Football Fan Favourite, Pie And Mash, Gets A New Season Makeover

Sodexo Live!, the venue partner to football clubs Blackburn Rovers, Preston North End and the DW Stadium in Wigan, has launched new dishes to kick off the football season. The refreshed menu, available to fans in hospitality at each of the clubs, contains a series of dishes inspired by the local culinary tastes of Northern England with a twist.

British Northern classics have been reimagined by a team of talented venue chefs to add a modern twist and enhance the football fan experience throughout the new season. A tribute to the local cuisine, each dish has been crafted with locally sourced and seasonal ingredients.

The new dishes include:

• Peppered beef striploin with pulled beef & onion pie – a twist on the well‑loved pie and mash, bringing the robust essence of beef striploin served with pulled beef and caramelised onions together, nested in an earthy pie. Accompanied by a velvety and opulent truffle mash, heritage carrots, fine beans and crowned by a rich red wine sauce.
• Smoked haddock arancini – a gentle remake of kedgeree, accompanied with a creamy curried Hollandaise, poached hen egg and fresh micro coriander to add a dash of sharpness.
• Buttery roasted chicken breast – a fan’s favourite that comes with fondant potato on the side, seasonal charred baby leek and creamy carrot puree. This traditional Sunday dish comes with a twist – Sodexo Live! has added crispy chicken & croquette, pancetta crisp, drizzled with a flavourful tarragon sauce to top it up.
• Lemon tart – a luxurious Amalfi lemon tart, topped with scorched meringue, decadent yoghurt sorbet, pistachio and macerated, sweet strawberries – a nod to the traditional Wimbledon strawberries and cream.

The new menus are available now as the new season kicks off, additional dishes can be found below.

Rebecca Kane Burton, CEO at Sodexo Live!, said: “Northern football fans are in for a treat - we know how much they love their local teams and community, so it was important for us to reflect this heritage in our hospitality offering.

“We truly hope that fans at the venues will enjoy our modern take on some of the classics, in turn creating a more memorable matchday experience.”

Rovers CEO, Steve Waggott, said: “As a leader in service excellence, the club and are always looking at ways to improve the matchday experience for our supporters.

“Football has moved on in recent times, along with customer expectations, and although still popular, the typical ‘pie and a pint offer’ isn’t suited to all our matchday visitors.

The upgraded menu options are just another example of Sodexo Live!’s willingness to work in partnership with Blackburn Rovers to provide food and beverage choices to match our expected gold standard service levels.”

Lisa Whittaker, Senior Commercial Manager at Preston North End, said: “We’re happy to be expanding our hospitality offering with dishes which we hope will be very well‑received by our supporters.

Providing our fans with the best possible service is always at the top of our priorities so we’re grateful Sodexo Live! share the same values as we strive to keep improving.”

Colin Smith, Executive Head Chef at Sodexo Live!, said: “The idea behind the dishes was to make the fans feel at home. Because Northerners love their food, we wanted to do things a bit differently, so we revisited some of the hearty, most loved recipes with our own take – making their experience even more unique.”

A partner with extensive experience of working in football and live entertainment catering, Sodexo Live! has been the hospitality and food partner at Ewood Park, home to the Blackburn Rovers, with a keen focus on sustainability since 2019.

In 2022, Sodexo Live! made £1m investment at the DW Stadium in Wigan, resulting in new upgrades to the hospitality, conference and events spaces.

Most recently, Sodexo Live! became the official venue partner of Preston North End from July 2023, taking over the stadium’s catering infrastructure, hospitality in the lounges and boxes, and on the concourse on matchdays.

Sodexo Live! is also the venue partner for other UK football clubs and stadiums including Everton FC, Brighton & Hove Albion FC, Fulham FC, Newcastle United, Hampden Park, Celtic FC.