U.S. Ski Team Head Chef Steve Vierk has been with the organization for nearly nine years.
When Vierk started with the team, he lived by the Kodiak Cakes headquarters in Park City. He’d pass by the building and think to himself, why isn’t the ski team partnered with this local protein-heavy food manufacturer?
Plus, Kodiak products have long been a favorite of ski team athletes, he said.
As Kodiak continued to grow during Vierk’s tenure, he’d occasionally check in with the team’s marketing department to see if a partnership was possible. Finally, in 2025, the team and manufacturer made it happen.
The kitchen at the team’s Center of Excellence in Park City was branded as the Kodiak Kitchen. It is the athletes’ resource for lunch and snacks when training at the center. Vierk estimates that he and one other part-time chef cook for about 60 people on the average summer day.
During the first three weeks of April, following the athletes’ seasons, Kodiak came to the center and helped renovate the kitchen. Much of the equipment remained the same but the space got a Kodiak headquarters-themed facelift. The walls sport forest-like wallpaper, the dining space has a leather couch and the kitchen has a new salad bar.
The new atmosphere has Vierk and the athletes feeling much more comfortable at the center. He said the athletes are now spending more time than ever in the kitchen, sometimes even taking naps on the new couch.
“Everybody loves coming in here now,” Vierk said. “It’s so much better feeling. … That definitely is a huge improvement.”
Vierk worked alongside Kodiak to help develop the kitchen while he was at the Milano Cortina Olympics in February. He feels the upgrades have brought it up to the level of many other professional kitchens. While there isn’t much else on the immediate docket for the kitchen, there will also be new chairs coming in shortly to pair with the new couch.
While summer is a busy time at the center, with many athletes coming into town for team training camps, early fall is a slow one, with many athletes traveling to the southern hemisphere for camps. Things will pick back up at the center around October, with athletes returning from camps for some last-minute preseason training. Vierk will hit the road this season with the moguls team, whose season begins Dec. 12 in Ruka, Finland.
“The moguls team has kind of usurped me,” Vierk said. “So I will be traveling with them extensively. … I’ll go to Ruka, Finland, and I’ll be there for six weeks with them. Then we come back for the holidays.”
Top U.S. men’s mogulist and Parkite Nick Page said the team couldn’t be more excited to have Vierk alongside them this season. He said Vierk removes much stress from traveling and competing.
“Being able to have Steve come on the road with us is huge,” Page said. “Aside from him making great food, he’s one of the kindest and most supportive people I know. When he’s traveling with us, he’s the first person I see in the morning, and I’m always greeted with the biggest smile. … Every time we’ve had him on the road, I’ve ended the week on the podium, and I don’t think that’s a coincidence. He’s an integral part of the team, and we can’t thank him enough.”