'I'm Morgan Rogers' private chef - he might get apple crumble before a game'
Zena Weeks"He's not really keen on fish, but he knows it's good for him, so he'll eat it."
Private chef Zena Weeks has worked with England midfielder Morgan Rogers on how eating the right food can boost his performance on the pitch.
There was "no plan" for her to team up with footballers, but she had been "fortunate" to do that with several Premier League players, including Aston Villa player Rogers.
"Luckily for me... [he] doesn't have a sweet tooth, but before a match, the day before a match, I will give him something like apple crumble," Weeks explains.
"They are allowed to have sweet things before a game, because they need to sustain their energy."
The chef, from Streetly in the West Midlands, cooks in Rogers' home, but she also said the international player was "a very good cook".
The two of them had "done a few recipes together", she said.
Zena Weeks"He does eat everything and I can't say that there's anything he dislikes," Weeks continues.
She said she prepares the menu and shops and "there's no foods off the table".
"He can eat everything. I just make sure that it's not saturated in fat," she continues.
"I speak directly with... nutritionists, so his diet has to be, like with all of the players, has to be spot on for them, so it's very individual.
"I make sure... if he's got a game at the end of the week, he's got all of his carbs and proteins in the right quantities.
"If it was a rest day, then obviously they wouldn't eat anything sweet."
Weeks has messaged Rogers, 23, at the World Cup, but has had no food input for the summer spectacle.
For the England midfielder and others who had personal chefs, "they have their team of chefs that travel with them", she said.
Weeks, whose mum, from Mauritius, "used to cook every day from scratch", trained as a chef before working as an events manager in athletics.
"I said 'I can help sort out the problem with some of the athletes', so that's where I started doing workshops," she said.
'Son's a similar age'
During the Covid lockdown, she was invited to speak at an online conference, where "I met a private chef who later introduced me to my first football client".
She has businesses Cook With Zena and Cooking 4 Champions, which aims to inspire children to learn cooking skills.
Weeks says Rogers is of a "similar age to my son".
"So when I walk through the door, I'm not thinking 'Oh, this is a Premier League footballer'.
"He's just somebody that needs to be looked after."
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