Sodexo Live! Lands Five‑Year Partnership With Lancashire Cricket At Emirates Old Trafford
Sodexo Live! plans to build a strong casual workforce of approximately 150 from the Greater Manchester/North West area, contributing to the local economy and community.
The food will be overseen by Sodexo Live! executive head chef Andy Hare, who will undertake a culinary training programme with Lancashire Cricket’s current chefs. This will include opportunities for them to train and develop at some of the other venues Sodexo Live! partners with, enabling them to bring back new and exciting ideas, as well as a potential trip to Paris to Lenôtre Culinary School. The school, which is owned by Sodexo Live! specialises in culinary arts, baking, pastry, restaurant management and Sommelier skills.
New items on the menu will have a regional flare including ingredients from local suppliers across Greater Manchester, Lancashire and the North West.
Social impact sits at the heart of Sodexo Live! and through its food offering it will make a difference by working with social enterprises such as Change Please and Half the Story Biscuits. Change Please is a well‑established coffee brand that works with the homeless to give them employment and training opportunities to build a better life. Half the Story Biscuits is similar, where it creates job roles within its bakery for those who have also experienced homelessness.
Working together, Sodexo Live! and Emirates Old Trafford – which has undergone a £75 million redevelopment over the last 15 years - will introduce exciting and diverse menus designed to elevate the dining experience, across both hospitality and conference & events held at the venue. The teams will work together for the first time at this weekend’s sold out IT20 fixture at Emirates Old Trafford between England and Australia.
Claire Morris, CEO Sodexo Live! UK&I, commented: “We are absolutely delighted to partner with Lancashire Cricket. This collaboration represents a fantastic opportunity to bring our food expertise in event catering and hospitality to one of the North West of England’s most iconic global venues.
“Furthermore, we feel incredibly proud to be selected as the club’s first ever Official Culinary Partner in its 160‑year history. We thank Lancashire Cricket for putting its trust in us as our Experience Makers plan to deliver a standout service.
“We are committed to creating an exceptional stadium experience for fans and visitors, ensuring that every match day and event is memorable for visitors regionally and from across the world. Our team is eager to begin this exciting journey and contribute to the continued success of Lancashire Cricket and Emirates Old Trafford.”
Daniel Gidney, Chief Executive at Lancashire Cricket added: “I would like to welcome Sodexo Live! to our family of partners as The Official Culinary Partner of Lancashire Cricket and Emirates Old Trafford.
“Sodexo Live! is a worldwide hospitality brand, with a proven track record of enhancing the culinary experiences across sports venues, conference centres and global events.
“Over the past 12 years we have quadrupled in size and our scale now requires an enhanced platform to really focus on the next stage of our growth. We know there is an increasing demand for varied, creative and distinctive menus that are tailor‑made for different audiences across a range of events that we hold at Emirates Old Trafford. We believe Sodexo Live! has the expertise and vision to make a real difference to our food offering and enhance the whole event experience across cricket, conferences and concerts at the venue.
“This is a partnership that is incredibly exciting and we’re really looking forward to working with the team in the coming years to support us achieve our ambitious growth aspirations.”
Globally Sodexo Live! supports some of the most well‑known and high‑profile sports clubs, events, and stadia. In the UK it partners with Fulham FC, Brighton & Hove Albion FC, Newcastle FC, Nottingham Forest FC, and the home of Scottish football, Hampden Park as well as the prestigious Ascot Racecourse, to name a few. Internationally it delivers events such as The French Open at Roland Garros, the Tour de France, the Miami Open and F1 in Miami, Indian Wells Open in California, plus stadiums in the USA including the Hard Rock Stadium (home to the Miami Dolphins) and the Caesars Superdome, New Orleans, home to Super Bowl LIX in 2025.
