Football Stadium Food: Tasting fans matchday staples

National World - Broadcast Video

We visit three major football clubs in the UK to check out their matchday food fare.

Transcript

00:00 You've got to have a chicken malted pie, haven't you?

00:02 It's not match day without a chicken malted pie.

00:04 And it's got to be properly burnt as well.

00:06 It's like it's cooked on Reactor 3 in Chernobyl.

00:10 Like, perfect.

00:12 Just great for half time. You can't hold it.

00:16 You get it out the first minute and you finish it in 78, because it's that warm.

00:19 Chips, burgers, pies, foie gras, well maybe not the foie gras.

00:23 Match day food may not be there to be savoured, but it is there to do a job, like in the stomach.

00:27 But, through familiarity and being such a staple for fans, it might be the ultimate comfort food.

00:33 Even when it causes cramps.

00:35 We've asked supporters around the country their go-to's for match day scram.

00:38 Go to South Whitehead, top of Easter Hill, walk down, get to grill time, burger, standard really.

00:45 Get in, take a round.

00:46 We usually get a pie inside, some of them can be quite hot to be fair, but it's not that bad.

00:51 They taste alright, it's what you expect at a football game, you don't come for Michelin star meals to be fair to you.

00:56 When I get up in the morning, I always put the Leeds chants on, cover the Leeds videos, get me in the set up mood.

01:02 Every now and again I might have a bit of toast, and then I'm straight on to the strong bone, and I'm keeping it real brother.

01:07 I've been coming to Illinois for 50 years, so it's changed quite a lot.

01:11 But always the fish and chip shop is the first protocol normally.

01:15 But habits change, and obviously kick off changes, so the times that you eat is different.

01:21 But all the burger outlets and the free traders around, excellent really, most of it.

01:30 I do hospitality as well, so that's pretty good, they've upped the game on that.

01:34 It's absolutely brilliant, the fans are fantastic.

01:37 We have the best fans in the country, might be the best in the world.

01:42 Something special when it is match day, people become friends.

01:48 We've been seeing exactly the same customers for more than 10 years since I was here, and it's a very special relationship.

01:56 My personal favourite is a Spam Bucky or a Scallop.

02:03 Off the menu, yes.

02:05 A very popular one, other than fish and chips, is sausages.

02:11 Cheeseburgers mainly, but it's over expensive everywhere you go, it doesn't matter where it is.

02:18 You can't beat that burger stand for me, and it's nice.

02:20 We always go to that one, because it's the best one around here.

02:23 We have a burger before we get into match, just get in, sit down, watch a game.

02:27 No messing about.

02:29 Beer's terrible.

02:31 Normally walking down to the game, you get to feel the crowd, feel the buzz.

02:35 Leeds always has a really great crowd.

02:37 Then I usually come to the Peacock for a pint, and then into the game.

02:40 The most popular item is obviously burgers.

02:43 Chips and curry is the second one, probably.

02:46 After that, it's just everything else, basically, that we sell that's on the menu.

02:52 Customer-wise, you start off quiet, and then obviously as it gets closer and closer to kick-off, you get busier and busier.

02:59 Usually I go inside the ground and get a pie, but the burgers inside Peacock, they do sort of like Thai food, which is pretty good.

03:07 I'm more of a grill-type man, just over there.

03:10 It's absolute, I love it.

03:11 I haven't been today, but I'm going to go later.

03:13 Just every game, got to get some of their cheeseburger, whatever.

03:15 Just do amazing food, honestly, great.

03:17 Horsforth is known for a lot of things.

03:21 Its nautical history, the seaside, the birthplace of the first man to hold an umbrella, Jonas Hannaway,

03:28 and of course Charles Dickens, who's home of the Royal Navy.

03:33 More importantly, it's known for its fans' passion for football, and it's arguably the best the world has ever seen.

03:39 But we are here outside the football grounds, and we are looking for the perfect pre-match meal,

03:48 and the question is, does Pompey's passion match his palate?

03:52 The short answer is no.

03:55 And here's why.

03:57 Looking around, there's no shortage of options for a pre- or post-full-time fill-up.

04:02 You have your usual suspects, Maccy D's, Subway, Colonel's.

04:07 But there is a clear winner.

04:09 Reflected by its popularity, the fast food bar, only open during match days, has been here for the last 15 years.

04:17 We've got chips, bacon rolls, chips are unbelievable.

04:20 Are the chips the best?

04:21 Yeah.

04:22 Yeah, your favourite?

04:23 Yeah.

04:24 Best chips around?

04:25 Yeah.

04:26 Bacon rolls, I'm not a burger man.

04:27 They can't be bad.

04:28 The red sauce is nice.

04:30 The red sauce is nice, isn't it?

04:32 Yeah.

04:33 Have you been to any away games, and how does the food compare around there?

04:37 That's a good question.

04:40 I haven't been to a lot of away games, but any sort of away games I have, yeah.

04:44 They tend to be similar, but just a little bit lower in, you know, because obviously it's the league, so it's a little bit more lower.

04:53 But, yeah, it's just, you know, top tier, isn't it?

04:56 Top tier.

04:57 Yeah.

04:58 So, Marnie and Thomas, what makes the perfect meal before a match?

05:03 Something not too light, something not too heavy.

05:06 Bacon, bacon and a cup of tea.

05:09 [Laughter]

05:10 And then I have a hot dog with onions and mustard.

05:17 Oh, this food is excellent, isn't it?

