The Star is continuing its series, 鈥淏ehind the Bear Down,鈥 which focuses on five glue pieces of Arizona football on a weekly basis in the fall 鈥 most of them year-round. Up next: Danny Perez, executive chef.
On the floor above the Arizona football offices at the Lowell-Stevens Football Facility, there鈥檚 another team that operates on a daily basis 鈥 and they鈥檙e a pertinent link to the UA football chain.
Even though the chefs at Bear Down Kitchen don鈥檛 contribute touchdown passes or pressure on the quarterback, they assist with recovery and body fuel. They鈥檙e an extension of the UA football program.
So much so, Arizona football added Sands Club executive chef Daniel Perez as the team鈥檚 executive chef. Bear Down Kitchen chef Karl De La Ossa is Arizona鈥檚 executive sous chef.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a privilege to be a part of their staff roster,鈥 Perez said. 鈥淚t feels nice to know they support what we do. Even though we鈥檙e not part of what happens on the field, we certainly feel like we鈥檙e part of what happens off the field. It鈥檚 been great to have a partnership with the leadership in the football operation and the coaches.鈥
Between the Sands Club, a membership-only lounge and restaurant in the Lowell-Stevens Football Facility, and Bear Down Kitchen, Perez has a 40-person staff 鈥 18 just at Bear Down Kitchen, which serves Arizona football players and other UA athletes breakfast and lunch in a buffet format.
Bear Down Kitchen has two omelette stations, fountain drink and coffee station, smoothie station, a salad and fruit bar, a sandwich bar and occasionally a pasta and taco bar for lunch. Sometimes the staffers will put their own twist on the food, like the 鈥淔root Loop鈥 pancakes served on Wednesday.
Perez, who is employed by third-party management company 鈥淥ak View Group,鈥 which specializes in venue management, is also in charge of in-stadium catering during home football games in the fall.
鈥淲e鈥檙e very blessed, because we work in this environment,鈥 Perez said. 鈥淲hen you look out that window and see that (points to the field at Arizona Stadium), our turnover is low.鈥
Perez says Bear Down Kitchen, which serves breakfast and lunch, averages 450-600 visitors daily, from athletes to coaches and administrators.
University of Arizona football players and team staff enjoy team brunch at Bear Down Kitchen, 565 North Cherry Avenue, Tucson, Ariz., June 18, 2025.
鈥淚 think as things change with the roster, that number will fluctuate,鈥 Perez said. 鈥淏ut when it鈥檚 a solid day and all of the athletes participate, it can certainly be in that number. This staff is also open to faculty and staff who want to come up and pay out of pocket. It鈥檚 not just for the athletes. If there are coaches or anyone else that want to pay out of pocket, they鈥檙e more than welcome to.鈥
Perez said Bear Down Kitchen uses an average of 25 dozen eggs daily and spends anywhere from $20,000 to $30,000 weekly on food for breakfast and lunch. Some of the ordered food is locally sourced. The burger patties used at Bear Down Kitchen are from Sonoita Ranch.
鈥淕rass-fed patties that come from Arizona and are for an Arizona team,鈥 Perez said.
Perez grew up in 大象APPand graduated from 大象APPHigh. His current workspace at Arizona Stadium used to be metal bleachers. After high school, he 鈥渒ind of just fell into鈥 culinary arts, he said. Perez attended culinary school in Phoenix and had a busboy and pantry job at Royal Palms Resort and Spa in Phoenix.
University of Arizona football players and team staff enjoy team brunch at Bear Down Kitchen, 565 North Cherry Avenue, Tucson, Ariz., June 18, 2025.
Perez returned to 大象APPand was a chef at J.W. Marriott Starr Pass for 17 years and La Paloma Country Club for two years.
鈥淲orking in big resort settings was my calling after culinary school,鈥 Perez said. 鈥淚 got an opportunity to do a lot, see a lot and take care of the teams that visit us. Those big events helped guide feeding the masses.鈥
Perez mastered cooking breakfast and said, 鈥淚f you can be a really solid breakfast cook, you can cook in any line.鈥
鈥淭o be able to do 10 over-easy eggs in 15 minutes, do basted eggs and poached eggs and cook omelets and make sure that the breakfast pieces are well, then the rest of it kind of falls in line, because you got to be pretty timely, very accurate and multi-task,鈥 Perez said. 鈥淚 think cooking breakfast for me, from the time that I started, it鈥檚 how I started to love being on the line and the adrenaline rush of working on the line and cooking.鈥
Since starting his role at the UA just over two years ago, Perez has met with nutritionists from the Arizona football team and other teams weekly during the season.
Arizona offensive lineman Rhino Tapa鈥檃toutai orders food during team brunch at Bear Down Kitchen, 565 N. Cherry Avenue, June 18, 2025.
