Sports restaurant

Passion for the job. Passion for food. That is what our kitchen team of the Elite sports restaurant radiates. The team strives to perfect meals under the supervision of chef and manager Erik te Velthuis. The elite athlete is top priority in this. Because the right diet is crucial when you perform elite sports. It is not solely fuel for the trainings, but it can also save injuries. The Elite sports restaurant provides the right basic nutrition for elite athletes all day long.

Reformulating recipes. That is the strength of our kitchen team. Chef and manager Erik te Velthuis makes pancakes of quinoa with salmon and spinach, for instance. Falafel of beans and chickpeas and healthy pizzas. Just as tasty as the unhealthy variations but with a critical look at the composition. So that fats, proteins and carbohydrates are always in balance. For protein and carbohydrate recovery. Various innovations have emerged from this, such as sports quark and sports bars ‘Gold in your hand’. The innovation and development of new functional food for elite athletes is what the Elite sports restaurant is all about. Nutrition and science join together. The restaurant serves as a perfect experimental ground for testing the sports nutrition innovations and new equipment. However, there is always one key motto: “Food must be tasty”.

You only have access to the Elite sports restaurant if you own a Papendal card. All elite athletes own one. To open doors. And pay their meals with. If an athlete has put together his lunch in the restaurant and pays for it, the cash register system sends the products and their nutritional values directly to the Papendal Nutrition App. Stripes on his smartphone indicate if the athlete has taken in sufficient proteins, fats and carbohydrates. Whether he has reached the daily limit on magnesium and iron yet.

An athlete can also enter products which were purchased outside of our centre. This way, an athlete can manage his diet himself, in accordance with his trainings. Information on what the elite athlete eats and which nutrients he takes in is accessible for the sports dietician through the dieticians portal. This makes it easy for the dietician to provide nutritional advice.

The chefs work closely with sports dieticians and national coaches. To effectively meet the wishes of our elite athletes. The objective of our Elite sports restaurant is to serve our elite athletes @Papendal to the best of our abilities. Not just with a varied offer. And use of pure and organic products. But also by keeping price levels low. The Elite sports restaurant is a nonprofit restaurant. And thus not generally accessible. Solely elite athletes, coaches and employee can enjoy meals here. The Elite sports restaurant is the living room of elite sports @Papendal.

Do you want to get inspired by chef Erik te Velthuis? Or do you want to cook healthy meals at home? Erik gives various presentations and cooking workshops. In addition, he and sports dietician Brenda Frunt have written a cookbook by the name of ‘Goud op je bord’. Full of delicious recipes which are easy to prepare.