The Sunday Read: Inside an NHL Kitchen, How the Bruins Fuel Up with Food

BOSTON –– It is just after 5:00 a.m. at Warrior Ice Arena. Peter Haney and Spencer Thompson throw on their chef coats and head down to the loading dock to wheel in all the ingredients.

Soon, the Boston Bruins will be swarming the kitchen, filling their breakfast plates ahead of morning skate. Until then, Haney and Thompson prepare to feed over 30 people four times throughout game day.

Haney joined the B’s as a team chef in January 2023, and Thompson arrived the following October. While not on the ice at TD Garden, the duo is a key piece of the players’ success.

“It is pretty cool to be fueling athletes,” Haney said. “I am not taking any credit for anything that they do, but it is cool to be part of the team and part of the process and helping the guys get what they need to be fueled for what they do every day.”

Haney always cooked with his mom growing up. While he did not attend culinary school, Haney kept coming back to the kitchen because it was what he loved, he said. After working with restaurateurs Ken Oringer and Jamie Bissonnette at Toro in the South End for five years, he landed with the Bruins.

It was a similar story for Thompson, who started cooking on Martha’s Vineyard with his grandma and dad. He got a degree in English and critical theory, but was also drawn back to the culinary world after graduating. Stops at different restaurants in Massachusetts and Philadelphia led Thompson to his role today.​

“Literally as I was looking, I just saw the Bruins and I was like, ‘This can’t be real.’ I applied,” Thompson said. “I was probably risking getting my identity stolen – it felt too good to be true.”

Learning the needs and cadence of feeding a professional sports team was a new challenge for Haney and Thompson, but they now have it down to a science – especially before a matchup at TD Garden.

“We have a pretty standardized, tried and tested game-day menu at this point, but we’re always working with the players,” Thompson said.

After unloading the ingredients, it all comes to life inside the Chef Keith Garman Kitchen at Warrior. Breakfast includes chocolate chip pancakes, blueberry muffins, oatmeal, toppings, scrambled eggs, frittata, a spread of fruit and avocado.​

“We go through 120 to 150 eggs for breakfast. We crack them all ourselves, we don’t do the bagged eggs or anything,” Haney said.

For lunch, there is a salad bar, four kinds of pasta (gluten-free, chickpea, whole wheat and regular spaghetti), four sauces (pesto, bolognese, marinara, alfredo), cheeses, chicken, salmon, rice, broccoli, sweet potato puree and soup.

Haney and Thompson go through 40 pounds of protein for lunch during the regular season. Training camp is another beast, because they are feeding two teams and all the staff. Those days call for around 90 pounds of protein.

“The players are pretty dialed in, it seems like, with their game-day meals and routines,” Thompson said. “There are people who we know exactly what they are going to have for lunch. We kind of just dial in to what the players need.”

Once the B’s are done eating, Haney and Thompson head to TD Garden to set up the pregame snack, which is gluten-free pancakes, oatmeal, fruits, soup and breads. A post-game meal is also prepared to be ready for the Bruins to take home.

The hard work does not go unnoticed by the team. Jeremy Swayman, who has been eating Haney and Thompson’s food since they joined the Bruins, takes pride in his diet, he said, and the chefs have a big influence on that.​

“The ship doesn’t sail without those guys. They’re really true unsung heroes of the group. They feed every single person on the Bruins, including the staff. I tell them every day, this ship doesn’t sail without them...always keeping us in shape and just having a good attitude every day,” Swayman said. “They always have a smile on their faces. Big testament to what kind of human beings they are.”

Some of Swayman’s favorite foods from Haney and Thompson are the game-day muffins, curry spreads and turkey tips, he said. The players’ feedback adds another layer of purpose to the job in the kitchen.

“You go from a restaurant where the chef is one of the most important people in the building to – food is important – but you have to put that ego behind and do whatever you have to do to make sure they get the best food they can get,” Haney said.

​Part of providing the players with the best food they can get is using clean and purposeful ingredients. Julie Nicoletti, who is the Bruins’ nutritionist, collaborates with Haney, Thompson and the players to create the menu.

Nicoletti started her nutrition company, Kinetic Fuel, in 2008 and joined the Bruins in 2015.

“It was a lot of learning the sport. But also learning the demands of the sport from a metabolic standpoint and what they need nutritionally in order to be able to sustain their performance and recover properly,” Nicoletti said.

​“The pregame meal has changed dramatically since 2015. It used to be like steak and mashed potatoes, and there was a tower of different candies, and the chocolate chip cookies were enormous. We’ve definitely cleaned it up.”

Nicoletti is very intentional with what is provided for the players. At the salad bar, she includes baby spinach to bring oxygenated blood to the players’ working muscles, and walnuts for vitamin E, tissue repair and healing, she said.

