Rose Ferguson, the model-turned-nutritionist who tells Kate Moss what to eat

“Don’t talk to me at Glastonbury. I’m having a weekend off,” laughs nutritionist Rose Ferguson. “At home I don’t drink much, but I do occasionally go out and have a blowout.” When we meet in the Cotswold farmhouse she shares with her husband, the artist Jake Chapman, three daughters, two dachshunds and two Staffies, she’s about to head to Worthy Farm. “I’ve been going for 30 years. It is a very special place for me. I laugh from beginning to end and it is always the best weekend – rain or shine!”

Ferguson is sitting at her kitchen table dressed casually in J Brand jeans and a Prada shirt. Fifteen years as a certified nutritionist and functional medicine practitioner seems to be working for her: at 49, she’s glowing with good health. Ferguson was “discovered” as a model – ironically, given her career path, in McDonald’s on London’s Oxford Street – aged 15 by the late British fashion photographer Corinne Day. Together with her friend Kate Moss, she became synonymous with the grunge movement – and heady party scene – of the ’90s alongside the YBAs. Framed on her bathroom wall is her first magazine cover, The Face June 1992: “Young style rebels: London’s new model army.” Her MO back then? “Look good, feel good, party hard, sleep little.” 

She first made her name walking for Prada, Chanel and McQueen. She was the face of Miu Miu’s inaugural campaign in 1994 (and walked again this February for the brand’s 30th anniversary). At 24, she had her daughter Elfie with artist Barry Reigate; she later married Chapman with whom she had Bliss and Blythe.

The lifestyle shift happened in tandem with motherhood, when Ferguson started studying naturopathic nutrition and functional medicine. She graduated last September with her latest qualification, a masters in advanced nutrition research and practice, and now runs an online clinic from her study, with a client list that includes Moss, Kim Jones, Sabrina Dhowre Elba and Samantha Morton. She consults for Dior’s wellness spas and is the resident nutritionist at Surrenne, the wellbeing oasis beneath The Emory hotel.

A lot of people come to me about partying – because they know that I know

The quintessential 1990s model is now known as “the queen of the reset”. “Each time I’ve come off a movie depleted and exhausted, Rose has put me on a good path,” says artist and director Sam Taylor-Johnson. “I follow her protocols to a tee, as each time I have done them I feel like I have my energy back. But more importantly, I continue to follow her recommendations as they really give me the energy to go back and do it all again.”

Having Ferguson in your corner is like having an older, cooler sister. She has a down-to-earth, “no judgement” approach, and is no advocate of the total life overhaul. “I have a lot of people who come to me because they know that I know. They’re like, ‘I know you’ve done this [partying, alcohol], I’m trying not to.’ Or ‘I need to know how to help my body,’” she explains. Addiction falls outside her remit, but her focus is on “feeling the best you can, within the life you live”. Private clients most often come to her for help with fatigue, longevity, menopause and stress. “There’s a saying in functional medicine,” she says. “It doesn’t matter what walks through the door, you treat everything the same way, because you treat the whole body.”

Last month she launched the R Health Club, her online community (membership is £19 a month). It includes regular plans, nutrition and workout challenges, direct access to Ferguson, and Q&As with leading wellness experts. She also regularly posts recipes and educational videos to her 123,000 Instagram followers, while The Rose List recommends six products she has road-tested. Her podcast, The Wellness Breakdown, co-hosted with fellow nutritionist Eve Kalinik, is an attempt to make access to high-quality wellness information more democratic. “It pisses me off that it’s like this elite sport,” she says. Next week she launches The Re-Set, a 21-day guided plan (16 September to 7 October, £70) aiming to tackle fatigue and, put simply, help clients “get through to December”. 

“I grew up in a world where you had the power to heal yourself… Homeopathy was our treatment plan.” Ferguson is talking about her childhood spent playing in her grandmother’s health-food shop (“one of the first in the country”), Spice of Life in Petersfield. Her mother, a kinesiologist, also had an “alternative” approach to health. “It was definitely considered wacky back then,” she laughs. “When Jake first met my mother, we’d been going out less than a month, and she had him on the floor balancing out his energies. He was on best behaviour back then, he’d tell her to eff off now.”

