Cleveland: Browns 'Chef' Joe Thomas cooks for teammates

CLEVELAND -- With quiet on the set and 4 camera and sound crews ready to go, Nehst Studios director Michael Carberry pointed at Cleveland Browns lineman Joe Thomas and said, "Action, Joe!" The inaugural taping of the new web series called "Feed My Team" was underway.

6'6" tackle Joe Thomas walked into the kitchen at Crop Bistro and was greeted by Owner/Chef Steve Schimoler who handed the big athlete a personalized white chef coat.

"We don't have to wear shoulder pads, but we might need them later," said Schimoler with a laugh.

"Joe, this is probably the first chef's coat that you ever owned but it's the most important one that you'll ever have," added Schimoler.

"Sounds good," said Thomas smiling. "I never even owned an apron before. And this one even has my number #73 on the sleeve. This is great."

Within 20 minutes, the former NFL Pro-Bowler with limited cooking experience was whipping up a seasonal feast consisting of a fall salad with roasted apples, green beans, grilled venison loin, and pumpkin pie for dessert.

Joe's wife Annie was stunned at the new culinary talents of her husband.

"That never  happens at home," said Annie as she watched Joe flip a skillet full of cauliflower hash. "He deep fries fish and that's all he does. "He doesn't know it yet but he is cooking dinner tomorrow night. Ha!"

In the kitchen at Crop Bistro, Joe wiped his brow and said, "My wife is definitely laughing at me. She is the cook in the family. And to see me in the kitchen is going to be pretty funny."

Thomas added, "I really wanted to put together a menu with Chef Steve Schimoler that I could use for the rest of my life and cook when people come over."

Among the teammates who came down to sample Chef Joe's first big meal were Dave Zastudil, Ryan Potbriand, Alex Mack, Floyd Womack, Mike Adams, Eric Steinbach and quarterback Brady Quinn.

Brady said, "I've got faith in Joe and I think he's going to be a pretty good chef back there. He seems to be pretty good at whatever he tries to do." 

Browns safety Nick Sorensen added, "I think it's going to be good. I've eaten here before and I don't think that Joe can screw it up that bad."

Chef Steve Schimoler said, "This is going to be good for Joe because the action in the kitchen is frenzied and you have to be so focused."

"You can't think of anything else and I think that Joe is going to do a really great job," said Schimoler. "He's used to the pressure and it seems he's really enjoying this experience."

Larry Meistrich, Nehst Studios CEO was upbeat as he watched the big crew in action. "The Feed My Team show is all about professional athletes meeting professional cooks. It's sort of a new twist on the cooking genre with high pressure, high stakes."

Added Meistrich, "Joe Thomas was perfect as the first athlete to take on the challenge in the kitchen for us."

The "webisodes" of "Feed My Team" will begin airing in January on feedmyteam.com