LEVEL 1 · LAUNCH WEBINAR · 24 SEPTEMBER

Elite athletes are not simply fed.
They are fuelled.

The Performance Chef Academy trains professional chefs to operate at the standard elite sport demands. 12 modules. Applied sport science and nutrition. Real kitchen execution.

On 24 September we open Cohort 1. 100 places. Join the launch webinar to see inside the course, meet the people who built it, and enrol before it opens to anyone else.
Co-led by Dr Nessan Costello · Elite Sport Nutritionist × Omar Meziane · Industry Leading Performance Chef
    SENr Approved for CPD
    12 Modules
    Premier League Standard
    Interactive & Gamified
    Professional Chefs Only
    SENr Approved for CPD
    12 Modules
    Premier League Standard
    Interactive & Gamified
    Professional Chefs Only
    WHAT PCA IS

    The standard elite sport kitchens actually demand.

    PCA occupies a space no other course does. It is not a culinary school. It is not a nutrition certification. It is the point where both meet, applied to the demands of elite sport.

    What PCA Is

    • Systems thinking, not recipes
    • Built to elite sport standard
    • Grounded in real credentials
    • A professional programme
    • Elite sport nutrition knowledge makes you a better chef

    What PCA Is Not

    • A recipe course
    • Wellness content
    • An influencer programme
    • For hobbyists
    • Generic nutrition theory

    12

    Modules of applied performance nutrition

    10+

    Years in Premier League & international environments

    85%

    Target completion rate  engineered by design

    01

    First course of its kind in professional sport

    THE STANDARD

    A professional programme. Not a certificate of attendance.

    SENR APPROVED FOR CPD

    The Performance Chef Academy Level 1 Foundation Course is approved for CPD by the Sport and Exercise Nutrition Register (SENr), the UK's professional register for qualified sport and exercise nutrition practitioners. Approval runs from 2 September 2026 to 1 September 2027. 
    WHO BUILT THIS

    Credentials that come from over a decade of working in elite performance.

    PCA is Built and led by a PhD sport nutritionist who has worked in elite performance for over a decade.

    Scientific Authority

    Dr Nessan Costello

    PhD. Elite sport nutritionist with extensive experience across Premier League football (Chelsea, Newcastle United, Leeds United, and more), international programmes (Al Ahli FC, two times champions of Asia), and high-performance environments (FIFA consultant). The academic and scientific framework behind every module.

    Culinary Practitioner

    Omar Meziane

    Former Performance Chef at Manchester United, England Football, England Cricket, and McLaren. The proof that the standard exists and can be taught. Every kitchen decision in this course has been made in real kitchens at the highest level of professional sport.

    THE CURRICULUM

    12 modules. Every one built for the kitchen, not the classroom.

    Each module is structured around missions. Decisions. Scenarios. Real kitchen calls, built to be completed, not just enrolled in. 

    WHAT YOU RECEIVE 

    Each module ends with a graded test. Every module must be passed at 80 percent to progress.

    On completing all twelve modules and passing the assessment in each, you receive the Performance Chef Academy Level 1 Certificate of Completion.

    The course is approved for CPD by the Sport and Exercise Nutrition Register (SENr) and approved for 40 ACF Continuing Education Hours (CEHs).

    SENR CPD approval applies only to the educational content of the learning activity.

    This is professional education for qualified chefs. It is not a regulated qualification and it does not license you to prescribe nutrition or set nutritional targets. It equips you to work alongside performance and medical staff, within the professional scope of a chef.

    Modules 01 – 03

    The Physiology of Performance Cooking · Nutrition Guidelines · Fuel the Engine

    Tap to reveal

    Module 01

    The Physiology of Performance Cooking

    Module 01

    The Physiology of Performance Cooking

    The science connecting plate decisions to performance, and why the same food carries different value by athlete, timing and demand.

    Tap to reveal

    Module 02

    From Nutrition Guidelines to Kitchen Decisions

    Module 02

    From Nutrition Guidelines to Kitchen Decisions

    Translating population guidelines into balanced performance plates, matching the plate to the training day, and reading labels and food claims with judgement.

