MODULE 01 · OPENING ENROLMENT

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.
Co-led by Dr Nessan Costello · PhD, Sport Nutritionist × Omar Meziane · Former Manchester United Performance Chef
You're in!
Welcome to the future of performance catering.
You'll receive priority access when enrolment opens, alongside exclusive updates, course insights and founding cohort opportunities. The standard is changing. We'll see you at the forefront.
CPD Accredited
Sport & Exercise Nutrition Register (SENr) Approved
12 Modules
Premier League Standard
Interactive & Gamified
Professional Chefs Only
CPD Accredited
Sport & Exercise Nutrition Register (SENr) Approved
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 desig

01

First course of its kind in professional sport

WHO BUILT THIS

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

PCA is built by 2 people who have operated at the highest level of elite sport — in the lab and in the kitchen.

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.

Modules 01 – 03

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

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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.

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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.

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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

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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.

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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.

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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

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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.

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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.

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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 · The Performance Kitchen

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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.

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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.

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Module 12

The Performance Kitchen: Integration & Mastery

Module 12

The Performance Kitchen: Integration & Mastery

Bringing it all together. Systems, menus, and the mindset of a chef who operates at the standard elite sport demands.

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.

APPROVED

A professional qualification. Not a certificate of attendance.

CPD APPROVED PROGRAMME

The Performance Chef Academy is currently undergoing formal approval by the Sport and Exercise Nutrition Register (SENr), the UK's professional register for qualified sport and exercise nutrition practitioners. This pioneering programme aims to create a recognised development pathway for chefs working within elite sport, helping to strengthen collaboration between performance chefs and nutrition professionals — improving service delivery to elite athletes worldwide.

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 performance chef qualification, developed alongside leading sport nutrition practitioners and designed specifically for chefs working in elite performance environments.


You're In!

Welcome to the future of performance catering.

You'll receive priority access when enrolment opens, alongside exclusive updates, course insights and founding cohort opportunities.

The standard is changing. We'll see you at the forefront.

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