SAO PAULO, Brazil — When Traffic Football Academy was being conceived two years ago by its American owner, one man had to be consulted — Adauto Rodriques — but not for his footballing skills or his construction knowledge, but it for his culinary touches.

Rodriques, 56, has being delighting people with his fine cooking skills for 39 years and just as the academy’s parent company Traffic Investment, does, it went for the best it could get and the young Reggae Boyz are benefitting.

Rodriques, whose English is far better than most of the Brazilians at the academy, has been a connoisseur of fine foods and drink since 1971, and it is no surprise the Jamaicans are fed a balanced diet for their three-week stay at the academy.

“When the academy was being formed, I was the one who came in and designed all of this,” he says, points to the dining and kitchen area, like a king showing off his subjects.

“I designed everything, employ everybody and select all the menus,” he revealed in broken English.

Rodriques, who has worked in hotels in Curacao, Hilton in New York, Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago, to name a few, is the man responsible for preparing and setting the menus whenever a team is staying at the facility.

He is the man the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) had to send their menus to, which consists of mainly two kinds of meat in chicken and fish.

“They have to send it to me, then I prepare it just the way I know the Jamaicans like it, two weeks before the team arrives,” said Rodriques.

“The South African team was here before the World Cup and I selected the food for them,” he boasted.

Preparing the Jamaican dishes was easy, according to Rodriques, because he spent a lot of time in the Caribbean. But of all his years in the business, the top chef said preparing food for the Chinese was his most difficult because of the many sauces that is required.

“It is very complex, different spices,” he said. The Jamaicans are fed a daily diet of chicken, fish, pastas, vegetables, fruits and natural juices. Each day the chicken or fish is done in a different succulent style so as not to bore the players.

With his job done in getting the ingredients and preparing the Jamaican dishes, Rodriques is again busy as he prepares for the visit of the South Korean youth team to the academy in two weeks’ time.

“I have to be here to explain to the staff how to prepare the food for the Koreans with their different kind of meats.

“But whatever kind of people and wherever you are from, only one thing pleases Rodriques: it’s the satisfying look on your faces after eating one of his dishes,” he boasted.

“I came and look at your boys eating lunch and it is a joy to watch people eat my food and enjoy it,” said Rodriques.