    Tap to reveal

    Module 03

    Fuel the Engine

    Module 03

    Fuel the Engine

    How the body powers work: ATP, the energy systems, carbohydrate and fat as fuels, and what makes an athlete fatigue.

    Modules 04 – 06

    Energy Demand · Gut Performance · Carbohydrate

    Tap to reveal

    Module 04

    Energy Demand, Energy Balance, and the Cost of Performance

    Module 04

    Energy Demand, Energy Balance, and the Cost of Performance

    What energy is, why athletes differ in fuel cost, how needs are estimated, and the hidden risk of underfuelling and low energy availability.

    Tap to reveal

    Module 05

    Protect the System: How the Gut Controls Fuel, Comfort and Performance

    Module 05

    Protect the System

    Digestion as a delivery system, the speed of fuel, the gut microbiota, and protecting digestive comfort under competitive pressure.

    Tap to reveal

    Module 06

    Carbohydrate: The Fuel That Runs Out

    Module 06

    Carbohydrate: The Fuel That Runs Out

    Fuel availability, glycogen and blood glucose, daily carbohydrate for repeatable performance, and fuelling before and during competition.

    Modules 07 – 09

    Fat · Protein & Amino Acids · Fluid & Electrolytes

    Tap to reveal

    Module 07

    Fat: Evidence, Application, and Kitchen Practice

    Module 07

    Fat: Evidence, Application, and Kitchen Practice

    The performance role of fat, how the body burns it and its limits, fat on the plate, and the myths that reach the kitchen.

    Tap to reveal

    Module 08

    Protein and Amino Acids: Building, Repairing, and Protecting Athletic Performance

    Module 08

    Protein and Amino Acids

    What protein does, how much and how often, quality and the leucine trigger, source choices, and recovery, injury and population needs.

    Tap to reveal

    Module 09

    Fluid and Electrolytes: Hydration, Sweat, and Performance Resilience

    Module 09

    Fluid and Electrolytes

    Water as the medium of performance, the cost of dehydration, individual sweat and salt loss, and rehydration before, during and after.

    Modules 10 – 12

    Vitamins & Minerals · Nutrition Supplements · Specific Populations

    Tap to reveal

    Module 10

    Vitamins and Minerals

    Module 10

    Vitamins and Minerals

    The invisible system, a food-first approach, the deficiencies that most affect athletes, and the antioxidant and supplement question.

    Tap to reveal

    Module 11

    Nutrition Supplements

    Module 11

    Nutrition Supplements

    Food first, reading the evidence, the supplements that work, contamination risk, and how to advise athletes with confidence and accuracy.

    Tap to reveal

    Module 12

    Specific Populations: Personalising Performance Nutrition

    Module 12

    Specific Populations: Personalising Performance Nutrition

    The young athlete, the older athlete, the female athlete, and serving many bodies from one kitchen.

    HOW IT WORKS

    Built so chefs finish it.

    High completion is not an accident. It is engineered. Every element of the course is designed to keep you active, challenged, and progressing.
    00

    Mission-Based Structure

    Each module is broken into focused missions. One concept at a time, applied immediately to a kitchen decision.

    00

    Decision Interruptions

    You cannot read passively. At every key moment, you are asked to make a call — exactly as you would in service. Wrong answer means you go back.

    00

    Timed Service Scenarios

    30 seconds. Real kitchen pressure. Real consequences. The scenario does not wait for you.

    00

    XP & Progress Tracking

    Every correct decision earns XP. You earn your way through the course the same way you earn trust in an elite kitchen.

    00

    IQ Test Pass Gate

    80% required to progress. Not to punish — to confirm mastery. The next mission is earned, not given.

    The Future of Elite Performance Catering Starts Here.

    For chefs who want to operate at the highest level of sport.


    Join the priority waitlist for the world's first dedicated performance chef course, developed alongside leading sport nutrition practitioners and designed specifically for chefs working in elite performance environments.


      Limited founding cohort. No obligation. Be first to receive programme details, launch dates and priority enrolment access.