Team chef Aron Espeland shipped half a tonne of fresh Norwegian seafood to US to ensure players are at the top of their game.
‘It’s a demanding job to plan and serve four daily meals to more than sixty people over such a long period, but thanks to thorough preparations and fantastic ingredients from Norway, we are ready for the challenge. I am really looking forward to doing my part to help the players perform at their best during the World Cup,’ he said.
Aron Espeland has temporarily relocated from Brasserie France in Oslo to the Norway team’s hotel in Greensboro, North Carolina. Together with chefs Eirik Tufte and Christian Karlsson, he will ensure that Erling Braut Haaland and his teammates get high-performance meals as they prepare for their group-stage matches against Senegal and France.
‘Proper nutrition is very important when they are performing at the highest level, so the players need to get enough vitamins and minerals every single day. It is our responsibility to put together menus that are varied, inviting, nutritious and healthy,’ Aron Espeland said.
Seafood provides players with the essential proteins and nutrients they need for match-day peak performance as well as post-game recovery. Norwegian seafood offers high-quality lean protein, as well as a host of other nutrients including omega-3 fatty acids, vitamins A, B12 and D, selenium and iron.
While all of these serve important roles in sporting performance, omega-3 is beneficial to ensure healthy circulation, heart rate and lung function while footballers are in play. Vital to brain health, research has found quicker reactions and decision-making in elite players who consume more omega-3.
Optimal vitamin D levels, too, are essential for peak performance, contributing to muscle strength – reducing the risk of injury – as well as immune support and overall athletic performance. Studies have found many athletes are deficient in vitamin D,1 which is why the role of a considered seafood-fuelled menu is so important.
‘The Norwegian players love fish and shellfish, so I can promise they will be served plenty of excellent seafood while they are in the US,’ he said.
‘We have brought around 500kg of seafood from Norway. The menu includes salmon, trout, saithe, Arctic char, turbot, halibut, king crab, snow crab and langoustines.’
Studies have found a high proportion of professional athletes lacking in the levels of omega-3 required for recovery from high-endurance sport.2 This is where Espeland’s seafood-heavy menu steps in as he makes promises to look after the nutritional needs of Norway’s World Cup squad.
He also stresses the importance of the meals as a social arena and mood-booster for the entire national team set-up.
‘Good food creates a good atmosphere, so there is an added dimension when we are gathered together over a longer period. There is a balance in everything we do as a group, and that applies to the food as well. Now we just need to remember to enjoy the experiences here in the US, because being part of this will be a memory for life,’ he said.
