Tim Lopez, who spent more than a decade as the Philadelphia Eagles‘ personal chef, has released a new cookbook, write Julia Binswanger and Nick Kariuki for Billy Penn at WHYY.
The new cookbook, which arrived to bookstores on Tuesday, August 26, is titled Kickoff Kitchen. It features 64 recipes. More specifically, the recipes include an appetizer and main dish for all 32 NFL teams.
It serves as a celebration and honoring of regional specialties as it pertains to gameday within these NFL cities.
“The audience is really pretty much every NFL fan,” Lopez said. “Every single team has its own staples because of the culinary traditions around that team and around that area of the country.”
During his 13 years working as the Eagles’ chef, Lopez would introduce the visiting team’s regional foods in the Eagles cafeteria ahead of the opposing team’s arrival. That way, the Birds could get in their opponents heads and “devour the competition.”
In hindsight, that concept helped inspire the new cookbook.
For Lopez, he hopes the recipes will help NFL fans expand their palates, learn more about cuisine outside of their region, and experience the different flavors the United States has to offer.
Read more about Tim Lopez’s new cookbook, Kickoff Kitchen, in Billy Penn at WHYY.
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Part cookbook, part game-day playbook, Kickoff Kitchen serves up 64 football-inspired recipes, each tied to a pro team, with easy, crowd-pleasing dishes made for watch parties, wing cravings, and stress-free cooking.
Editor’s Note: This post first appeared on PHILADELPHIA Today in August 2025.
