A private chef has revealed what he cooks for Premier League footballers to get them ‘match fit’ for the new season.
Tommy Cole, 32, from Exeter in Devon works for the rich and famous, cooking evening meals and snacks for an—unnamed—player weekly.
The chef works alongside another private cook, Sam Hough, 29, at a commercial kitchen where the pair focus on nutrition-based meal prep.
They decide on the meals with some ‘free reign’ with the advice of the team’s nutritionist, who tells them how many calories or macronutrients they need.
Macronutrients are the three main components of food that we need lots of, for energy and bodily functions: proteins, carbohydrates, and fats.
He explained the player needs: ‘A good amount of carbs to fuel performance, a moderate to high amount of protein for recovery and plenty of fruits and vegetables.’
They key thing he focuses on is ‘the macronutrient balance across the week’, but he added ‘this varies depending on the time of the season’.
‘At the moment there’s a focus on body composition as it is pre-season, so I’m literally reducing both carbs and fats,’ he said.
The steak with fondant potatoes and beef jus dish prepared by the footballers’ private chef
This he explained is to ‘help the overall calorie intake of the meals’ which he limits to 750 calories in the evening.
At this time of year, he added: ‘Protein is kept fairly high to help maximise muscle mass and strength.
During the season, he said: ‘The most significant shifts usually involve carbohydrates and fats, which I adjust based on the players training load and match schedule.
‘On the day prior to matches I also tend to be wary of including too many high-fibre foods.’
This is because, he explained: ‘Too much fibre can limit carb intake and potentially cause gastrointestinal discomfort’.
He added: ‘I also aim to include foods rich in omega-3s (like oily fish and chia seeds) and micronutrients—particularly polyphenols—wherever possible.
These micronutrients are essential vitamins and nutrients needed in small amounts for growth, development and health.
Meanwhile polyphenols, which are found in fruits and vegetables, have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.
This teriyaki salmon on a bed of noodles is one example of the chef’s professional cooking
A vegetable packed poke bowl prepared for the footballer
And micronutrients, he explained, are especially important post-match, as these can support recovery.
The chef often manages to pack these all-important nutrients into delicious meals that are a ‘take on popular takeaway food like Asian food’.
‘Examples would include pasta pomodoro with chicken Milanese, miso glazed salmon with a chilli noodle stir fry, and fillet steak with fondant potatoes and beef jus.’
While he said in a ‘normal chef’s world’ they might add butter or deep fry something, he has to find healthier ways of making it tasty.
‘It’s a little tricky to get a balance between making it as tasty as possible and making it up to nutritional standard,’ he said.
However, he added: ‘I’m just aware of things like adding too much butter and trying to have slightly healthier carbs instead of having sugary stuff.
‘With footballers and people who optimise their performance, they are normal people at the end of the day and want to see sweet stuff,’ he continued.
‘It’s trying to meet that with healthier options, like finding a way of making a cheesecake but out of yoghurt and lower fat cream cheese to replicate it.’
Tommy Cole, 32, revealed how he balances making the meals both healthy and delicious
Tommy’s other clients include golfer Lee Westwood, footballer Daniel Welbeck and singer Ronan Keating.
He originally dreamed of working as a sports team nutritionist, completing two master’s degrees in sports nutrition at Middlesex university and Worcester University.
It wasn’t until he started working as a chalet chef during a ski season in 2017, that he ‘changed direction’ after discovering his love of cooking.
‘Off the back off that’, he said: ‘I went through culinary training and worked in hotels, restaurants, [as well as] quite a lot working chalets and villas.
‘It was through that I was fortunate enough to work for some quite well-known people.
‘Ronan Keating performed a private gig, probably to about 10 people plus me and other staff in the chalet I was in, which was pretty insane.’
Meanwhile, he added: ‘John Terry said he’d start ordering his steak medium rare after I cooked it for him. Previously he’d asked for it well done.’
