Olympic coaches and athletes team up with River Cottage to launch essential nutrition course

The UK Olympic Diving Team coaches and athletes have joined forces with Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s River Cottage. This dynamic partnership is behind Essential Eating at River Cottage, the newest course at the recently launched River Cottage Chef School just outside Axminster on the borders of Devon and Dorset. To mark the launch of Essential Eating, the UK Olympic Diving Team will be visiting River Cottage HQ on 10 June.

This one-day, City & Guilds-accredited course focuses on how to source and cook the most nutritious, performance-boosting foods in a sustainable, seasonal way. Although particularly relevant for athletes (professional or amateur) and chefs with an interest in nutrition, the course is ideal for anyone who wants to eat for optimum health without sacrificing the principles of sustainability or ethical sourcing. The emphasis is on using local, seasonal ingredients to create dishes that are high-energy, low-fat, and low-salt.

Steve Gladding, Head Coach of the UK Olympic Diving Team, comments: “I’ve been involved with elite sport for the past 30 years and one of the main areas of interest for me is nutrition. An athlete’s main tool is their body and if it isn’t kept sharp, it won’t work! Through this partnership with River Cottage, we will encourage our athletes to pay more attention to where their food is coming from, as well as thinking about how it fuels their bodies for performance. We’re very excited to be working with River Cottage. This is a really innovative project and I know we will reap great rewards."

Stefani Smith, River Cottage Chef Tutor, adds: “Nutrition is a minefield with a lot of conflicting arguments and debates, but this Essential Eating course takes away the complexity and offers instead a simple, “essential” way of cooking. We’ll be looking at everything from the properties of seaweed to the benefits of British-grown grains and demonstrating how to cook healthy ingredients in a way that keeps them packed full of nutrients and tasting delicious.’’

The River Cottage Chef School opened in April this year, offering a unique teaching experience that embodies the River Cottage ethos. Students who complete the courses gain nationally-recognised qualifications including City & Guilds.

Click here to book a place on the course or call 01297 630300 for further information.