Dubai chef dishes out diet secrets of tennis stars

Everybody knows the diet of a top athlete is of utmost importance.

So, while each star tennis player may have a request there is one man — as well as a trusty army bringing up the rear — who makes their demands possible.

Chef De Wet Van Der Westhuizen knows only too well the pressure of performance. Head chef at The Cellar restaurant and The Aviation Club, he has the responsibility of feeding an average of 2,000 mouths each day during the tennis championships.

Feeding players, visitors, media and staff, this is one man who has no choice but to ace it everyday, otherwise a lot of people go hungry.

"Overall the players love pasta and Djokovic loves loads of red and white grapes," he said. "Other than that it's milkshake, which is the most popular. Lots and lots of milkshake."

During the tournament, the chef feeds 2,000 people each day for 14 days — that means 28,000 happy people in total.

The chef uses:

• 300kg x 14 days = 4,200kg of potatoes
• 40kg x 14 days = 560kg of hummous
• 60kg x 14 days = 840kg of smoked salmon
• 60kg x 14 days = 840kg of pasta
• 120kg x 14 days = 1,680kg of chicken
• 200kg x 14 days = 2,800kg of prawns

The restaurants also go through two tonnes of fresh bananas during the tournament.

Chill-out zone

After the tennis The Cellar is still a favourite for many year-round.

It has an elegant yet cosy atmosphere with indoor and outdoor seating options.

An all-you-can-eat menu is priced at Dh135 per person and includes one beverage and on Saturday it costs Dh205 for all you can eat and drink. Timings from noon-3pm.

For more information, call 04 2829333.