The Champ's Camp: A Closer Look at Fighter's Heaven
A recreation of Aunt Coretta's rules in the kitchen and dining hall of Figther's Heaven.
Photograph courtesy of Jeff Julian.
Gourmet Meals
Every part of the training camp had a key person in charge of ensuring it ran smoothly. The kitchen and dining hall was no exception. In the beginning, the kitchen was operated by Ali's Aunt Coretta, who had Cassius Clay, Sr., paint a sign to let everyone know the rules of the kitchen. The sign read:
"Rules of My KYTCHEN
1. PLEASE TO KEEP OUTE except on express permission of cooke
2. COOKE shall designate pot scourers pan polishers peelers scrapers and COOKE has supreme AUTHORITY AT ALL TIMES.
3. NO REMARKS AT ALL WILL BE TOLORATED concerning the blackening of toast the weakness of soupe or the strength of garlic stewe.
4. What goes in stews & soups is NOBODY'S dam business.
5. If you MUST sticke your finger in something stick it in the garbage disposal.
6. DON'T CRITICIZE the coffee you be olde and weak yourself someday.
7. ANYONE bringinge guests in for dinner without PRIOR NOTICE will be awarded thwacks on skull with sharpe object.
8. PLEASE WAITE Rome wasn't burnt in a day and it takes awhile to burne the ROASTE.
9. IF YOU MUST pinche somethinge in this KYTCHEN PINCHIE the COOKIE!
10. this is my kitchen if you don't believe it START SOMETHING."
Later, the camp kitchen was run by Lana Shabazz. She would later go on to write a cookbook entitled, "Cooking for the Champ."
Coretta and Lana would not operate the kitchen alone, however. Booker (Abubakiur) Johnson was told to help Lana out in the kitchen for a single day, which turned into close to ten years of assisting her. They ensured all food at the camp was prepared according to Ali's religion of Islam.
