Cooking 4 Champions is co-directed by Zena Weeks and Natalie Fernihough, bringing together culinary expertise, elite sports experience, and business leadership to inspire children through food.

Zena Weeks – Co-Director & Lead Educator

Zena is a professionally trained chef with a unique career spanning fine dining, elite sport, and children’s food education. She began her career specialising in Chinese delicacies, particularly dim sum, before moving into high-performance sport as a Senior Events Manager and Team Manager for UK Athletics and England Athletics, including roles at the 2012 Olympics and 2014 Commonwealth Games.

Zena later combined her two passions — food and sport — by becoming a private chef for premier league footballers, two of whom are  Morgan Rogers and Jacob Ramsey. Drawing on this experience, Zena shows children how food fuels not only elite performance but also everyday energy, learning, and play.

Alongside her role in Cooking 4 Champions, Zena teaches nutrition students at both degree and master’s level, sharing her expertise in performance nutrition, culinary practice, and education.  She is also the author of ‘Recipes for Performance Sport,’ a book that explores the vital role of food in fuelling athletes for training, recovery, and competition.

In 2019, she founded Cook With Zena, teaching children and students how to cook healthy, simple, and delicious meals. Her sessions are inclusive, hands-on, and often extend outdoors — planting herbs, picking berries, and learning about food from the ground up.

Natalie Fernihough – Co-Director & Business Lead

Natalie brings a wealth of experience in business management, recruitment, and childcare. An excellent home cook, she has worked with children in nursery settings and ensures Cooking 4 Champions is safe, well-run, and engaging. Her approachable style creates a warm and welcoming atmosphere for children and families alike.

Our Ambassadors – Jacob Ramsey & Morgan Rogers

Both Jacob Ramsey and Morgan Rogers are proud Ambassadors for Cooking 4 Champions. They are hands-on in supporting the programme and see this work as part of their legacy — inspiring children to understand the role food plays in sport, wellbeing, and life.