The couple moved the family to the Cotswolds in 2010. Elfie, now 24, and Bliss, 18, also model around their studies; her youngest, Blythe, 17, is still at school. As we talk, Bliss wanders into the kitchen on a break from A-level revision. The duplicate of her mother, she is hoping to go to university after a summer holidaying with friends. Chapman arrives later, in a Land Rover Defender. Disarmingly polite and friendly, he goes to rummage in the kitchen where his and his brother Dinos’ signature artwork Smile and the World Smiles with You (2018), in red glitter, hangs on the wall. Other artworks – by Gilbert and George, Damien Hirst, Mat Collishaw, Paul Wetherell and Harland Miller – lean casually around the house.

In today’s $5.6tn wellness industry, forecasted to be worth $8.4tn by 2025, Ferguson is wary of things going to extremes, and of toxic positivity and misinformation: “There are so many people making all sorts of claims, usually subjective, who have little to no education in the field,” she says. Her own foundational regime is “not rocket science”. It includes lots of vegetables as part of a balanced, omnivore diet (vegan meat is “so unbelievably shit”), lots of water, no snacking, movement, sleep, lots of fibre. “It’s really boring – but the minute you start getting technical, people switch off.”

“Rose is an extraordinary ambassador for helping people understand that food is medicine,” says Dr Jeffery Bland, often called the father of functional medicine. And while Ferguson is a wellness advocate, she’s not a fanatic. She recently removed both her Garmin watch and her Oura ring, which she’s worn for five years, because they were driving her mad. “I do love them, and I do recommend them to clients, but I was coming downstairs in the morning and checking them to see if I’d had a good night’s sleep – rather than reading my own body.” She needed a break. After a few months to recalibrate she’ll put them back on.

So how does she recover from a blowout at Glastonbury? She takes electrolytes such as Ancient+Brave True Hydration or E-Lyte by BodyBio; she also heads for her at-home Effe steam room to “sweat it out”. “When you come out of a period of drinking, your blood sugar is all over the place, and your body is dehydrated so it’s panicking,” she says. She usually cooks up a roast with plenty of vegetables “so that I don’t end up eating loads of shitty carbs”. Her approach to wellness isn’t unlike how she describes her post-Glasto roast: “Well-balanced, comforting, and it’s going to hit the spot.”

The annual FT Weekend Festival is here, featuring speakers including Rose Ferguson, Plum Sykes and FT experts. Join us on September 7 in London and online for a Saturday filled with debates, tastings, masterclasses and more— register here now

Rose recommends... 

“We don’t get enough nutrients from food. Lifestyle is more important, but you can get a lot of support from supplements.” LYMA supplements, from £195

“A shower with a sealed door, so you can have steam in it. I sit there and do my breathwork… which sounds really pious!” Effe integrated steam room, from €43,200

“I like having this under my feet during the day – it triggers all the reflexology points. Very relaxing.” Bed of Nails Acupressure Mat, £70, cultbeauty.co.uk

“If you’re into heat therapy, it’s important to replace electrolytes, even if you’re not sweating. Great for headaches, energy and cramps.” BodyBio E-Lyte Balanced Electrolyte Concentrate, £31.99 for 475ml

“A subcutaneous injection you can do at home. I’ve noticed a real difference in things like resilience: my energy is more stable throughout the day.” HUM2N NAD+ Home Kit, £495

“If you’re sitting at a desk every day, one way to hydrate is herbal tea. I refill this a few times a day.” ZoraVson thermal carafe 2L, £28.99, amazon.co.uk

“Infrared is good because it penetrates deeper [than a steam sauna]. Take a book in – you can sit and read.” Clearlight Outdoor Infrared Sauna, from £10,999

“I do 10 minutes most nights – consistency is key. I really enjoy it: my skin feels tighter.” The Light Salon Boost LED face mask, £395

“My best friend in the kitchen – I use it for smoothies, soups and purées. If Carlsberg made blenders, they’d make Vitamix.” Vitamix E310 Explorian Blender, £429, johnlewis.com

“Cold water is one of the things we know raises your dopamine levels and maintains that – even if it’s 10 seconds in a cold shower.” Brass Monkeys Ice Plunge XL with full natural wood finish, £15,750