Get to Know: Danielle Barone, Performance Sous Chef, New York Giants
When it comes to fueling the field, FLIK Hospitality has what it takes. In our growing athletics division, our tailored approach to culinary excellence means working hand-in-hand with each team’s dietitians and performance coaches. Together, we are able to personalize each athlete’s experience, while educating them about their individual nutrition goals to better understand how diet affects performance on the field.
Danielle Barone, Performance Sous Chef at the New York Giants, has a unique role at the intersection of culinary expertise and human nutrition. As she so aptly puts it, “I understand the language that a dietitian speaks, and I also speak a chef’s language. … I use the nutrition knowledge from my schooling and put it into terms the players can understand.”
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FLIK Hospitality: Tell us a little bit about your background and what you do now. What makes you a "performance" sous chef?
Chef Danielle: I graduated from Johnson & Wales (JWU) in 2019, with a degree in culinary nutrition, so I learned all my professional culinary skills alongside nutrition classes. The nutrition classes ranged from human nutrition throughout the lifecycle to product development—like how Gatorade come up with a new flavor—to food packaging.
After graduation, I completed my culinary nutrition internship with FLIK at the Giants and I’ve been there ever since. I worked my way from an intern working the smoothie station, to a salad bar attendee, and now I’m the performance sous chef.
FLIK: How does your nutrition background differentiate you from some of your chef colleagues?
Danielle: I understand the language that a dietitian speaks and I also speak a chef’s language. That helps with communication while the Giants’ nutrition team and the FLIK team are working toward a common goal.
At the training table, I can really hone in on how to fuel for the athletes. I’m able to bop around each station and help the players if they don’t know what to it. I’ll point them toward pasta or simple carbs or the leaner cuts of meat on certain days or at certain mealtimes. I also encourage them to try new foods. I use the nutrition knowledge from my schooling and put it into terms the players can understand.
FLIK: It probably takes a certain level of trust for an athlete to take your advice or to try something they’re unfamiliar with. How do you build those relationships?
Danielle: I cross out the fact that they are football players (except when it comes to fueling) and get to know them as an everyday person. In the beginning, it’s asking questions like, “What foods do you like?” “Where are you from?” “Where did you go to college?”
During the season, we see the players every day—we spend more time together than we do with our families. I learn what they like and don’t like just from watching them over time, which helps me gauge what I’ll recommend to certain players. The response is usually, “Danielle said she thinks I’ll like it, so I’ll give it a shot.”
My favorite line to use is, “You can try it for free here and spit it out and no one is going to say anything. Where else can you do that?”
FLIK: What dish or menu do you prepare that the players look forward to most?
Danielle: They really like my hummus. I got a lot of them to try hummus this year. You know the FLIK recipe for the chocolate hummus? I made that and was like, “Try it, just try it!” Some of them were like, “Oh my gosh, this is the best thing.” So, we started doing different hummus bars. They’ve been into the sweet versions. We did sweet potato pumpkin one that they all really like.
Danielle: I’ve also helped to transform our snack program over the past few seasons. The players used to fuel between meal periods with granola bars, yogurt, and fruit. We started by introducing post-lift shakes, smoothie bowls, and energy bites. Then I experimented with protein gummy bears, homemade “Go-Gurt,” and sweet potato toasts. Snacks have now transformed into mini meals, and I get a lot of creative freedom to try new things. I’m always trying to figure out how to maximize nutrient density at snack time.
FLIK: Okay. I did not expect you to say hummus and I definitely did not expect you to say dessert hummus! I think that’s such a great illustration of the players trusting you to recommend new things they’ll like and you, in turn, getting them outside their comfort zones when it comes to food and nutrition.
Did you always picture yourself fueling NFL players?
Danielle: No! Honestly, I did not know where I would end up after school. The plan was just to do my culinary nutrition internship at the Giants and figure it out from there.
FLIK: Did you at least always picture yourself as a chef?
Danielle: In high school, I was either going to go culinary school or going to become a physical therapist. Actually, after my visit to JWU, I told my parents I would not be going to school there—I did not want to walk around in a [chef’s] uniform. And that’s where I ended up anyway!
FLIK: What is your favorite sport to watch? Is it really Giants’ football?
Danielle: I played soccer my whole life until I graduated college and now, I’m also youth soccer coach. I would always watch the U.S. Women’s National Team growing up. Since I’ve started working here, I do watch more football now. I have a purpose. I’m emotionally invested now.
FLIK: What's keeping you busy in the off-season?
Danielle: On the work front, coming up with new station concepts for the upcoming season, trying out new recipes, and getting ready for our interns that will be starting soon.
Outside of work, I’ve been coaching more soccer while I have the time, spending time with my family, unwinding a little bit, and trying to be a normal person with a normal schedule.
FLIK: Anything else you’d like to share?
Danielle: I manage our training table’s Instagram handle @nygiantsbites. So many people these days want to know “what the players eat,” so this is a fun way to be able to share that. We can talk about it all day, but, you know, a picture’s worth a thousand words!
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