Michel Roux Jr reveals why football food has got better

Michel Roux Jr reveals why football food has got better

Once upon a time, you could expect to only have a choice of a lukewarm pie or a flaccid burger at the football.

But times have changed - and while the burgers and pies are still on menus at most football grounds, the quality of the food on offer has improved tenfold.

Now though, some stadiums are looking to up their game even further, by introducing high quality street food-like concessions and even a touch of fine dining.

It comes as Michelin starred chef Michel Roux Jr and the Roux family prepare to take over the catering of the lounges and suites at Tottenham Hotspur's £800 million new stadium when it opens for the 2018/2019 season.

He spoke to FEMAIL about how food at the football is no longer something to be a voided - but something that can perfectly complement the excitement (or misery) of seeing your team play. 

Burgers and pies are foods most commonly associated with the football - but that's all changing now

Michel Roux Jr (right) with Tottenham Hotspur's Ledley King (left) at restaurant, Roux at Parliament Square, to launch the partnership between the club and the Roux brand who will cater at the club's On Four lounges and suites

'Long gone are the times at sporting events that you could get away with serving second-rate food,' says Michel, who is owner of two-star Le Gavroche in London and a former MasterChef: The Professionals judge.

It's certainly true. Over the last 10 years, there has been a fast food revolution, with customers increasingly wanting to know exactly where their food has come from and demanding the highest quality ingredients even at the lowest level of cuisine.

Even McDonald's, long lambasted as a haven of poor quality junk food, has transformed its stores in the last decade with a menu that now includes healthier choices and pro motes how its beef is 100 per cent British. 

This high street trend has been reflected in the shift to serve up better food at stadia across the country as well.

Several grounds are in the process of transforming their food offerings.

West Bromwich Albion, near Birmingham, is for example updating its food menus for the new season in August to include fish and chips made with a bhaji batter, freshly filled wraps, and a gourmet-style burger - alongside the ground's famous Balti Pie.

One of the sample dishes that may appear on the Roux's menus at Tottenham Hotspur. It is a roast T-bone of turbot, with heritage carrots and radish, and a chive butter sauce

Those dining at On Four at the new stadium in the 2018/2019 season can expect to eat dishes such as this panna cotta scented with vanilla, with mangoes and lychees

The mobile burger van will always have a place at football grounds but the quality of food served from them is improving all the time

'The average football fan is no longer satisfied with just a pie and a pint,' says concourse catering manager Tracy Knowles. 

But it is Tottenham Hotspur which has caught the eye of many after it announced earlier this year that Michel Roux Jr, his daughter Emily Roux and his father Albert Roux would be designing menus and overseeing service at the club's On Four suites and lounges on match days.

However even the food for normal punters will be vastly improved at the new stadium, Michel Roux has promised.

'People are quite rightly now demanding much more,' says Michel, who currently hosts Tried and Tasted: The Ultimate Shopping List on Channel 4. 

' Tottenham, for example, they're not looking at just the high end, the big ticket customers to provide good food [to]. 

'They are looking at all the concessions, from ground level all the way up.'

A sample dish that could be on the menu at the On Four lounges and suites designed by the Roux family: a frozen amaretto and cherry souffle

Tottenham Hotspur's Ledley King with Michel Roux Jr, his daughter Emily Roux and his father Albert Roux OBE at Michel Roux Jr's restaurant Roux at Parliament Square to launch the partnership

The self-confessed Manchester United fan added: 'There's much better quality food now, that's freshly prepared as well and food that's not just stodge. In the old days there was very little on offer and now there is much much more.

'You can walk down any high street and can get some very good food at very affordable prices - so why not have that in football stadia or at sporting events? It should be available.'

Michel can't yet reveal what will be on his menus at the new stadium but sample dishes include a roasted T-bone of turbot with heritage carrots and radishes, as well as a panna cotta scented with vanilla served with mangoes and lychees.

It's quite different fare from the traditional football pie that even Michel confesses he likes to tuck into when watching his team with the 'lads'. 

Does fine dining really fit in with the traditionally rowdy atmosphere at football stadia, then?

Michel says that however good the food is, it would never outshine the action on the pitch.

'The driving force is going to see and be entertained by the players on the pitch,' he says.

Food at the football has improved dramatically over the last 10 years or so, reflecting a shift in demand from customers for better quality cuisine

Michel Roux Jr is owner of the two-star restaurant Le Gavroche in central London

'But it's not just two hours of footie. This is about enhancing the whole event, getting there two hours before maybe and taking your time, having a nice glass of wine and a nice beer. 

'That's something that's worth going in an hour before for, and feeling confident that you can invite friends and family and they are going to enjoy and have a good time even if they're not diehard footie fans.' 

Michel will be working with his Leeds United-supporting father Albert - with whom he opened Le Gavroche back in 1967 - and his chef daughter Emily. One of them will oversee the service of food at every match.

There will also be guest chefs who will cook food for hospitality guests at the new stadium.

It's a fa r cry from Michel's worst foodie experience at a football match, which he says he remembers as if it happened yesterday. 

'It was a game against Tottenham and we sat down; we were in one of corners on the corner flags, not one of best seats. 

'Before kick off, a lad came to sit behind us, a bit worse for wear. He took one bite out of a Trafford Pie, and the sauce and insides of the pie squirted out onto my wife's back. He was very apologetic, but started to brush it off which made it even worse because it started to rub into the coat.'

No squirting pies on the Roux menus, then. 

Michel's lips are sealed on any more details of what to expect but he gushes with enthusiasm when talking about the catering offering at the brand new stadium.

He says: 'It's going to be the standout stadium, the envy of the Premier League, th e envy of Europe and quite possibly the world.'

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