Get to Know: Stephen Korda, Executive Chef, Washington Wizards and Washington Mystics
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 can personalize each athlete’s experience, while educating them about their individual nutrition goals to better understand how diet affects performance on the field.
FLIK’s Stephen Korda is the Executive Chef for Monumental Sports & Entertainment. Monumental owns and operates five professional sports teams and Chef Stephen fuels three of them: NBA’s Washington Wizards, NBA G League’s Capital City Go-Go, and WNBA’s Washington Mystics.
Read on to learn about how Stephen ended up working a dream job, his sporting team allegiances, and his approach to culinary performance nutrition.
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FLIK Hospitality: Tell us about your professional background. What was your path to Monumental Sports?
Chef Stephen: I’ve been cooking professionally for about 10 years. Before Monumental, I was living in California and doing corporate catering for some tech companies, and I came over to Monumental in 2019. During the NBA season, we feed the Washington Wizards and the G League team, Capital City Go-Go; their seasons align with each other. Then we switch to fueling the Washington Mystics during the WNBA season.
FLIK: That seems like a big jump—from corporate catering to professional athletics and from the west coast to the east. How did that happen?
Stephen: I’m from the Bay area but moved to Washington DC. right out of college where I met my now wife. We ping-ponged back and forth from east coast to west and eventually landed here.
FLIK: Did you always picture yourself fueling pro basketball players? Was that your goal even while you were working in corporate dining?
Stephen: I’ve got to be honest, when this came up, it was a dream position. I’ve always wanted to work in culinary and my backup career was working somewhere in professional sports. I always thought that environment would be really cool. My job now combines both of those things.
FLIK: Wow! It sounds like it couldn’t have come together any better. You must be a sports fan then. What’s your favorite sport to watch?
Stephen: Growing up, my dad and I would go to MLB games together, so baseball was my thing. The San Francisco Giants were—and still are—my favorite baseball team. Somewhere along the way, I got really into the NBA. I’m generally a huge NBA fan. I probably watch at least one game a night. I’m kind of a junkie.
FLIK: You are one of two chefs within FLIK that fuels both a men’s team and a women’s team. Do you have any insight into how their eating styles differ?
Stephen: Every team that FLIK feeds is different in terms of preferences, likes, and dietary needs. It’s different across sports leagues, but also varies for the same team from season to season.
But I think the performance nutrition principles that we follow are pretty analogous, at least for the Wizards and the Mystics.
FLIK: We follow you on social media and have noticed you’re very good about incorporating functional foods or enhancing the nutrient density of certain dishes. Is this an initiative that happens at the team level?
Stephen: The leadership and players at Monumental aren’t necessarily asking for that, but I think they really like it. I see a positive response from the teams’ dietitian and Chief Medical Officer.
I want the players to have fun with the food, but to also notice the value-add.
FLIK: And where did you pick up on the nutrition knowledge or learn the culinary skills necessary for this?
Most of it is personal knowledge and research. Sometimes I see it as a personal challenge—to add nutritional value to existing recipes. I might add electrolyte salts to a recovery beverage, extra protein to muffins, or chia seeds to granola. Not everything I try works out, so I’ve learned that it’s important to test a new recipe first.
FLIK: Where do you find inspiration?
Stephen: Some of the players have personal chefs and I make it a point to follow them on Instagram. Their ears are to the ground; they are in the players’ homes. I try to see what’s popular with what they’re cooking. We feed off each other.
I follow a lot of FLIK chefs too—it’s part of the creative process.
FLIK: What dish or menu do you prepare that the players look forward to most?
Stephen: For the Wizards, they love when we do a fried rice action station. For whatever reason, it’s just the most popular. Everyone orders it.
For the Mystics, they love when we do homemade quesadillas. We can’t make enough of that. We make our tortillas from scratch
I know fried rice and quesadillas are both pretty simple, but they’re definitely the most crowd-pleasing.
FLIK: Tortillas from scratch sounds like a lot of work!
Stephen: One of our lead cooks does a pretty brisk side business making corn tortillas and pupusas for her church, so she lends her expertise to Monumental, which is cool. She knocks them out pretty quickly.
FLIK: We love that. Finding the strengths of your frontline team and leaning into them. It benefits everyone.
Stephen: I agree. Some of our frontline staff is from El Salvador, so we serve Salvadorian food once or twice a week. It’s a welcome break from the usual mix. The players like it and our FLIK staff likes it.
FLIK: What's the best question you've ever gotten from a player?
Stephen: The other day, we made duck confit and then used it in an Asian-fusion burrito. This player had never had duck before and was hesitant to try it, but I think he trusted me. He tried it and was like, ‘I’m probably never going to cook it, but I just want to know what you did to that duck!’
Talk about labor-intensive! It’s a 2–3-day process to cure the duck, slow cook it, etc. That player got a glimpse behind the scenes, and I love when players are able to do that.
FLIK: It would make anyone appreciate the food that much more! It’s nice when you get the opportunity to share that.
Stephen: Yeah. It’s hard because you can’t have that conversation with everyone. Those conversations by nature have to happen organically. But when you do have them, they tend to multiply. The word spreads.
FLIK: Since you're fueling two teams with different schedules, when do you get downtime?
Stephen: When the Wizards’ season ends, that’s when the Mystics start to pick up. Our breaks come when the teams have a mid-season road trip or are out of town for something like the NBA all-star. We don’t have much of an off-season, which has its pros and cons. Everyone stays busy and we find a way to work in some downtime.
FLIK: Anything else you want us to know?
Stephen: I love cooking for Monumental. When I’m not at work, I have another full-time job with a 10-month-old, a wife, and a puppy and I love that too. So, life is good.
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