Tom Flores, the Super Bowl-winning former coach of the Oakland
Raiders, paid Hollister a visit Monday, and he had his game face
on. He was dressed in a spotless uniform, and he was mentally
prepared.
Flores, determined to please the fans
– and wearing a red apron as opposed to the classic Raiders
silver and black – proved he can not only take a team to an NFL
championship, he can cook a winning huevos rancheros.
Tom Flores, the Super Bowl-winning former coach of the Oakland Raiders, paid Hollister a visit Monday, and he had his game face on. He was dressed in a spotless uniform, and he was mentally prepared.
Flores, determined to please the fans – and wearing a red apron as opposed to the classic Raiders silver and black – proved he can not only take a team to an NFL championship, he can cook a winning huevos rancheros.
Flores, in town for the seventh annual San Juan Bautista Rotary Golf Tournament today at San Juan Oaks Golf Club, took time out from his busy schedule to cook some of his favorite dishes at Dorothy McNett’s Place with his friend and San Juan Bautista resident Ruben Lopez, all for a good cause.
Proceeds from the two-hour class go to the Tom Flores Youth Foundation, which benefits the Sanger Unified School District in Fresno County.
“This the first time I had ever done this,” said the 66-year-old Flores, a Sanger resident. “A friend of mine, a (public relations) director, told me I should have my own cooking show.”
McNett, who teaches about four cooking classes per week, asked Flores to lead a class after the two were introduced by Lopez last year.
The set-up for the class, in a back room where store owner McNett often holds her classes, resembled a set straight off the Food Channel. The room – equipped with a lighting apparatus and two television monitors above the front counter – was decorated with an array of shining pans, kettles and ceramics hung stylishly on the wall. McNett hosts “Cooking with Dorothy McNett” each Friday at noon on KION 46 in Salinas.
The class, which about 20 participants joined in, included Mexican recipes from both Flores and Lopez.
After an introduction, the two pals, who met while students at the University of the Pacific in Stockton, began chopping the fixings.
“I can’t do it as fast as they do it on the Food Channel,” Flores said.
Throughout the two fun-filled hours, Flores maintained an informal dialogue with the audience, even pouring someone a cup of coffee and serving the completed dishes that included huevos rancheros, albondigas con yerba buena, Mexican bread pudding and guacamole.
“All right, this is a test,” Lopez said. “What does ‘albondigas’ mean in Spanish?”
The class replied in unison: “Meatballs!”
While Flores chopped vegetables, poured olive oil into a frying pan and cracked eggs, he often paused from his culinary teachings to rehash humorous stories about his football-playing and coaching days.
A student asked him if he fed his players this type of food before Raider games. Flores chuckled and said he remembered a time when players ate steak dinners as pregame meals, before it was recommended to eat more easily digestible food.
“Some guys used to not eat at all (because of nerves),” Flores said.
About 30 minutes into the class, Flores’ former Raiders teammate Don Manoukian walked in and sat at the back of the room. Manoukian – who became a professional wrestler after his playing days – will be a co-master of ceremonies for today’s golf tournament.
Lopez pointed out Flores’ Super Bowl ring studded with three diamonds, representing his three championships with the Raiders – one as an assistant coach and two as a head coach.
“He’ll let you put it on your finger for a dollar,” Lopez joked.
The mood remained brisk throughout, and the students went away happy, McNett said.
“I love football and I love food,” said Donna Guerra Howe, who lives in Hollister four months out of the year.
She said the culinary results were “delicious and wonderful,” and the whole experience was enjoyable.
“He’s very nice,” Howe said of Flores. “He really is very approachable.”