鈥淓ven during the offseason, we meet almost weekly to go over future plans and understand what they鈥檙e trying to do with each team and specific athletes,鈥 Perez said. 鈥淚f you鈥檙e trying to lean out or maintain (body weight), the diet plan has to be specific.
鈥淗ow do we offer that in a dining room setting that鈥檚 kind of buffet style? You can still walk up and get an omelette any way you want it, but on the line, you still have fruits, roasted vegetables or proteins, so you can maximize how you have to eat. That partnership is constant.鈥
Added Perez: 鈥淲e also want to make sure that we take care of some guys that have some specific dietary needs that may have a preference of being a vegetarian or having to eat gluten-free. So them having a direct access to myself or to the chefs is huge, because they can just be like, 鈥楬ey, I don鈥檛 find anything that I can eat. Can you come help me out?鈥 And then just being able to address that with our team and helping them out is crucial for the relationship and they treat us like we鈥檙e part of a team.鈥
Arizona senior Ty Buchanan, a 6-6, 314-pound offensive lineman, is a vegetarian. Perez said, 鈥淭y and I text often鈥 about vegetarian-friendly food at Bear Down Kitchen.
Jazmyne Monillas, a line cook at Bear Down Kitchen prepares a burrito for a football player during team brunch, 565 North Cherry Avenue, Tucson, Ariz., June 18, 2025.
鈥淚t鈥檚 coming up with a really nice black bean burger or a veggie burger, or buying some of the non-meat items that are available out there and have good nutrients that he likes to eat,鈥 Perez said. 鈥淪o it鈥檚 constant conversation and then we make sure that as we develop menus, some of those (vegetarian-friendly) items are already there.鈥
Unlike other restaurants, Bear Down Kitchen 鈥渉as a crystal ball鈥 and predict when there鈥檚 a rush of patrons depending on the practice schedules of UA sports during the year.
鈥淚 know when the teams are coming in here to eat,鈥 Perez said. 鈥淚 know catering venues. I know when the games are. I know when we鈥檙e open upstairs (at Sands Club) to our members. We try to make sure that our team has a very good life balance. So when they鈥檙e here, they鈥檙e fully engaged and taking care of business.鈥
The most enjoyable part of the role as Arizona鈥檚 executive chef for Perez is the connection the players have with the chefs and Bear Down Kitchen staffers.
鈥淭hey know my team by name,鈥 added Perez. 鈥淥ur team knows some specific things with them as well.鈥
Arizona running back Quincy Craig enjoys team brunch with his teammates at Bear Down Kitchen, 565 North Cherry Avenue, Tucson, Ariz., June 18, 2025.
Bear Down Kitchen chef Saud Gallegos said his role 鈥渕akes you feel like you鈥檙e part of the team.鈥
鈥淵ou get to see what the boys love and some of them have special requests,鈥 Gallegos said. 鈥淵ou get to really know the guys from the stomach first. It鈥檚 cool to see how they eat compared to other people. They don鈥檛 eat like most people.鈥
De La Ossa鈥檚 mantra at Bear Down Kitchen: 鈥淲e鈥檙e in the business of making champions.鈥 But there鈥檚 a 鈥渇amily environment here, and I think that鈥檚 what helps us level with the football players and recruits and everyone that comes in.鈥
Sometimes, the BDK staffers are more than just chefs to the Arizona football players.
鈥淭hey鈥檒l come to vent to us,鈥 De La Ossa said. 鈥淪ometimes they鈥檙e happy, sometimes they鈥檙e sad. We have multiple hats. Sometimes we鈥檙e Dr. Phil and then we鈥檙e also just chefs. We鈥檙e definitely critics sometimes, too. We know our football and we love sports. If you come in here asking for 10 eggs, you better produce.鈥
Bear Down Kitchen is also a classroom, too. In the spring and summer, Perez and other chefs will host cooking and grilling classes that have anywhere from 25-30 players.
College athletics is a bottom-lime, results-based business, especially at the Power 4 level. Perez and the Bear Down Kitchen team 鈥渁re in the people business and recognizing that these young men and young ladies also want to feel like they鈥檙e at home and have a place to go eat,鈥 he said.
Arizona isn鈥檛 the only school to prioritize nutrition and hire full-time chefs, positions 鈥渢hat could also be a great recruiting tool鈥 for college football programs.
鈥淎s a parent, you bring your kid in here and do a walk-through and you see how your son or daughter will be taken care of with their food and the emphasis we put on conscious eating and the education pieces of it, that鈥檚 a great thing to be able to say to recruits,鈥 Perez said.
鈥淲e feel proud to be a part of that process as well and showcase that we take care of our athletes very well at the University of Arizona.鈥