Food, Glorious Food...

With another free week this weekend, thoughts turn to other matters. One of the changes this season has been a blowing of the budget for post-match tucker, up to a heady £30... or roughly £1 per person.

At the 45s we wanted to achieve 3 things for home games through the introduction of different delicacies. By sharing the load and offering something home-cooked, team spirit grows deeper & wider. Last week saw our own height-challenged cook, Tiny Campbell whip up his creation of Chicken Stroganoff with Rice and Roasted New Potatoes. Everyone went back for seconds.This follows on the back of Fajitas, Wraps & Salad, as well as locally-sourced Sausages, hand-cut Chips and Baguette from earlier in the season.

The food is not only getting shared in its preparation, it is getting wolfed down in double quick time by players and supporters alike. Rave reviews lead to happy faces... and happy faces make the post-match atmosphere in the bar a livelier place, with more money being spent and raised for the club itself. Football at every level should be about enjoyment and sportsmanship... and the hospitality is an extension of this. Finally, fresh food means better eating. Waistlines, Blood Pressure and Cholesterol all need to be kept in check at our age - careful refuelling keeps us fitter and healthier without MSG, E-numbers and unpronounceable additives. With supporters now watching the games and joining us in the club afterwards, the impact of good food is reaching a wider audience than those that play. There's one more benefit...fresh food, less meat, careful purchasing and local sourcing means that we are doing our bit to help reduce our climate change footprint. Using the crockery available (not buying disposable), stopping single-use plastic and recycling everything we can, also helps. Unashamedly proud of doing things differently, our food pics on Twitter have been viewed nearly 1,000 times, being followed (and liked) by the Essex football hierarchy, increasing the profile of the team and spreading the word about what we stand for in sporting, social and silly reasons.

2 Wins & 2 Draws from our first 4 games has put White Roding 45s in uncharted territory and on the back of a decent meal. No game this week will undoubtedly see us slip a little down the league table, but affords us more time to flick through Jamie Oliver's latest cookbook before we play against Newport in November. So without kicking a ball, this is definitely a winner of an idea! The Gaffer