The pace is fast at sports clubs where large numbers of fans need to be served quick ‘grab and go’ food in a very short time, but there is more than meets the eye with these venues. Covering substantial overheads by developing events for non-match days such as private parties, weddings and conferences, requires a totally different catering approach.
Filling up at football stadiums
At Blackpool Football Club, the catering service ranges from a ‘pie and pint’ in the concourse to formal menus in the hospitality lounges. In total, there are 18 outlets including kiosk bars, hospitality lounges, private boxes and an onsite hotel.
The most popular food for footie fans is the meat and potato pie, although steak is catching up. Adam Marriott, the club’s Food and Beverage Manager, says “We’ve introduced a Chicken Balti pie, which proved popular at the end of last season, and we also offer cheese and onion pie and sausage roll. For our busiest games, we expect to serve around 12,000 to 14,000 people across all our outlets.”
Adam says, “Including a decent cup run, we played at home on 30 occasions last season out of a full calendar year. In reality, including league matches and cup games, only 24 to 25 home games are played in a season. That’s why we have focused on expanding our non-match day events business over the last year.” This has included ramping up the club’s social media campaign and appointing a venue sales manager. Their efforts have reaped rewards, Adam and his team cater for approximately 200 conferences per year, as well as 30 weddings. With a packed program, the team now often find their biggest issue is the scarcity of operational days. He says, “Catering for these events is tailored according to the client’s budget. A wide range of options is available, culminating in our highest cost formal menus.”
Another club also branching out is Stoneham Lane Football Complex. It is the biggest site run by Hampshire FA and home of AFC Stoneham and Eastleigh & District Mini Soccer League (EDMSL). The EDMSL runs every weekend in the football season bringing in 6,000 to 8,000 guests. The site has a café and bar area with a fully operational kitchen. The menu includes sausage rolls, steak pasties, bacon and sausage baps, burger meal deals, hot and cold beverages, snacks, cakes and ice cream.
The top seller is the Proper Cornish 10in sausage roll and last year, 25,000 were sold. “We provide food for 40 AFC Stoneham players at the end of home games such as curry, chilli and burgers,” says Chris. “For other teams that use the site, they usually go to the café after training where we always have hot food on offer.”
Weekend trade mainly comes from parents of young footballers, aged 8 to 12, from the EDMSI. “The best sort of food for spectators is quick ‘grab and go’ items so they can take their food and drink out to the edge of the pitches and watch their child play football.”
Children’s birthday party packages are available, offering four options. They all include an hour of play on the 3G pitch and a party in one of the meeting rooms. A hot food buffet is served which includes burgers, chips, chicken nuggets and hot dogs. Some packages include novelty Hampshire FA medals and trophies, a new Nike football, ‘pick and mix’ and a cake.
Stoneham Lane Football Complex also works with Saints Global, part of Southampton FC. “They host a group of children from different countries and use our facility to provide coaching sessions. My team prepares hot or cold lunches for them to eat here or take away with them to the next part of their itinerary. We’ve had groups from all over the world.”
Dining with a view
In Tadworth, Surrey, Kingswood Golf & Country Club, offers a wide range of catering services as it has hotel rooms, function suites and a club house restaurant open to the public. In addition, it provides food and drink for its 600 golf club members.
Manisankar Kalaiselvan, executive head chef, Kingswood Golf & Country Club, says “The food choice of the golfers differs according to the event which makes golf clubs an interesting place to work. If a member or a visitor plays a round of golf, they usually prefer something quick such as a bacon bap before they start and perhaps a burger and pint after the golf. It’s different for a charity golf day, when they prefer a traditional English breakfast in the morning, a cold buffet for lunch and a three-course plated meal for dinner. In the case of a Captain’s dinner, where there are visiting golfers, we serve a fine dining experience.”
In the case of a tournament, the catering offering includes breakfast and a one course meal such as battered fish and chips after the round of golf. For a county or national tournament, there will be a breakfast menu, a Halfway Hut serving food and drink, a lunch buffet for the players as well as a formal black tie dinner for the prize presentation.
An important part of the operation is the events side of the business. On average there are four a day, with up to 150 covers for each. Various menu packages are available for weddings, conferences, anniversaries, birthdays or wakes. Manisankar says “We offer a vast choice of menus, although I do enjoy creating bespoke menus for private dinners.”
In the club house restaurant, the five course Sunday carvery is popular among local residents, with an average 120 covers every Sunday. This includes a soup station and a cold buffet offering seafood, cold meats and salads. For the main course, the chefs carve roast meat in front of the guests, which is served with the traditional accompaniments.
