Playing football, cooking are CFL defensive lineman Avery Ellis's top passions

CFL defensive lineman Avery Ellis is also private chef who not only prepares meals for teammates but also clients and supper clubs as well as on social media. Some facts:

Hometown: Newark, N.J.

College: Temple.

CFL career: Ottawa Redblacks (2017-19, 2021); Montreal Alouettes (2022, 2023-present), Edmonton Elks (2022). Won Grey Cup with Montreal in 2023; was named to Redblacks all-decade team.

Favourite spice: Garlic. "If I can find a way to sneak it in or add garlic, I will."

Favourite dish: "One of my favourite dishes was one I make over and over for my teammates. It's breakfast potatoes that I make a certain way with a meat, be it bacon or sausage, and eggs. I could eat that every day and not get tired of it. I usually make it for the D-line every game week and they never get tired of it."

Be Prepared: "Make sure you have everything you need for a dish laid out and prepped. There's nothing worse than needing a bell pepper to be sliced and placed into the pan but you haven't done that. Now you're slicing it and the pan is overheating and the next thing you know you've burnt the oil. Have all of your ingredients out and prepped."

Best cooking advice: Don't be a slave to recipes. "If you want to make a hollandaise sauce, there's a certain way to do it. And when it comes to baking, I feel that's a true science where you have to follow things so you can get the proper texture. But as far as cooking, there's plenty of room to finesse . . . the recipe is a guideline, it's not set in stone.

"Cooking is like football, right? You know the best way to get to the quarterback, say, is an inside move. Then you're like, 'OK, how do I do it?' Well, there's many ways you can and you find what's best for you to complete the task. I think it's fun to be able to add your own flare to it."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 28, 2025.

The Canadian Press