The High-Performance Centre of Mauritius (HPC) is a sports organisation, primed to
develop elite athletes and high-performance sport. The HPC is committed to enhancing all
areas of sport science, and elite level coaching. It is also, officially registered at the
Association of Sports Performance Centres (ASPC), which guides the excellence in
provision of support to the Mauritian athlete. With the upcoming sister institute nestled
in the same environment as the HPC, named as the National Institute of Sports Medicine
(NISM), came the need and the enthusiasm for research and innovation in sports nutrition.
In line with the National Sports & Physical Activity Policy, the “Performance Kitchen”
project will aim at the below:
1) Educating athletes on budget prioritisation and healthy food selection
2) Adapt the Mauritian cooking skills to meet the nutritional demands of the body to
optimise fuelling before, after and during training/competition
3) Educating athletes on using food as a “supplement” to enhance healthy
performance, the super food concept.
4) To create nutrient labels in a selected nutrient rich Mauritian raw food
The main objective of the HPC is to improve Athletes Performances, especially on the on
international platforms. While the HPC is focusing majorly on athlete’s training (Strength
and Conditioning), it has been noticed that most of our national high-level athletes are
struggling to have a proper sport specific diet. The reasons postulated by athletes are
often a lack of budget, or accessibility of nutrient rich food, tedious cooking methods and
not enough time to prepare nutritious food. On the other hand, the HPC team has also
noticed a lack of basic understanding of food & its relationship with sports in these very
athletes, thus highlighting the need for education on optimisation of budget towards a
healthy & performance-oriented diet. One can also stipulate that healthy performanceoriented diet can be one of the strong variables of the gold medal.
The outreach impact of project Performance Kitchen can also be expanded to the families
of the athletes and the general population. Out of being role models for youngsters,
athletes can showcase that good eating does not equate to expensive eating.
The literature shows enough evidence that healthy and performance-oriented diet has a
great impact on sports performance, but the same corelation has not been made yet when
it comes to local Mauritian food and the Mauritian athlete. The Mauritian culture has a
very close relationship with food, and it can be reflected by the diversity of our plate. The
need to effectively measure the impact of the Mauritian plate on sports performance is
indeed crucial for the future of our elite sports sector.
