Meet Chef Tom Kirby: Men's First Team Performance Chef, Chelsea Football Club

Meet Chef Tom Kirby, a professional chef specialising in performance nutrition, currently working as the Men's First Team Performance Chef at Chelsea Football Club. Tom is passionate about creating food that not only tastes fantastic but also supports athletes in performing at their best.

Combining his experience in high-end hospitality with his knowledge of performance nutrition, Tom has delivered exciting, nutritious food to world-renowned athletes throughout his career, including during his time as Head Chef with England Rugby.

We caught up with Tom to learn more about his passion for creating food that not only tastes fantastic but also supports athletes in performing at their best.

What inspired you to start cooking?

Becoming a chef was never something I originally saw myself doing. While at school and college, I started working in a local pub as a waiter and somehow ended up helping out in the kitchen one summer, mainly preparing salads and desserts.

From there, I moved to a golf club, helping cater for weddings and functions, and soon realised how much I enjoyed cooking. I was then fortunate enough to secure an apprenticeship as a commis chef at The Savoy Hotel in London, where I really found my passion for food and fell in love with the buzz of a professional kitchen.

I went on to spend the next ten years working in high-end hotels and restaurants before my career took me into professional sport, allowing me to combine two of my biggest passions: food and sport.

It's been an incredible journey, from preparing salads and desserts in a pub kitchen to cooking for some of the world's best athletes, and I feel incredibly fortunate to do something I love every day.

When we first connected with you, you were Head Chef at England Rugby. What were your main responsibilities in that role?

My role at England Rugby involved overseeing the food provision for the players and support staff throughout their training camps and international fixtures.

Working closely with the performance nutrition team, I was responsible for creating and delivering menus tailored to the players' nutritional requirements, adapting our food offering depending on their training and match schedules.

There was also a huge emphasis on variety, quality and enjoyment. When players are spending extended periods in camp, food becomes an important part of their daily routine, so creating exciting menus and maintaining high standards was essential.

It was an incredibly rewarding environment to work in, and I was fortunate enough to be part of some fantastic occasions with the team.

Professional rugby players require professional diets. What were your go-to meals to help them perform at their best?

One of the biggest things I learnt working with England Rugby was the importance of variety. These guys consume a significant amount of food, so keeping the menus exciting while meeting their nutritional requirements was always a priority.

We adapted our menus throughout the week, with carbohydrate-rich dishes featuring heavily around demanding training sessions and in the build-up to matches, alongside good sources of protein to support muscle repair and recovery.

One of the great things about working with a national team is the opportunity to travel the world. I was fortunate enough to visit Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Argentina and the USA, to name just a few. I loved embracing the local produce and cuisine, working alongside local chefs and learning traditional cooking techniques. From cooking authentic asado over an open fire in Argentina to working alongside sushi chefs in Japan, these experiences were incredibly inspiring and allowed me to bring new flavours and ideas back into our menus.

In camp, I was also a big fan of live cooking stations, preparing fresh dishes in front of the players and allowing them to tailor their meals to their own tastes and nutritional needs. From live wok stations and Greek-style gyros to firm favourites like homemade chicken katsu curry and fish finger sandwiches, it was all about offering variety, creating excitement around food and ensuring the players genuinely enjoyed what they were eating.

And now you're at Chelsea FC, as the Men's 1st Team Performance Chef. What are your main responsibilities for this team?

My role at Chelsea is to oversee the food provision for the Men's First Team, ensuring that everything we serve supports the players' performance, recovery and overall nutritional requirements.

I work closely with the club's performance nutrition team and catering department to develop menus that reflect the demands of the football calendar. With the number of matches and intensity of the training schedule, we have to be extremely adaptable, as the food we provide on a recovery day can look quite different from what we serve in the build-up to a match.

A big part of my role is working with the catering team to maintain consistently high standards, developing new dishes, delivering training and ensuring the nutritional objectives behind our menus are understood throughout the kitchen.

I'm also responsible for bridging the gap between the players, performance nutrition team and chefs, ensuring that the food we produce is not only nutritionally appropriate but also something the players genuinely enjoy.

What are your favoured meals for these footballers to help them perform at their best?

The food offering in professional football is actually very similar to rugby, although the quantities are certainly different! With the busy football calendar and the demands of training and match preparation, we're constantly adapting our menus to ensure the players are appropriately fuelled and recovering well.

We're fortunate to have fantastic facilities at Chelsea, allowing us to be really creative with our food offering. Variety is key, and we do a lot of live cooking, preparing fresh dishes in front of the players and allowing them to tailor their meals to their individual tastes and nutritional requirements.

Our live pasta stations become the star of the show in the build-up to match days, offering a variety of freshly prepared pasta dishes to help the players increase their carbohydrate intake ahead of a game.

We also introduce a themed food day each month to keep things exciting. These range from cuisines from around the world to inviting specialist butchers and fishmongers into the club, where we cook a fantastic selection of fresh meat and fish to order in front of the players, with the rest of the buffet designed to complement the theme.

For me, it's about combining great food with performance nutrition, keeping the menus fresh and exciting, and ensuring the players genuinely look forward to every meal.

What is your favourite thing about being a chef for elite Premier League athletes?

Without a doubt, it's knowing that the food we produce plays a part in helping the players prepare, recover and perform at the highest level.

Working in professional sport is incredibly rewarding because you see how much detail goes into every aspect of an athlete's preparation, and nutrition is a huge part of that.

I also love the challenge of creating new dishes and keeping the menus exciting for players who eat with us almost every day. There's a great sense of satisfaction when you introduce something new and see the players really enjoying it.

Being part of a Premier League football club is an incredible experience. The environment is fast-paced, the standards are exceptionally high, and there's always something new to learn.

Both at home and on tour with Chelsea, what are your go-to GLOBAL knives to use?

My go-to knife is the GLOBAL G-2 Chef's Knife. It's incredibly versatile and handles pretty much everything I need it to, from preparing vegetables and herbs to portioning meat and fish.

I also love the GS-35 [13cm Santoku Knife]. It's fantastic for more detailed vegetable preparation, and I use it regularly when filming my knife skills videos at home.

For smaller, more intricate jobs, the GSF-22 Paring Knife is another favourite. It's perfect for preparing fruit, trimming vegetables and any task where you need a little more control.

Whether I'm cooking at home, preparing food for the players or working away from the training ground, having a reliable set of knives makes a huge difference.

What are your favourite features of our GLOBAL knives?

For me, it's the combination of sharpness, balance and precision.

When you're working in a professional kitchen and preparing large quantities of food, having a knife that feels comfortable in your hand and performs consistently is incredibly important.

I particularly like how lightweight and well-balanced GLOBAL knives are, allowing you to work quickly and accurately without feeling cumbersome. The sharp blades also make a real difference when preparing delicate ingredients, whether that's finely slicing vegetables, preparing fresh herbs or working with fish.

I also love the sleek, practical design and how easy they are to clean, which is particularly important in a busy professional kitchen.

A good knife is one of the most important tools a chef can own, and having equipment you can rely on allows you to concentrate on the cooking itself.

If you could give one piece of advice to at-home cooks and aspiring chefs, what would you say?

Master the basics and never stop learning! You don't need expensive ingredients or complicated recipes to create fantastic food. A well-stocked dry store cupboard with a good selection of herbs and spices, combined with good knife skills and an understanding of how to balance flavours, can transform even the simplest of dishes.

Don't be afraid to experiment, try new ingredients and put your own twist on familiar recipes. Most importantly, enjoy cooking! Whether you're preparing food for professional athletes or your family at home, great food should bring people together and put a smile on their faces.