Zena Weeks “fell into” becoming a private chef for footballers.
She trained at a cooking school before working for England Athletics as an events manager, and it was through this that Weeks saw the dietary challenges sports stars can face.
“A lot of the athletes were not eating well,” she tells The Athletic. “They didn’t understand that you have to fuel your body. I just said: ‘Well, why don’t I teach some of them?’”
That was the start of Weeks becoming a personal chef.
Within her full-time job, she began serving as a consultant at England Athletics, educating and showing athletes food preparation before and after training. Sporting circles can be tight, with word-of-mouth influential, and she was headhunted by Martin Gallyer, a strength and performance manager who was working on an information platform for people in the sports-science field.
Curious about the opportunity to return to cooking full-time, Weeks was asked if she could help make food for a footballer. Unknown to her, it was actually a try-out to become the footballer’s personal chef.
The player turned out to be then Aston Villa midfielder, Morgan Sanson, with Weeks tasked with cooking and creating daily meals for him and his family.
Here, The Athletic meets Weeks, discusses how to get professional footballers to eat foods they don’t like and tastes some of her offerings.
“I got to know Morgan (Sanson) and his family really well,” Weeks says of starting out with the Frenchman, who played for Villa from 2021 to 2023 and is now back in his homeland with Nice.
“I keep in touch with them — they messaged me over the weekend. Working with Morgan was how it started. I became familiar with the club, reaching a point where Villa nutritionists would reach out to ask if I could cook for more players, such as Donyell (Malen).”
Weeks was not a football fan growing up, although she was taken to Villa Park as a seven-year-old by her father. Villa remain the club she has closest ties with and over the summer, she worked with The Villa Foundation, putting on cooking sessions with parents and children.
An emotional investment in her players means Weeks now follows the sport closely, taking a specific interest in those she cooks for. She is the personal chef of Villa forward Morgan Rogers and, until his summer move to Newcastle United, also prepared meals for his team-mate Jacob Ramsey. “Morgan and Jacob are the same age as my son,” smiles Weeks. “They’ve been to my house, because we’ve set up a business together.”
Feasibly, on a single evening, she will visit and cook for three of Villa’s players: Rogers, Ramsey and Malen.
Despite Ramsey’s departure to the north east, her connection to him remains. As well as starting the business, Cooking 4 Champions, alongside him and Rogers, she is collaborating on a book with Ramsey, educating young athletes on healthy recipes.
Weeks’ previous book, Recipes for Performance Sports, was also endorsed by him.
“Nutrition was a big weakness in my game and lifestyle,” Ramsey says. “Since working with Zena, I have seen massive improvements physically and in my performances.”
In place of Ramsey relocating to Tyneside, Weeks has started cooking for his younger brother, Aaron, a former Villa player who Burnley have loaned to Championship side Leicester City this season.
“Even though Jacob is at Newcastle, his home will always be here,” says Weeks. “I wanted to do something with Morgan (Rogers) and Jacob, because they care about their community and want to help youngsters. I explained to them about the food school I was running and what I wanted to create. They said yes and have become ambassadors, putting their name to everything. The idea will be that I go into communities and schools and put on workshops with underprivileged kids.
“Morgan and Jacob will go in and do cooking sessions when they have time, and we will make videos where they will cook with me, creating recipe cards from their favourite meals. It will be so cool for kids to see two players eating what they will be able to make.”
Zena has set up a business with Newcastle’s former Villa midfielder Jacob Ramsey (Zena Weeks)
There is no such thing as a typical day for Weeks. It can vary owing to players’ schedules, so planning ahead is critical — especially as Weeks manages to balance being a private chef alongside running her business Cook with Zena and being a lecturer at Birmingham City University.
Weeks’ day will begin at 7am, going shopping for ingredients. Having prepared her meal plans for the days ahead, she will buy for each player’s requirements.
“They have the option of telling me what they want,” Weeks adds. “But because I’ve been working with them regularly, they quite like the surprise! They have things they don’t like much. So for those foods, I’ll make it into a salad so they don’t really know that they’re eating it. I’ll introduce something all the time, so they’ll never have the same meal twice in one week.”
Evening meals will be prepared in advance at her house, speeding up the process so she does not, as Weeks describes, “overstay her welcome”, and to simply have enough time to visit three different players within a few hours.
“They are all eating slightly different meals. I will go around, cook one, then go straight to the next,” Weeks explains. “I’m very efficient, so food is cooking slowly in the oven during the day, or for the soups they have for starters, I will pre-arrange. I can then just finish them off at their houses.”
Regular communication with Villa’s nutritionists ensures players are being provided with the correct dietary balance and intake.
For example, if one of them is injured or not playing, Weeks will be informed of their situation in advance. Consequently, the dishes she cooks for him will be amended, tailoring the appropriate level of carbohydrates. Alternatively, if a player has just undergone a physically taxing period, Weeks’ meals will have an uptick in proteins, in turn repairing the body’s cells and aiding recovery.
“You’re tweaking every week, every meal,” she laughs. “If they have a night game, what I cook will differ. They tend to stay in hotels the night before matches, so I will know I’m not needed then.”
Weeks presents The Athletic with a range of meals she has made of late, explaining the reasoning and nutritional benefits of each.
Firstly, every player will have a starter, main and dessert each evening, with Weeks also cooking for their families, should they wish.
Weeks says: “The starters can be soup. My vegetable soup will have eight different vegetables in and just be blended.”
“This is another one of the recent meals,” says Weeks. “That’s a steak cut into slivers, with tomatoes, avocado, broccoli, rice and potatoes.”
Weeks: “Here, you’ve got chicken that’s baked, and then you’ve got a salad of carrots, cabbage and onions. With all of their meals, I’ll make a side salad to accompany their main.
“I always put garlic, ginger and turmeric in all of the meals, because they’re so good for you.”
Weeks: “My parents come from Mauritius, and this is called a Mauritian magic bowl because it’s turned upside down.
“You put it in layers and it’s usually topped with an egg and six different vegetables.”
Weeks: “Desserts are fun. If it’s a day before a game, it might be rice pudding with fruit puree on top. But I’ll always try to make something different, so it’s not boring.
“Whereas after a game, I will make things like a Bakewell tart. Because it’s not shop-bought, you don’t have any of the preservatives, and it is reduced sugar. I use almond (flour) instead of (regular) flour.”
Weeks laughs when asked if there is a moment during the day that she can afford herself some downtime, given her ever-sprawling number of roles.
“I’ve given myself a curfew that I have to be home and have put everything away at 11pm,” she replies. “I tend to cook for my clients only during the week, but I’ve worked Sundays on occasion.
“If there is a breakfast they need me for, I’ll do it, because I see them as an extension of my family and they genuinely care about me, too.
“Every day I go to work, I have fun. They always make me feel very at home.”
