Cal Football: Mitchell Schwartz Finds Post-Super Bowl Joy in the Kitchen

Kansas City Chiefs offensive tackle entertains Chiefs fans with "Mitch in the Kitch" show

What does a 6-foot-5, 320-pound Super Bowl champion do in his offseason free time while quarantined during a pandemic?

Kansas City Chiefs offensive tackle Mitchell Schwartz has created an online audience with his weekly cooking show, “Mitch in the Kitch.”

“I always like to cook,” the 31-year-old former Cal star told Tucker D. Franklin, who covers the Chiefs for SI.com's Arrowhead Report. “This time of year, we do a fair amount of traveling, so I’m not able to do that quite as much. I’ve made some dishes and kind of threw together six or seven picture things on Instagram.

“Kind of ‘Hey, here’s what I’m cooking lately,’ and people really liked it. I figured the next day throw up another food thing and people still really liked it, and it kind of grew from there.”

Partnering with the Chiefs’ social media account, Schwartz has been presenting new recipes each Tuesday. He provides detailed instructions on how to create his dishes.

Here is Franklin’s full story.

Schwartz, who has started all 128 games of his eight-year NFL career, was a first- or second-team All-Pro selection each of the past five seasons.

He’s found a sidelight he hopes is helping Chiefs fans through a difficult time.

“I think the thing people are struggling with is not seeing coworkers, friends, not having interactions, so you’re kind of relying more heavily on the social media side of it,” Schwartz said. “Through that, it’s actually been a lot of fun being able to have time to post stuff and respond to people and react.”

With more time on his hands, Schwartz said he has enjoyed interacting with fans.

“Typically, in a normal environment or workday, I’d be on the go, and so you post something, leave it, and check back later to see if it was successful or not. But now you can actually see the people commenting, and especially food stuff, some people have particularly strong opinions about what you’re making.

“But for the most part, they’re kind of like ‘Hey that’s awesome. I like to do this.’ Or ‘Have you tried this?’ And I’m always looking for a better spice or recipe. That’s definitely been fun and rewarding.”

Here is a sampling of Schwartz’s culinary work:

"A fantastic leftover meatloaf sandwich!"

Schwartz says he uses a griddle to create a nice crust. He fries shallots and onions, cooks jalapeños down with balsamic and melts jalapeño cheese over the top.

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Breakfast: Avocado toast on crusty sourdough with a poached egg

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Delicious and healthy: Fiesta salad

Black beans, tomatoes, chicken, corn, avocado, red onions and cheese. "Elevated spicy ranch takes it to the next level," Schwartz writes.

You can find more examples of Schwartz's meals on his Instagram page.

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Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo

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