“Growing up, I would cook for all the bros after we’d be hanging out all day,” said chef Kumar Ferguson, who has cooked for Travis Kelce since 2016

Travis Kelce #87 of the Kansas City Chiefs looks on from the sideline before an NFL football game against the Cincinnati Bengals at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium on December 31, 2023 in Kansas City, Missouri.

Travis Kelce. Photo: Ryan Kang/Getty

Travis Kelce’s best meals are often prepped by a good friend.

Since 2016, the Kansas City Chiefs tight end, 34, has been eating food cooked by his childhood friend turned private chef Kumar Ferguson.

“Growing up, I would cook for all the bros after we’d be hanging out all day. That kitchen table hangout has always been a center for all of us,” Ferguson told Kansas City magazine in a recent interview. “We have definitely carried that tradition with us.”

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Jason Kelce, Donna Kelce and Travis Kelce.Campbell’s Chunky

Since the two have had a long-standing friendship, Ferguson said that they’ve been able to maintain open communication throughout their working relationship.

“Being brothers is funny because we can throw shots at each other all day, but Travis is incredible when it comes to professionalism and just being on top of taking whatever he’s investing into,” said Ferguson when asked if the athlete ever critiques his meals.

The chef said Kelce eats three meals daily during the football season and consumes over 4,000 calories on practice and game days. Kelce’s favorites include oatmeal with fresh fruit for breakfast and seafood alfredo for dinner. Ferguson said that the NFL star is also a big fan of steaks.

Travis Kelce #87 of the Kansas City Chiefs arrives before the game against the Buffalo Bills at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium on December 10, 2023 in Kansas City, Missouri.

Travis Kelce.David Eulitt/Getty

“His dad [Ed] is actually a grill master, so that’s where I got filets in our diet,” he said. Tangy Hawaiian heat wings and deep-fried Australian lobster tails were other protein-rich foods that Ferguson listed off as his go-tos.

Ferguson said he’s always searching for meal inspiration and listed The Upper Cut KC, PeachTree Cafeteria, Anton’s Taproom, and Rye as some of his favorite places in Kansas City, Missouri.

In October, Kelce’s mom, Donna, told PEOPLE that he and his brother, Jason, “ate a lot” as kids.

“They could sit down and eat an entire chicken in high school each — not together; each one of them could finish a chicken,” she said, noting that their fridge was always stocked with steak, hamburgers, and “normal stuff that kids want to eat.”

Donna recalled one IHOP trip with her boys during their college days that involved having “like 18 plates on the table.”

“There’s steak, there’s pancakes — and they devoured it all… You have to remember that they lose pretty much 14 to 15 lbs. every time they play. So it gets kind of crazy and you have to replenish that pretty fast,” she told PEOPLE.