BEREA, Ohio — Last Thursday, Cleveland Browns rookies gathered for some off-field competition at Baldwin Wallace University, just down the street from their Berea practice facility, as the team held its annual Rooks to Cooks event.
The Browns partner with the BWU's dining services every year to help players by teaching them nutritious life skills they'll need as many prepare for life after college.
"I think I'm perfecting this. You know, as my sous chef would say, he said I'm killing it I'm dicing it," Browns running back Davon Booth said.
A parfait building challenge allowed the rookies to get creative, using different berries, sauces and cookies.
"We're taking great strides to get them where they need to be to cook at home safely," said Culinary Operations Manager Ashley Heidenreich.
Ron Brewer, director of player engagement, had some pointers to give the players as they had some friendly competition.
"I'm telling them to be smart because a lot of guys wanna turn it up, like right away, extremely high. So, you still wanna have time because you want the meat to cook. So you just wanna take your time and let it kinda gradually warm up," Brewer said.
The rooks also learned knife skills for their entree, which consisted of different vegetables and protein.
"They're very competitive, so they all do their best to get the cuts right as they're going through the instruction and make the best dish out of the bunch," said Heidenreich.
At the end of the delicious day of learning, four awards were given to the rookies:
- Best overall chef: Offensive lineman Spencer Fano
- Runner-up: Defensive end Tyreak Sapp
- Most technical: Cornerback Nate Evans
- Most creative: Safety Zion Washington
