MIXED BEAN CHILLI
A filling, versatile dinner inspired by Max Sciandri. Mitchell uses his pizza oven to cook the beans before putting them in the chilli, although that bit is entirely optional. Makes 4-5 portions.
a race, administered by a team doctor. Mitchell recalls: “I was speaking to a Belgian doctor who was convinced that you couldn’t get through a grand tour without an IV recovery. He thought the alimentary canal was not robust enough to support the nutritional demands of a bike rider. He wasn’t saying that people needed to dope, but that riders needed injections of vitamins, minerals and amino acids every day.”
Instead, now, Mitchell advocates his goodfirst approach, which is helped by WorldTour teams employing chefs. Even a decade ago, teams were at the mercy of race organisers assigning them hotels, which would feed them. Mitchell says: “The chefs’ main specialism is to be able to maintain the quality and the consistency of the food. If you were just reliant on hotel food, it might be 11pm by the time the riders can get anything to eat, or if it’s a big team, the kitchen might have to do two sittings. The chef’s role is critical at providing the right kind of food hygiene. We now know that the IV recovery stuff is bunkum, but they didn’t know back then.”
The nutritionist from Barnsley has now brought out a book, The PlantBased Cyclist, which contains a range of vegan recipes. Mitchell explains that he went vegan for three months while researching the book, which opened him up to a whole new approach to protein intake in his food.
Two of his favourite recipes are a pistachio dairy-free ice cream and a mixed bean chilli: “The dairy-free ice cream is so easy to make, you just need a tin of coconut milk, pistachios, a bit of sugar, and you just cook it all up and then chuck it in the freezer. My mother said it was the best ice cream you’ve ever had, and I do it for my kids as a special treat,” he says.
“Another one I do that’s very versatile is a mixed bean chilli, using a method that I learned from Max Sciandri [the former pro rider, now DS at Movistar]. I like to use my pizza oven to cook beans slowly overnight, that can then go into the five bean chilli, which has unbelievable flavours.”
A lot has changed in the decades since Jacques Anquetil, with his brandy and champagne pre-race dinners, and penchant for steak tartare. But in some ways, modern nutrition is far less technical than it used to be. And that’s a change for the better.