05:20 It's good.

05:21 It's really tasty and very nice, and they're always pleasant.

05:25 Thank you.

05:26 No shortness, no, really nice.

05:29 And some of the away food you get is not...

05:32 Quite up to standard, shall we say.

05:35 We've had some rough pies.

05:39 [Laughter]

05:41 You wonder what's in them at times.

05:44 Yeah, the food here is spot on.

05:48 The food inside is very good, but a bit expensive, I'll be honest.

05:56 So you always have a meal before you go into the match?

05:59 Yes, that's it.

06:01 That saves having to cook when we get cold, you see.

06:04 But there's no secret to their success.

06:07 It's largely due to their generous portions, quality of the pâté and chips,

06:13 and more importantly, customer loyalty.

06:16 One of the key traits that Portsmouth fans are known for.

06:20 But you might have noticed a consistency in the type of food around here and what's available.

06:25 Mostly burgers, sausages and chips.

06:28 It's not to say that the company has doubled in other fields, such as pork rolls and noodles.

06:33 And it is the burgers, the sausage rolls and the chips that these customers will always return to.

06:41 But that also means that there's no room for spice.

06:44 Mustard doesn't count as it does funny things to your nose after one bite.

06:48 So it's not for me.

06:51 So I set off across the road to Rodney Road's Kebab Hut.

06:55 Variety is surely the spice of life.

06:58 So I settled for Rodney Road Kebabs.

07:01 It was a stone's throw away from the ground, which offered halal options as well as hot sauce

07:06 and a range of other delicacies from kebabs, naan breads and chicken wings.

07:12 So naturally, I chose the quarter pounder with caramelised onions and of course, chilli sauce.

07:18 Yeah, let's give it a go.

07:20 Mmm.

07:26 That is really nice.

07:30 The caramelised onions, the chilli.

07:33 Nice soft back.

07:40 It's really good.

07:42 I mean, the second bite, that is actually really quite filling.

07:48 When it comes to imaginative food, as you saw, there's lots of places around here.

07:58 You had KFC, you got McDonald's.

08:06 A lot of people prefer these small meat burger vans.

08:13 Having something like this go before you watch a game, I'd imagine it definitely makes a difference.

08:22 You don't want to be hungry mid-game.

08:25 This is a strong competitor to most Meals on Wheels vans.

08:31 End of the day, the burger hit the spot.

08:34 A nice lingering taste of the hot sauce and spice.

08:37 It served its purpose to keep me temporarily warm and happy on a cold, rainy match day.

08:43 Even though I didn't get to stay to watch the game.

08:46 After Spas, George Hafner started After Spas in 1889.

08:53 A shop on Kirby Walk.

08:55 We still have the shop open today, selling fantastic pies and sausages and also meats.

09:02 George handed down to Raymond Hafner, who then handed down to John Hafner.

09:07 John Hafner decided to retire and sell the business, but he wanted to keep it close to the community.

09:12 Two good friends of mine, Dean and Ted Cockett, took over the business.

09:17 We have quite a cult following.

09:20 Hafners, we sell them all the way around Britain.

09:22 People come with Burley from the Roots, but they do take them to Leicestershire.

09:26 We supplied an F1 team.

09:28 It's quite a cult following.

09:30 The pies that we sell here, we'd love to sell the full range, but we do get very busy here on occasion.

09:35 So we limit it to the meat and potato, which is the best seller by a mile, to be honest.

09:41 The meat and potato, cheese and onion, and the steak and kidney.

09:45 Back at the bakery, we do the pork and chilli, chicken curry, but I think we'd get a bit over-rode here.

09:50 So we do stick to the lines with peas and gravy, of course.

09:55 [Music]

09:58 The fans have loved us down here. They've been asking for Hafners here for years, to be honest.

10:12 Obviously, Hafners was created in 1889, Burley 1882.

10:17 They love it. Pie, peas and gravy, three points for the clarets. What could be better?

10:22 The pies are quality. The meat in them is excellent. It just fills you up before a match.

10:27 You don't have to have anything else after that. Hafners do the business.

10:31 I've been eating them for years, and I was really meddled when they announced a partnership with Hafners.

10:37 Because in this neck of the woods, you can't beat them.

10:41 I think they've been a long time coming.

10:43 Finally, they've got Hafners pies on down to the best around. Easily. Easily the best around.

10:49 Maybe a chilli pie, something spicy. We like spicy foods, so yeah, a spicy pie would be good.

10:55 I'm a bit of a plain Jane. Steak and kidney, meat and potato. I don't do cheese and onion.

11:00 The bulky ones are pretty good.

11:02 Chicken and mushroom. That's my favourite from Hafners. Steak and kidney are good, but chicken and mushroom is my favourite.

11:08 And mince and onion as well.

11:10 It's a traditional recipe from 1889. We've changed very little. We've changed nothing, to be honest.

11:18 A few customers were quite worried when it got taken over that we were going to change stuff and cut corners.

11:23 But we only use the best meat. A lot of it's supplied from Bolan, 20 minutes away.

11:28 It's the Hafners seasoning and the traditional Hafners recipe, which is, in my eyes, the best pie you can get.

11:35 Best pie I've had? Probably these ones. I've not been to many away games and had better pies.

11:42 Them ones in there aren't as good. The hollands. These ones are the best, I reckon.

11:48 Probably poker.

11:51 [Music]

11:56 [BLANK_AUDIO]

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