Ever wondered what it takes to feed thousands of hungry football fans, players, and VIPs on matchday? Welcome to the first instalment of our “A Day in the Life of” series, where we’ll step into the fast-paced world of stadium catering. This instalment features Saffron Vanilla’s match day chef, Shay Haque.
In this series, we’ll explore the intricate planning, unique challenges, and insider tips from a veteran stadia chef who has mastered the art of mass catering under pressure. We’ll share practical insights that any aspiring stadium chef needs to know.
From Premier League & International venues to local grounds, match day chefs are the unsung heroes working behind the scenes to ensure everyone from the terraces to the executive boxes is well-fed. With kick-off set for 3 PM, their day typically starts early, coordinating deliveries, managing multiple kitchens, and orchestrating a team that can serve up to 40,000 meals in a single afternoon.
As Thomas Rhodes, Executive Chef at Twickenham notes, in his 2023 interview on their website¹:
Our match day menus are designed to an exceptionally high quality. There are 200 chefs on site on a match day and our vision of the dishes must be captured by them all in order to deliver dishes at the right standard.
The pressure can be immense. Thousands of fans surge towards the concession stands at half-time, every second counts. Stadium chefs must maintain strict food safety standards while delivering food that exceeds customer expectations.
According to Harry Lomas, Head of Culinary at Club Wembley², with eight main restaurants, 600 main food outlets across the stadium and work in 98 kitchens, delivering great food to 90,000 hungry people, you need a good level of organisation and food appeal:
At the general admission level they want something hearty, hand-held and value for money whereas someone in the corporate boxes and hosting people will look for a different dynamic, spread over a longer period where they can sit down, enjoy food and the view.
The Insight from Saffron Vanilla Stadia Chef Shay Haque
Q. Tell me about your typical day of being a Match day / Stadia chef:
For a normal Saturday 3pm kick off we normally arrive at 8.45am, Concessions/outlets will open for some customers at 12 noon depending on which part of the ground & what hospitality package they have. Due to the volume & numbers there will be 3-4 prep days prior to address mise en place. So, for example, I usually work in the carvery and our menu is something like:
- 3 Starters; 1xMeat, 1xFish & a Soup
- The Carvery with all the usual roast trimmings; roast potatoes, roast vegetables, cauliflower cheese etc
- 3 Desserts; 1xDessert in a glass & 2 others, either 1xHot & 1xCold or 2xCold
Just to give an idea on volumes, for matchdays we’ll use 150kg of roast potatoes, so there’s no chance of turning up to prep that on the day. So, chef recruiters supply the stadiums with chefs to prep into the run up, which can be tricky if the club is playing at home twice in a week for example.
Once we’ve got the vegetables & potatoes cooking and the starters & desserts are plated up, we then tray up the pies and full time food, which is usually sharing platters or cheeseboards.
Q. How many chefs will be employed by the club?
There’s about 8-10 lead chefs that the club has on duty, they’re Sous / Head & Exec chef levels and will move around the various kitchens monitoring and organising, the rest ( over 100) are from hospitality agencies like Saffron Vanilla. I’ve been at most of the NorthWest stadia of a number of years now, and so they trust me to get on with the job.
Q. Do most people who think of working in stadiums on match days think that there is a chance to see some football or a music act?
It’s a big NO to stop working to catch a glimpse of the action, I’ve known people get dismissed for watching the games whilst they were supposedly working in the boxes – you just don’t get asked back. You’re there to work, even smoking breaks don’t happen with some clubs.
Q. What time would you finish?
So if you imagine the sheer number of staff looking to leave a ground, about 200+, it would be a nightmare. So, we have staggered leaving times, plus some outlets serve hot food at full time, the kitchen I work in doesn’t. After we’ve plated up the full time offering (cheeseboards or sharing platters), done the clean down, we’re finished by half time – about 3.45pm.
Q. So not a particularly long day then?
No, not really, I have experience in Michelin star type kitchens (Gary Rhodes, MPW & Gordon Ramsay) and this isn’t that type of long day. What people need to understand though, is the travelling. There’s no parking at the stadia for staff, so you are relying on public transport.
Q. You’ve mentioned in the run-up to this interview that you occasionally work shifts at the training grounds. What’s that like?
The day is very different to a match day. It usually starts at 7am with getting breakfast ready for the players & staff; granola, yogurts, fruit, protein bars – stuff like that, most of the players usually have omelettes etc.
Players eat around 8.30 – 9am
Then we’ll be prepping for lunch, everything is controlled by the club nutritionist including making the food chunky. So, it could be something like braised ribs for lunch. then clean down and we’re usually leaving by 2.30pm
Q. Do you have any final thoughts, would you recommend it?
Absolutely, it’s a great job, but only really for the experienced chef. I see guys from other recruiters coming in who aren’t really chefs (you know the type, wearing trainers etc) and at the end of the day they are like: “cor, that was busy” when it really wasn’t. I’ve been a chef for over 25years in a variety of places, you need that experience. I also see plenty of chefs who do it to supplement their incomes.
Saffron Vanilla would like to thank Shay Haque for his time & contribution to this article on stadia & match day chefs.
Shay can be found on ArroweSound hospital radio on Mondays & Wednesdays @ 10 am: Shay’s Brunch Show with such features as:
- ‘Camp classics’
- ‘Secret tunes’
- ‘Worse joke Wednesday’
If you’d like to join Shay & the Saffron Vanilla match day chef crew, feel free to contact the team:
Contact Saffron Vanilla
Sources
¹ Twickenham: Q&A with Executive Head Chef, Thomas Rhodes
² The Morning Advertiser: Create a fan-friendly food offering – Harry Lomas
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