Semi-Pro Player-Turned Chef Now Nourishes Vikings
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- He learned how to cook as a young boy growing up in Togo, West Africa and now he is preparing meals for members of the Minnesota Vikings.
Just seven months ago, Henrich Ezin was a semi-professional football player wondering what to do after COVID-19 shut down the league.
WCCO's Reg Chapman has more on how he let his passion for cooking lead to a career change.
"I started my business like literally a few months ago," Ezin said.
COVID-19 shut down Ezin's semi-professional football team and his dream of getting to the National Football League.
He leaned on his passion for cooking, a skill he taught himself, by watching his mother cook with organic fruits and vegetables in his native country of Togo.
"Everything we make or eat back home it was always freshly cooked," Ezin said.
His former teammates were his first clients, where he was able to learn what worked and what didn't work.
He then took to social media to show off what he could do.
"I went on a follow rant following all the Vikings players to kind of see if I could get something out of it," Ezin said. "A good man, Tyler Conklin messaged me literally five minutes of me following him and he said 'hey funny that you just followed me because I was looking for someone to do meal prep' and he had seen a pervious meal prep post that I've made."
Ezin makes meals for Vikings tight end Tyler Conklin and running back Mike Boone.
As an athlete, he knows what foods fuel the body. He hopes to capitalize on his experiences on the field and in the kitchen to help other players.
"It will only get better from there they are at camp now, so they will look for something to eat quickly," Ezin said.
For now he will concentrate on making food that tastes and does the body good, hoping it leads to healthy Vikings players and more victories for the home team.
Ezin says a few other players like Rashad Hill and BJ Johnson have reached out about his meal prep service.
For now, he makes the food at home and delivers to the practice facility, where he also works part-time as a security guard.
