Level 1 · Cohort 2 · Live coaching from 3 December
Training chefs to the standard elite sport demands
12 modules in 4 parts. Live coaching every week. Limited cohorts, by application. Led by Dr Nessan Costello.
Places are offered by application. Full curriculum, dates and price are on the programme page.
- SENr approvedApproved for CPD by the Sport and Exercise Nutrition Register, the UK register for sport nutritionists.
- 40 hoursOf continuing education recognised by the American Culinary Federation.
- 50 chefsIn training now, across the UK, Ireland, the US and Australia.
- Live weeklyCoaching calls with Dr Nessan Costello, every week of the programme.
- Checkable in secondsYour certificate is issued by an independent platform, with a QR code any club can scan.
Why this exists
Every other job in the building has a standard. This one never did.
The coach, the physio, the doctor and the nutritionist all have a qualification for their job. The chef feeding the players does not. Nobody agrees what the job is called, nobody trains you for it, and you carry the responsibility anyway.
Ness saw it from the other side of the pass for a decade. Then he published the research, and built the programme that was missing.
Numbers from a 2025 study of chefs in professional football that Ness co-wrote. Read the study
Our ambition
The home for chefs who want to work with athletes. And the first place employers look to find them.
A way in, and a way up. Train to the standard elite sport works to, prove it with a credential a club can check, and join a network of chefs doing the same job.
Chefs trained to improve how a squad eats, recovers and performs. Put a brigade through the programme, or hire from the chefs who have.
Level 1 Foundation Programme
Four parts. Twelve modules. A rest week after each.
Three modules at a time, then a week to catch up. A live call with Ness every week. Timed service scenarios, the way decisions come at you on the pass. 80% to pass each module. A certificate and badges a club can check. A free place on the Performance Chef Register, where employers come to find chefs.
Rest week
Rest week
Rest week
Certificate
Approved for CPD. Not a regulated qualification, and it does not make you a nutritionist. It makes you the chef the nutritionist wants to work with.
The Performance Chef Register
Train. Get listed. Get found.
Clubs and employers have never had one place to look for chefs who understand athletes. Now they do. Every chef on the programme gets a free place on the Performance Chef Register, from the day they start, not the day they finish.
- 01Listed while you train.Your profile shows your experience, the kitchens you have run, and where you are on the programme.
- 02Employers come to us, we come to you.A club or caterer who wants to talk to you contacts PCA. We check who they are and make the introduction.
- 03You decide what is shown.Employers see your first name, your bio and your experience. Not your surname, not your current employer. Joining is optional.
Who built this
Written by the nutritionist who relied on the chef.
Over a decade feeding elite footballers: Leeds Rhinos, Leeds United under Marcelo Bielsa, Newcastle United, Chelsea, where they won the Conference League and the Club World Cup. Now Head of Nutrition at Al Ahli, with back-to-back Asian Champions League titles, and a consultant to FIFA. Every module is his. So is every live call.
"This is not about replacing the nutritionist. It is about completing the chain."
Independently verifiable
A certificate an employer can check in seconds.
Your certificate is not a PDF we email you. It is issued by Accredible, an independent company that also issues credentials for universities and professional bodies. Every one has a QR code and a web link. A club scans it and sees your name, the programme, and the date you finished.
- Issued by a third party, not by us
- QR code and live link on every certificate
- Adds to your LinkedIn profile in one click
- A badge for each of the four programmes as you go
Limited cohorts, by application
Cohort 2 is capped at 50 chefs.
- 01Apply. It takes five minutes.We ask who you cook for and what you want from the programme.
- 02If it is the right fit, you get your place and your enrolment link.Borderline applications are reviewed within two days.
- 03Start Part 1 straight away. Live coaching begins 3 December 2026.Pay in full, or spread it over four payments.
Questions about the current cohort: nessan@performancechefacademy.com
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Run a kitchen, a club or a catering contract?
Put your chefs through the programme as a team, or find chefs who have.