“Eat to compete.”
It is featured in a food and nutrition guide and is a recurring theme that is featured prominently on their social media profiles.
It incorporates who Abby Pilla is – and the person she aspires to be.
With equal parts of foodie and addicted to sports, Pilla is in her element around both.
This shaped most of her life and laid the foundation for where she is today.
Formed by Marian in 2016, Pilla spent the fall as a performance nutrition chef at the University of South Carolina.
“I always played sports when I was a kid and I always loved to eat and cook,” said Pilla. “We were watching an old family video, and there was one of me sitting on the couch and my eyes were glued to the TV, watching an Emeril (Lagasse) cooking show, and I think that kind of made me start wanting to be a chef . “The nutrition part came because of my involvement in sports.”
Starting
Pilla studied athletics and volleyball in high school and played basketball and softball as a child.
“I feel like it kind of instilled the nutritional part because I could always tell the difference between when I was feeling good and when I wasn’t,” she said. “This was a kind of introduction to how food can impact my athletic performance.
“With that connection, it became clear that it was very important to me and something that I felt I needed to pursue.”
Pilla enrolled at just one college to do just that – Johnson & Wales, in Providence, Rhode Island. There she graduated in culinary nutrition.
“I studied cooking and its relationship to healthy performance. I was able to dive deeply into the science of nutrition, ”said Pilla.
She received her culinary arts associate after her second year at Johnson & Wales, and did her culinary internship in Italy. Her bachelor’s degree came in culinary nutrition after an additional two years and her internship recently completed in South Carolina.
“The restaurant industry and the sports industry are very similar,” she said. “Although they have different aspects, they both have a high-energy, fast-paced atmosphere.”
Pilla’s goal is to become a registered nutritionist, which will involve a 1,200-hour supervised internship in clinic, community and food service.
Taking the next step
She has already managed to take that interest to another level by working with Kristin Coggin, director of football nutrition / director of performance nutrition at the University of South Carolina.
Last fall, Pilla’s responsibilities included creating and running cooking demonstrations, live action stations and daily food preparation, along with quality control.
She assisted in daily nutrition operations and catering events for football and Olympic sports, as well as preparing NCAA-compatible meals for Division I football players and in the design of pre- and post-workout products for student-athletes.
Pilla also led the writing of menus, planning and development of nutritional education materials for performance nutrition.
His first project was a virtual cooking demonstration at Zoom with the South Carolina softball team.
“The biggest thing about working with the players is that they can be some of the most demanding eaters,” said Pilla. “They are very simple; they like certain things. But one of the biggest challenges was to develop this relationship with them. They were about the same age as me, and it is difficult in this situation to make people think that you are an authority figure.
“So I really tried to get to know them and let them know that I was there to feed them and give them that edge.”
Settling in
Competing in the robust SEC, the South Carolina football team is always looking for an edge against the competition.
Pilla showed that healthy eating is beneficial, especially as the team continued to deal with the uncertainty of the coronavirus pandemic, completing all 10 games scheduled during the regular season.
“The team was very interested in trying to get every possible advantage,” she said. “They are always thinking about their future in sports and how nutrition can lead them to these new opportunities. And it is also an essential skill for life after sports, just healthy eating and stocking up for day to day activities. “
During the football season, Pilla traveled with the team to all the away games – which included trips to The Swamp at Florida’s Ben Hill Griffin Stadium and LSU’s Death Valley in Baton Rouge – where she was behind the scenes. At the hotel, players always ate the same meal on Friday and Saturday, something that Pilla was tasked with preparing.
“I thought it was a cool thing that I was able to be a part of, feeding them on the road,” she said. Nutritionists started the game in advance and prepared quick meals before the game.
“There are a lot of little things that people may not think about, but it makes a big difference.
“During the game, I kind of wandered the sideline with whatever snacks the players needed, along with doses of hydration. That was our top priority to make sure they were hydrated. After the game, we would serve the post-game meal. If it were on the road, we would kind of find something nearby that we would be able to deliver and then do that. “
A growing audience
On the sideline, Pilla also made national television appearances working with players.
Pilla started an Instagram page (buonabbytito) when she was a senior in high school to showcase her skills and interests. Sprinkled with a variety of colorful dishes, Instagram, along with her Facebook page, blog and LinkedIn profile, served as a portfolio in her quest to combine the two things she is most passionate about, while also expanding her own brand.
“In March, more or less when the pandemic started, I was sent home from school, but I had to get an internship,” said Pilla. She held a virtual career fair and a chat box for the University of South Carolina appeared.
“I did an interview with Zoom, they offered me the internship, and I started in August. It kind of took me out of the restaurant kitchen scene. I wanted to focus more on sports because that was a big part of my lifelong passion. This career kind of married the two together. “
Coming soon
Pilla returned to Columbia, South Carolina, after accepting a full-time position on the football team.
“The team has its technical assistants, the head coach, the entire support team and I am the culinary trainer,” she said. “So I’m there to show them that coaching can come in a different way with the cooking classes that I’m going to be doing.
“Autumn was a kind of focus on supplying them throughout the season; now the practice of spring will be a time to prepare them, and nutrition really comes into play. “
Pilla will perform cooking demonstrations with the players, either individually or in large groups.
“It helps to improve their culinary skills, but also to educate them about nutrition,” she said. “Especially for new recruits and fledglings who arrive, you want to talk to them about nutrition and work with them in a more practical way, rather than just giving them a nutrition booklet to read.”
A way forward
The opportunities for your career are ample.
Pilla knows the power that resides in the food she prepares, whether at home for her family or on the road for the Gamecocks football team.
“As a creative and innovative chef and health enthusiast, I strive to educate and demonstrate the importance of food and nutrition as a fuel and medicine,” she said. “With my experience, I intend to give people the tools they need to create healthy habits, enjoy real food and, finally, live a balanced lifestyle.”
And she seems to have reached the perfect balance.
“This internship impacted my career aspirations in the best possible way,” said Pilla. “Because I was able to learn first hand how a chef’s impact can have on someone’s health and performance. It’s definitely a lot of hours and a lot of work.
“But if it’s something you love to do, you will never work a day in your life. I love to cook, I love sports and my job never feels like a job because I love what I’m doing ”.
Abby Pilla, a graduate of Marian High School, is currently serving as Chef of Nutrition and Performance for the University of South Carolina football team. Pilla, in the center, is shown with the Gamecocks nutrition team before a game this season at LSU. CONTRIBUTED PHOTOS
Chef Abby teaches South Carolina striker Dylan Wonnum how to make a citrus garlic sauce for his salmon dish.
Folder Action Station
Putting the final touches on the main course, sous vide grilled duck breast, parsnip puree, roasted Romanesco, reduction of cherry wine and roasted buckwheat.
Abby Pilla at Quaratina graduation, May 2020
Ramen Bowl recovery action station
Nutrition Center
Emily and Abby Pilla in the first home game of the season
Williams Brice Stadium
Poke Bowl Zoom Cooking Demo with Gamecocks Softball
Rocky Road Bites
Abby Pilla, center, and her family pose with the South Carolina mascot during a game last season. On the left are her father, Joe; mother, Louise; and sister, Emily. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Jerri and Steve Spurrier Indoor Practice Facility
Gameday Locker Room Recovery Snack Station