Da Vinci believes that good food leads to good form. That’s why we are happy to support Estonian athletes on their way to the top. While in the previous article we introduced you to Da Vinci’s good friend, top golfer Mark Suursalu, for this article we talked food and modern sword fighting with top Estonian fencer Kristina Kuuse.
“I really like to cook!” says Kristina with a big smile when asked about the role food plays in her life. Fencing, she says, is a sport where an athlete doesn’t have to count every mouthful. “I haven’t felt the need. In fact, I don’t feel I’m willing to do it either,” he admits. “I’d rather enjoy good food!”
According to Kristina, there is no separate catering during the competitions, which is often left to the competitors themselves. “The European Championships, for example, lasted 14 hours.” Whether or not there is time for a proper meal during the competition depends on the venue, she says. “In some places you can’t even go outside, so everyone brings their own snacks and supplements.” For example, Kristina’s race bag often contains bananas, nuts and muesli bars.
Once at home, Kristina likes to leave time for a leisurely morning meal. “For me, it’s important to take those two hours to have a leisurely breakfast and do my own thing.” At home, she says she often cooks chicken, fish and salads, and also likes to bake cakes. With Saaremaa roots from her mother’s side of the family, she also appreciates simple, rustic food. “Fried flounder, fresh potatoes, butter, dill…” lists her favourite Saaremaa flavours.
When travelling around the world, Kristina also likes to enjoy local food for the most part, with one small exception. While travelling in China, the chicken ordered at a local restaurant turned out to be a gorgeous chicken leg with feathers and claws still attached. After this unexpected incident, Kristina always takes her own food with her from Estonia when she travels to China, just in case. Deliberately curious by nature, Kristina has sampled the flavours of exotic animals such as scorpion, kangaroo, crocodile and snake.
Kristina also has a catchphrase: “I’m madly in love with rubber bands!” she confesses. Her favourites are the soft-textured and tart ones, especially those covered with a sour sprinkle. “As soon as I smell the chocolates… At some point it just clicks and I have to have them,” she says, often having to succumb to the charms of the gummi bears.
Da Vinci restaurants have been Kristina’s favourite eatery for ages. Noticing this, Da Vinci decided to support the young and talented athlete so that during busy training periods, she would always have a warm meal waiting for her. As a big food lover, Kristina found it hard to hide her delight at the news. “I would have liked to throw the wolf wheels, but I thought maybe I don’t need to do the circus…” laughs Kristina.
Going to Da Vinci for lunch saves Kristina a lot of valuable time, especially when she has several workouts a day. Her favourite item on Da Vinci’s menu is the grilled trout with grilled vegetables and zucchini. She also enjoys a variety of pasta dishes, risottos and pizza. “Pizzas on a wholemeal base – that’s totally athlete’s food after all!” grins Kristina. “And I’ll probably never say no to cream cheese.” Kristina says she also likes the fact that the menu changes at a pace that suits her and she can always find her staples.
Kristina also praises Da Vinci’s range of coffee drinks. “But when I started drinking tea instead of coffee one day, I discovered that Da Vinci’s tea selection is surprisingly good too! I’ve even bought a packet of teas from Da Vinci as a gift.” “And grapefruit juice! It’s a must-have! Healthy, made on the spot, fresh,” Kristina sums up all the good things about freshly squeezed juice.
The wait staff of Kristina’s favourite restaurant, Da Vinci in the Kristiine Centre, deserve special praise and an air kiss. “They simply have to be praised! You could say it’s because of these people that I go to Da Vinci in Kristiine.”
We wish Kristina endless positive energy and lots of success in the fencing halls and we always look forward to seeing her back at Da Vinci!
