Tuesday night was family night for the squad at Queensland Roar, the boys all sitting down together to enjoy a feast and some time-out from training.

However, far from being served to them on a silver platter it was up to the boys to prepare, cook and clean up their selected dishes, with a little help from Queensland Academy of Sport Dieticians Kerry Leech and Dr. Liz Broad.

The cooking classes, set-up to help the players help themselves when it comes to getting the energy and nutrients they need to perform, took place for the second time in the kitchens of Cavendish Rd High School and Leech was confident that the boy’s standards had improved.

“They are definitely improving!” she said.

“It’s so important for them to eat the right food as it forms the basis of what they can do in training.

“We compare it to making a cake – having a good diet forms the basis of a good cake.

“You can put icing on it and sprinkles, giving the players supplements and those types of things, but if they don’t have a great base to start with the cake won’t be any good.”

While there may well be a Jamie Oliver in hiding among the players, it’s not exactly so for all.

Josh McCloughan’s Rogan Josh was the hit of the night, receiving big thumbs up from every direction, in comparison with Ben Griffin’s custard dish which wasn’t exactly a feast for the eyes – most of the players did comment however, that it actually tasted quite good if you just closed your eyes.

Matt McKay finished early, stalking the floor to make sure he got first taste of every dish, whereas Spase Dilevski’s tuna pasta bake made it to the table just in time to see everyone already polishing off their deserts.

While the night proved to be entertaining, Leech and Broad helped the players to learn how to incorporate all the right foods into their diet to ensure they keep their hands away from the take-out menus.

“We want them to make sure they have the energy to perform,” said Leech.

“Without the right energy they won’t be able to perform and keep backing up session after session so that’s what we encourage them to do.”