Trinidad and Tobago's "Warriors" are taking no chances of suffering food poisoning or allergic reactions and have travelled with their own chef to Bahrain for the second-leg World Cup qualifier which takes place from 6.30 p.m. tomorrow at the Bahrain National Stadium.
Having served presidents and prime ministers, chef Cecil Wint has now taken up national duty with the T&T footballers. He is to serve the 'Warriors' with both nutritional and appetising food.
A born-again Christian, Wint served for ten years at the Central Bank with other top chefs. The 42-year-old Diego Martin resident is now anentrepreneur, owning Cecil Ebeneezer Catering with his wife Charmaine Wint.
As a precaution, T&T football officials thought it wise to hire a local chef because it was unknown what kind of food they would encounter in Arabic Bahrain. A self-confessed football fanatic, Wint sees his work with the Warriors as an opportunity to serve.
"When I was invited to cook for the team, I didn't really see it as a career break. My first notion was that I would be doing service to get the team to the World Cup."
Wint is an avid fan of both football and cooking. A food lover, he was thinking about home economics while the other guys at Mucurapo Senior Comprehensive were interested in a trade. He took his apprenticeship at the Trinidad and Tobago Hotel School where he was taught by Eldon Thompson, whom he considers one of the best chefs in T&T. His work with Thompson landed Wint several big jobs at the Central Bank over a ten-year period.
"We served presidents and prime ministers," he declared."We had a fair share of big jobs there."
Wint said that at the start of the World Cup qualifying campaign, he made a pact with his brother to see all the home games in the Final Round of the CONCACAF qualifiers.
"He came from the United States and we were able to see the first one together-I saw the other four for him. We made a pact that even if the team had just one point going into the final game, I was still going to support them by seeing the game."
When Wint became the Warriors' chef, his first job was to consult team doctor Terrence Babwah to see what were the nutritional requirements of the players.
"We talked about providing them with carbohydrates for energy, protein foods and other nutritional requirements. I had to make sure they had all the right nutritional requirements and also make the food palatable to the players' taste."
After consulting the 'Doc' Wint left last Thursday for Bahrain along with assistant T&T team manager George Joseph.
"I could go back from Bahrain and be very happy to go back to my normal routine. But most of all, I want a win. In 1989 when we lost to the United States, I just sat down watching the TV and did not know what to do. This time, I want us to go to the World Cup. I want to see It for myself...in my lifetime."