I never usually eat at footy, but as the lad was up for the Donny game, thought I would go and get him some food. I have heard the comments recently on here about the catering going downhill recently ( it that was possible ) so thought this would be a good chance to experience this for myself.

The usual scenario then, 25 mins into game ,big queue , 1 kiosk open, 3 closed, lasses behind counter looked as though they had been press ganged into working, faces like smacked arses , but who could blame them, lots of things already sold out ( if they had them In the first place).



Eventually got served 20 mins later , missed Donny goal. FFS ! they had 2 chip baskets on the go, that some people would take away camping with them, catering for usually 3000 + people you would think they would have facilities akin to what you would see in a local fish and chip shop, with enough chips cooked, you would could take them out of the fryer with a shovel. So I can confirm the catering is sh*te, has went downhill and if the club are serious about increasing revenue, the catering needs to be sorted out ASAP.

As has been the case for quite some time. The bars are the same.
Seems pretty insignificant, but it's another revenue stream not being used to it's full potential.

yeah chips need sorting first..
let's get our priorities right here

All part of the bigger picture Salty. I have never known a successful club on the pitch, play in a stadium strewn with weeds, paint peeling off the stands and sub standard catering facilities. Remember the ground in the 70s and 80s? shit ground , shit team . IOR spruced things up a bit, and success on the field followed, its called professionalism and having high standards. Then of course there is the extra revenue created, which helps build that team that brings success.

I have a lot of experience in retail,hospitality and catering and I mean at management level, I offered my services free of charge to Russ Green on 3 occasions and he didn`t have the courtesy to reply!
Everything about the food service is inadequate, I won`t bore you but if you have 1 chance to make a good impression, that isn`t it.

MonkeyButt made an offer of help but was never took up on it ..So much like other quality professionals ignored in the past ... on a side line now we're out of the Football League can we dump Puke Up Pies and get some proper "local" ones,,

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yeah, actually agree there Horden..I watched the game on the telly, and the area behind the corner flag town end/millhouse looked fucking terrible!

chips can take a back seat though, for now..

monkeybutt turned custom away from his cafe...great professionalism there like...fat 'lovely lovely person' should run pools

Never,ever did I turn custom away, FACT.

Wasn`t my own business either!

They have been using Parkers I believe for a while.

I visited Monkeybutt cafe on many occasion and he was very professional in his job and definitely a 10/10 for his food and pools could learn a lot from him

Matchday Catering is vile. I now don't touch it even though I want to spend my money there.

Everyone knows a lot of money can be made in corporate facilities, but who wants to attend corporate stuff when the ground is starting to look distinctly shabby and neglected.

As mentioned it all goes hand in hand.

Coxall a business man................never in a million years.

SHARK.!!

It's not a priority or important but as you say endemic of everything else going on at the club.

I wonder how much money clubs actually make off catering kiosks? As even when you go Wembley, Old Trafford, St James's it's terrible, even worse than lower league stuff. Just bagged burgers and pies for the masses at exorbitant prices. They can't be bothered with and would rather look after punters spending thousands in boxes. It can't actually be that hard to organise, they surely know roughly what they sell every match. I doubt it's worth spending a lot of money on though, does anyone actually go to a Football to eat? You are only there two hours. I'll sometimes have a burger or pie if I'm having a few pints and have not managed to get anything before the game but it's rare. I wouldn't say the fayre is better or worse than other grounds. I remember getting a Potato Pie at Turf Moor one year out of curiosity, imagine my shock when it had just potato in. Tasteless it was fair to say! Some of the burgers you get are borderline inedible.

The mark up is immense on food, done right it is pretty straigtforward as long as you have sales records and plan your production based on those sales and projected crowds .

it also helps if you turn the boilers on early so you dont get luke warm coffee and the chiller so the cold drinks are actually cold!

Oh and that the staff look clean

I suppose getting reliable decent staff though isn't that easy. It's hardly a mouth watering prospect is it 3 hours work on next to nothing once a fortnight.

At the grimsby reserve match I couldn't get a hot drink before kick off as the water wasn't warm as they would only let the staff come in an hour before and didn't have time to get boilers up and running, cost cutting to the extreme

The first time I bought any food for years at any ground including Pools was at Cheltenham out of desperation. £3.50 for a burger that looked and tasted like cardboard and it will be another long time till I do it again.

Me too and the girl eating her lunch from a tupperware tub on the counter!

I agree, yet disagree with posts on this topic.
1) Food and beverage to some people is an essential part of the matchday experience, and in some cases a ritual.
2) Whatever level of football the price/quality of food is always a talking point.
3) Catering isn't rocket science, I'm sure Monkeybutt would help the Club increase Matchday Revenue.
4) Staffing shouldn't be an issue, there is always students etc, looking for a bit of cash. Remember that 3 hours in a kiosk could pay for a night out for a student.
5)Staffing, paid staff can generally "press gang" their kids/relatives to "volunteer".
6) Training is a problem as probably no one will see working in the Kiosk once a fortnight as a career aspiration. Ergo motivation and incentive are needed.
7) Quality, no-one expects Michelin starred quality food, IMHO "cheaper" ingredients, but not "cheap" ingredients are okay. Ie decent (not crap) food for a reasonable price.
8) Overall, I think it was Mr Horden who mentioned professional standards etc. He is correct, catering although only a small issue reflects on the club, via its visitors and its own fans. A bit of professionalism and viable revenue streams can be opened.
9) Staffing and catering facilities in general. Expand, if there is a "kitchen" only open for match days and events, then publicise it, or rent it out to a company who does outside catering events so it can be utilised.

Have I made Catering look easy or hard?

On point 1 Mr Bishop...

That's just you isn't it!?

I remember a few years ago the pies at pools were voted one of the best in the league. Were they from Morrell's?

I had a pie a few times last season and they were nice enough, I think the problem is them running out ect.

I agree, the food is what you would expect at a football game, average at best , but overly priced, but that's football, admission, programme, food all over priced but our hearts rule our heads, and a few pints help stall the brain. For some its part of the matchday experience, I always buy a programme, though it takes me as long to read as it does the Hartlepool Mail these days. Lets face it, people would never pay that sort of money for that sort of product on their works lunch break, you could get a decent meal in the town for the price of a burger and a bottle of coke at the ground ,likewise you wouldn't pay £3 for a magazine in WH Smiths that was the size and had the content in of the matchday programme.

Like you say, its the lack of, the service, and the queues that have been the main problem over the last few years. Its back to where we were with the catering up until around 2003, when things started to improve.

Think iv had a cone of chips from Pools possibly twice in the 25 years iv been going. Quite enjoyed them to be honest. Probably smart price chips like but reminded me of the chips we used to get at dinner time at Tunny.

Last time we played at York I had a very nice tray of home made chilli with nacho chips and sour cream. Just goes to show that decent catering is the sign of a professionally run club that is heading for success on and off the field.

I run a street food business (http://www.porkstore.co.uk) and we actually met the club at the start of the season. Had a few exchanges with Gary on twitter and was put onto Mark who was running the operations side of things. We had a proposal where we would run one of the empty kiosks and give the club a share of the profit. After meeting him they were all for it then we never heard anything from them ever again.

Poor catering at sport is something far too common in the UK. Doesn't make any sense to me as it can play a big part in the matchday experience to fans. If you go to a game in Germany or USA the food is on another level.

Our plan was to serve our pulled pork buns, footlong smoked sausages and cheeseburgers. One day maybe!

Do you sell faggots?

Garys plan to use your services were probably scuppered by an "unexpected" Winding Up Order/Management sacking/bill to pay etc etc

Nice badge.

Can we sell our big cockney faggot!.