“They’re just adding walnuts to their spinach salad, but there’s a little bit of method to the madness,” Nicoletti said. “I think what I’ve tried to do is make it so easy for them that they can choose the foods that they like and still get the nutrients that they need. For example, they’re choosing between chicken and salmon as their protein. Both of them are going to offer great protein. The salmon is going to have some Omega-3s, but there are also walnuts that are provided with the salad and the avocado.”

Nicoletti said when she first started, she had to explain to the players why nutrition and a balanced diet were important for their on-ice production. Now, though, most of the Bruins come in with an understanding and desire to eat the right things.

“Over the years, it has gotten more and more prominent in professional sports,” Swayman said. “We burn a lot of calories, so we think we can eat whatever we want, which is okay sometimes, but definitely in moderation. As an athlete, you feel the benefits of eating well and eating clean. It is something that we’ve all really taken seriously, and it has helped a lot.”

It is a fresh mindset in the kitchen for Haney and Thompson; the health benefits and taste are always equally considered in all the recipes they make.​

“It is definitely different from a restaurant or really anywhere I’ve worked,” Thompson said. “A lot of the restaurants I’ve worked at, it’s just like how much butter can you put into something? We are definitely not working in that way. We use healthier, leaner meats. Never before a game would we use butter in anything. Sometimes we’ll make an expectation postgame if it’s something that would really suffer without it.”

Nicoletti also works one-on-one with players to customize food plans based on body composition and what their ideal playing weight is. Some guys struggle to keep weight on during the season, while others have to keep it in check, she said. Nicoletti’s favorite part of her job is guiding the Bruins through the essential off-ice component of their training.

“I love getting to know them individually, I love understanding their struggles and the things that are easy for them,” Nicoletti said. “Some guys have great digestion, steel stomachs and they like everything. There are other players who have more difficulty with digestion, a more sensitive stomach, dietary preferences, allergies. Everybody is different.”

Nicoletti, Haney and Thompson take pride in being a piece of the Bruins’ daily routine and overarching performance, and food is a special way to do it.

“It brings people together,” Thompson said. “It feels like guys will sometimes start the season on the fringes, and through sharing meals together, the team grows together. It is cool to be a part of that.”

Recipes from Chef Pete and Spencer

GAMEDAY PANCAKES

2 cups Gluten-free flour

2 eggs

1 ½ cup almond milk

½ cup maple syrup

½ cup extra virgin olive oil

1 Banana

1 teaspoon baking soda

small pinch of salt

½ cup dark chocolate chips

• In a blender blend the banana and almond milk, set aside.
• In a medium bowl whisk flour, baking soda, and salt.
• Add wet all ingredients to bowl and whisk until smooth.
• Fold in dark chocolate chips.

SWEET POTATO PIE MUFFINS

2 Cups gluten-free flour

2 eggs

1 cup mashed sweet potatoes (1 large sweet potatoes peeled, boiled and mashed)

1 over ripe banana

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/4 cup water

pinch of salt

½ teaspoon cinnamon

¼ teaspoon nutmeg

¼ teaspoon allspice

1/2 cup white chocolate chips chopped

• In a stand mixer mix on medium speed- eggs, mashed sweet potato, banana, brown sugar, olive oil and spices until smooth.
• Stop the mixer and add flour, salt, and baking soda. Return to medium speed until mixed
• Add water and chopped white chocolate chips.
• Bake at 325 for about 15 minutes, rotating halfway through.
• This will yield about a dozen regular sized muffins.

CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

370 g brown sugar

130 g turbinado sugar

453 g unsalted butter, cut into cubes, cold from the fridge

3 whole eggs, plus 1 egg yolk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

14 g salt

14 g baking soda

45 g whole oats

450 g 1:1 gluten-free flour

565 g chocolate chips

Optional: 75 g crushed Cracklin’ Oat Bran cereal

• In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter, brown sugar, and turbinado sugar on medium-low speed until light, fluffy, and pale. Increase the speed to medium-high and add the eggs one at a time, allowing each to fully incorporate before adding the next. Mix in the vanilla extract, then scrape down the bowl thoroughly.
• Add all the dry ingredients at once: the gluten-free flour, whole oats, crushed Cracklin’ Oat Bran (if using), chocolate chips, baking soda, and salt. Mix on low speed until just combined.
• Refrigerate the dough for at least 24 hours to hydrate the flours and develop flavor.
• When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 360°F on the convection setting. Portion the dough into ¾-ounce balls and arrange them on a parchment- or silicone-lined baking sheet. Bake for about 12 minutes, or until the centers are just set and the edges are lightly golden. Immediately sprinkle with flaky salt. Let cool slightly before serving.