He is the current Swans’ best and fairest player and a role model for his younger team-mates, but Ryan O'Keefe’s ability to inspire isn’t confined to the footy field.

Watch a video of Ryan cooking with Dan Hannebery, Daniel Currie and Gary Rohan here.

O’Keefe is a talented cook and has taken on the task of teaching a number of the Club’s young players how to whip up healthy meals.

O’Keefe asks them what they’d like to learn, then turns up at their house and takes them through how to cook the dish.

So far he’s taught housemates and Sydney Swans’ team-mates Nick Smith, Lewis Johnston and Sam Reid how to make beef lasagne, followed by chocolate self-saucing pudding (low fat of course).

The following week he taught another household of Swans - Jarred Moore, and rookies Dylan McNeil and Nathan Gordon - how to make lamb curry and butterscotch pudding. And newly drafted West Australian, Trent Dennis-Lane, heard there was a good feed going and dropped over to sample Ryan’s cooking.

This week the lucky household was that occupied by Daniel Currie, Dan Hannebery and 2009 draft pick Gary Rohan. For them, Ryan demonstrated how to cook a tasty paella while the boys took notes so they can do it on their own later.

“They prefer watching me do it, so I step through what I’m doing. Along the way I’m showing them how to chop onions, and talking about what other dish you can use them in,’’ O’Keefe says. “They fire questions at me, not just about the meal but cooking in general.

“With something like the butterscotch pudding I show them that you can make it more or less sweet by how much sugar you add, and I try to give them a base recipe where they don’t have to be so accurate with everything,’’ he said.

“I showed them how to make sure the batter is nice, and tell them they can also use that batter to make muffins or a loaf. A lot of these guys haven’t got much of an idea so I try to keep it basic with them.

“The aim is that when I walk away, they can cook it on their own. I want them to make it three or four days later so it is fresh in their memory,’’ he said.

Some of the players, such as Moore, Smith and the aptly named Currie, can cook a few dishes, so O’Keefe helps them expand their repertoire.

The idea to teach his team-mates came at the end of 2009 when the club’s long-serving and highly-regarded dietician Michelle left to move back to her hometown in Brisbane.

“She used to do group classes in the kitchen at the Club so when she left I thought there was a gaping hole there. There is a whole group of new kids here. I thought, ‘who is going to teach them?’, and I thought maybe I should do it,’’ O’Keefe said.

“It is something I am passionate about, I think I’ve got very good knowledge and it is a good opportunity for me to bond with the young guys and talk about something different outside of footy.’’

Click here to learn how to make Ryan's delicious lamb curry!