She’s bound to be there to cheer him on Sunday, but Taylor Swift won’t be cooking the meals that will fuel Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce in the Super Bowl. That’s a job for his personal chef, Kumar Ferguson.
35-year-old Kelce is changing the game when it comes to age, playing at a level only two other tight ends in their 30’s have done before. According to Yahoo Sports, Kelce is one of three tight ends age 33 or older who have racked up at least 867 yards in a season.
When asked his secret, Kelce told Yahoo Sports, “Man, I don’t know how I beat it. I guess it’s my nutrition. Shout out to KuEatsFresh, my man [private chef] Kumar Ferguson. Whatever he’s feeding me is keeping me young.”
That food is fueling quite a career. In his 12th season with the Chiefs, his roster page is filled with records.
Travis Kelce Taps Childhood Friend to Be Personal Chef
Kelce and Ferguson go way back. They were childhood friends growing up in Cleveland Heights, Ohio. Kelce recruited his buddy to come cook for him in 2016.
“He’s like, ‘Hey man, I want to take my diet seriously, and take it to the next level,” Kumar told Vanity Fair in 2023. The private chef honed his skills while working as a truck driver and sampling cuisine during his travels all over the country. Now Ferguson has a loft in downtown Kansas City and is at Kelce’s home every day in the regular season, prepping meals, stocking the refrigerator and hanging out with his childhood friend. “We kick it all day,” Ferguson says. He even brings Kelce lunch to practices.
“It’s fun, but I do take it seriously, just knowing that I can have some type of impact on his health,” Kumar told E! News. The personal chef is also the founder of the recipe subscription site KuEatsFresh and ZoomChef, which connects professional athletes with verified chefs.
What Travis Kelce Eats in a Day
So how do you fuel a 6-foot-5 elite athlete every day? Especially one that loves beer so much that he co-owns brewery Garage Beer with brother Jason?
During the season, Ferguson says he starts Kelce’s day with oatmeal and fresh fruit. But the key ingredient in the tight end’s diet is meat, and more meat.
“Everything about Travis’ diet and what we do is intentional,” Ferguson told Startland News. “Everything is for fuel, for comfort, hydration, nutrition. There is purpose behind every dish. You go into the grocery store with that mindset. You go into the kitchen with that mindset. You put that intention into the food and then you hope that it translates to optimized health.”
On average Travis consumes a whopping 4,000 calories on practice and game days. And before every game, there’s one dish that’s a “must-have” for Kelce. “On game day, you want to carb up, so I have the energy I need for the game,” he told Men’s Journal in 2020. “If I can, I’ll have a breakfast type of meal, since a lot of our games are from 12 to 4 in the afternoon. Sometimes you might get lunch, but it’s mostly breakfast. For me, I have to grab some French toast, get my blood sugar going, get some carbs in. I’m big on French toast. Always eat that at the team’s pregame meal.”
Taylor Swift Helps Kelce with Carb Loading
Kelce’s girlfriend of more than 18-months, Taylor Swift, can help with Kelce’s carb count. The singer is known to bake for loved ones. In a Chiefs press conference last June, Kelce said, “Taylor makes a great Pop-Tart and cinnamon roll.”
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Travis Kelce’s Super Bowl Diet Won’t Be Fueled by Taylor Swift