Marshall Athletics, Marshall Health Network cook up special partnership

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Marshall Athletics has teamed up with Marshall Health Network to offer cooking classes for Marshall University’s student-athletes. This unique partnership kicked off this month at Huntington’s Kitchen with the first class.

Isabel Cross, also known as ‘Chef Izzy’, who serves manager of Huntington’s Kitchen for Marshall Health Network, joined with Maura Hohl, Marshall’s director of performance nutrition, to administer a series of four classes for Marshall student-athletes, teaching them everything from kitchen utensil and appliance use to safe and sanitary preparation tactics to nutritional guidance for meal prep and strategies for maintaining balanced food intake for their needs as an athlete.

“By partnering with the Marshall University Athletic Department, Huntington’s Kitchen is contributing to meaningful nutrition education that equips student-athletes with everyday healthy cooking skills to support their success both on and off the field,” Cross said. “This collaboration demonstrates how Marshall University and Marshall Health Network can work together to advance health, performance and lifelong wellness.”

“I am ecstatic to partner with Huntington’s Kitchen to provide our student-athletes with hands-on cooking classes that deliver invaluable cooking skills and nutrition education they can use both now and long after their athletic careers,” Hohl said. “I am passionate about the power of teaching basic cooking skills – such as knife skills, simple recipes and meal-prepping – to build confidence in the kitchen that can translate to all areas of life.

“These classes will allow student-athletes to take the nutrition knowledge and recommendations I provide and put them into practice. When athletes learn how to cook and fuel themselves, they gain control over nutrition, their health and – ultimately – their performance. Elite athletes can do both, and that is exactly what our goal is with these cooking classes.”

In addition to teaching sanitation and safety, Chef Izzy will instruct Marshall student-athletes about mise en place (measuring and preparing ingredients prior to cooking) and knife skills for meal preparation. Each class with Chef Izzy features fresh ingredients and hands-on instruction as the athletes learn skills that make them more comfortable in a culinary environment so that they can prepare meals for themselves or others. At the end of each class, participants enjoy their prepared meals together in a fun dinner setting that also promotes bonding with their fellow student-athletes. Reading materials for instruction are also available for attendees to help them in the future.

“Each class will include the preparation of three menus or recipes, along with nutrition education that connects the food on the plate to performance and recovery,” Hohl said. “Student-athletes will leave with improved cooking skills, increased nutrition knowledge and greater confidence in the kitchen, giving them practical tools to support their health and performance goals now and beyond their sport.”

Huntington’s Kitchen, located at 911 Third Avenue in Huntington, has been operated as an outreach of Marshall Health Network-Cabell Huntington Hospital since 2013. For more information or to participate in a community event at Huntington’s Kitchen, visit huntingtonskitchen.mhnfoundations.org.