Astros Chef Dishes On Feeding Major League Baseball Stars, WBC Excitement, Diamond Club Revamp — Meet The Woodlands’ Logan Baker

The Woodlands’ own official Houston Astros Chef Logan Baker is excited to be able to try out some new things of his own at the World Baseball Classic, knowing big things are ahead at Daikin Park this season. Not just being host to these WBC games, which includes Monday night’s highly-anticipated, already-soldout USA vs. Mexico game. But also getting to move into a revamped Diamond Club, which is going through the finishing touches on a $2.4 million renovation.

This remodel touches the back of the house too — Baker’s domain — giving the Astros chef a whole new setup.

“It’s going to be absolutely elegant,” Baker tells PaperCity The Woodlands. “I’m really excited. I’ve never worked in a new kitchen in my life. I’ve always worked in very old spaces that I’ve inherited. So for me now, being the first, it’s like being in a house for the first time.”

The World Baseball Classic will give Baker a chance to do some test runs before the Astros’ own regular season (and its 81 home games) begins. But this international event of essentially All-Star teams (the USA lineup has Bobby Witt Jr., Bryce Harper and Aaron Judge hitting back-to-back-to-back) also brings its own international food to prepare. The special WBC offerings include bacon wrapped homestyle meatloaf, with roasted garlic, mashed potatoes and smoked tomato gravy (American), fish and chips (British), chicken flautas with avocado cream and salsa verde (Mexican), Bauru sandwiches (a Brazilian sandwich of roast beef, cheese, tomatoes and pickles on a French roll), Chimichurri beef shawarma flatbread, a cannoli and ice cream helmet (Italian) and apple pie potstickers (American).

The Astros’ own new offerings this season would make Italy proud.

“One thing that we’re doing this year in the Diamond Club is we’re getting this massive gelato machine,” Baker notes. “So now, each day, I’m in charge of making six types of gelato, fresh daily. So all these little things like the recipes for the bases for the gelato, I have them done, but we have to actually work them and make sure they work.”

The Diamond Club’s kitchen renovation is taking it from a closed kitchen to an open kitchen layout. For Baker, this means a lot of training for staff.

“Now it’s retraining your staff for an open kitchen versus how it was before,” Baker says. “We need to look and act the part too. It’s exciting in a way, but I really have to enforce the standard on that. We did a really good job before. But now, how can we do a really great job?”

Logan has been in plenty of old houses along the way. A Houston-area native and son of a chef, Baker started out at Northgate Country Club then moved to Omni Hotels as executive chef. He started his job with the Astros the day before the season started in 2018.

“I accepted the job without seeing the kitchen, or the space,” Baker recalls. “I literally just walked into the kitchen. Didn’t even have a name on my (chef) jacket at the time.”

This Astros chef isn’t just in charge of making sure Diamond Club visitors eat well, he also feeds the Astros players, playing a major role in clubhouse happiness.

How Major League Baseball Stars Eat Today

Baker knows the way players look at clubhouse meals has evolved. Today’s players are much more concerned with what they eat.

“It’s interesting to see the way trends go with the way athletes eat,” Baker says. “I talked to guys like Craig Biggio and guys I grew up watching, and it’s very wild to see the evolution of it. I’ve heard that they would kind of go to McDonald’s or go get something, But with the collective bargaining agreements and just how it’s progressed, and I think it’s all athletes, where they put a lot more time and a lot more into what’s fueling them.

“So it’s funny to see them coming to the clubhouse and see the spread to see their reactions. But obviously things change. You have to evolve.”

Baker acknowledges that the food’s origin is increasingly important to players.

“They want to know where their food’s coming from,” he notes. “In almost 10 years in this position that’s something that I have tried to have the information when, if I’m asked a question, I can answer about a food’s origins. We try to buy Gulf seafood when we can. We try to get Texas cattle when we can. We try to find things local first.

“They’re being a lot more curious about where food’s coming from. They are taking their fueling very seriously.”

A standard day for a Houston Astros night game means Baker and staff put out three meals a day.

“The first meal of the day we cook is about 12:30 — that one is for training staff, coaches, a few players that come in (early), usually guys that are on treatment come in,” Baker tells PaperCity. “And then second meal we would serve around 4 so almost before it’s time to go on the field. That is usually mostly players. The staff always eats as well, but usually the bulk of players are coming through.

“That is usually lighter, lean proteins, fresh veggies, salads. One thing that’s a staple that we do in the clubhouse is a Build Your Own Acai Bowl station every day with six or seven different types of fresh fruit, the different granolas. Guys love it. We’ve even standardized that for the World Baseball Classic this year, because our team just raves about it.”

The post-game meal is more than just a nightly buffet.

“Besides our buffet, we have a a la carte menu of 10 to 12 items that they can order at all times, from kind of a breakfast kind of item, or steaks to protein bowls to kind of more lighter wrap salad options. When I first came (to the Astros) my understanding was maybe 25 percent of the people would actually eat in the kitchen. And for the most part, people would bring food in from the outside and do this.

“Where I would say, now we have 98 to 100 percent of everyone eating from our facility three times a day. I take pride in that for sure.”

A Major League chef only hits a home run when the players want to eat his food — and keep coming back for it.