurants and noted chef de cuisine.
PRESS RELEASE: Throughout the past decade, Riis Cycling has been groundbreaking in terms of developing new, progressive methods to achieve superb team results. From the season 2010, the Team has initiated a project under the name “Performance Cooking†with gourmet-chef, Thorsten Schmidt and in close teamwork with Anne Dorthe Tanderup he will secure a nutritious and partially ecological diet for the Team riders. To gain full benefit from the project, Invita has sponsored a well-equipped kitchen fully mounted in a Team truck with kitchen appliances from Siemens. To be independent of hotel kitchens provides Team Saxo Bank with a number of advantages which can be crucial in order to reach the overall goals:
“At this high level of athletic performance, we know that the very last percentage is crucial in order to be successful. We have initiated this project with Thorsten Schmidt to deliver gourmet expertise combined with healthy, delicious and nutritious food to the riders. Besides the beneficial nutrient content, the food has a positive effect on the social life among the riders in both one-day races and perhaps even more so in the longer stage races where the riders crave variation and positive team experiences,†states Anne Dorthe Tanderup.
Thorsten Schmidt is the owner of the two restaurants, Malling&Schmidt and Nordisk Spisehus and he has won international recognition. His superb skills made him menu co-responsible at the royal wedding of Joachim, prince of Denmark and Princess Marie in 2008 at the castle of Schackenborg:
â€It has always been important to me to seek new challenges in order to keep up the high level of my performance and combining gourmet with healthy food is a very interesting experience for me. The interdisciplinarity of this project calls for a close dialogue between Anne Dorthe (Tanderup), the riders and myself to perform and to accommodate the riders’ needs and tastebuds. Just like Team Saxo Bank, I am willing to be innovative to be one step ahead of everyone else in the field and that’s why this project is unique for me,†says Thorsten Schmidt.
