Nick Billegas- Co Owner- Executive Chef

Nicholas Billegas – Co-Founder & Executive Chef, Optimized Nutrition Chefs

Nicholas Billegas, Co-Founder of Optimized Nutrition Chefs and acting Executive Chef, has over 12 years of experience working in both the culinary and sports industries, specializing in performance nutrition for professional athletes.

His journey began as an athlete, training alongside top-ranked UFC fighters from the age of 17. Through years of exposure to elite strength and conditioning coaches, mentorship under experienced chefs, and hands-on work providing in-house meals for athletes, Nicholas developed a unique approach that blends high-level culinary skills with advanced knowledge of sports nutrition and sports performance.

As a certified Speed of Sport (SOS) affiliate trainer under Nick Curson, he understands how the body utilizes nutrients during strength, endurance, and skill-based training. This expertise allows him to design tailored culinary programs that optimize athletic performance across all sports.

Nicholas’ culinary background includes three years of training in an authentic French restaurant under the guidance of a culinary institution director, followed by two years as a sous chef at an international cuisine restaurant in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He has also worked from the back of house in restaurants to backstage at major events such as those at the MGM Grand.

Today, Nicholas leads the Optimized Nutrition Chefs team in delivering world-class, in-house and on-site fine dining experiences for professional athletes worldwide, bridging the gap between performance science and culinary excellence to provide clients with world class food alongside cutting edge health and nutritional advice to maximize our clients performance, energy, recovery, cognitive performance and longevity.