Catering

[RobM.]

Geoff King seems to think the catering is good at Roots Hall.

I disagree. It's plain awful, to be honest. (East Stand). Very limited, poor quality. That's one reason the Fish House does so well. Surely the club can at least try to get a better caterer in? It's not tricky to have decent burgers (as opposed to gristle and cereal). Soup could be an option, blimey it's not hard to do!

Or is it me me being an epicure?

 

[Bucks_blue]

I don't buy anything from the ground anymore. Queues are too long and the food is overpriced and poor. I always make sure I've eaten before. And if I hadn't eaten before I'd wait until after.

The club isn't helped by the fact that the Fish House is one of the Best Chippys ever. It really is excellent.

 

[TrueBlue]

5 years ago cheese burgers were £1.90 now its £2.40 or £2.50

 

[RobM.]

..is that reasonable or not?

 

[The Artful Shrimper]

Awful.
Quite Frankly Quiet Geoffrey it's a "let them eat grass" mentality and it's not good enough. The burgers produce an effluent from bums that must surley be against European enviromental standards. We are passively smoking that!  

#
There is no choice.
Warm Pies, though they are Pukka.
and either a hotdog with wet onions or  the rancid burgers.
Luckily vegetarians have the choice of a kit kat or a bag of crisps.
Whilst I appreciate the profit margins would be scuppered if we were to allow  some sub-contractors in to have a look round and as see what they could supply it must be worth looking into?
We have the shrimp on our shield and where is the famous shellfish/sea food for sale?
On the approach of a capacity house next week people will be coming straight from work to the limited choice which will probably run out.
Football is about a day out. A beer or three, some grub, some football, some singing. If we fail on any of these it can ruin the day.
...An where is the Southend Rock? a blue one of course?

 

[Guest]

The queues are due to our success

More like they are caused by the inept staff & lack of facilities

Mind you I am surprised at times at the length of the queues. I would of thought that after eating a cardboard burger once - you wouldn't go back for more.

 

[Beaver]

Quote[/b] (The Artful Shrimper @ Mar. 03 2005,13:11)]people will be coming straight from work

Brought that up - apparently a warm pie or a 'wizard' hot dog should be OK as a substitue for an evening meal

 

[Mad Cyril]

I am no stranger to the darker side of meat products but I refuse to eat the burgers or hotdogs at the ground.

The pukka pies are not too bad *if* they are heated to a decent temperature (which is not always) but I would like to see some proper northern style meat and potato pies.

I think Cornish pasties are the way forward, they stack better than pies due their shape so more of them can be fitted in the pie warmer.

 

[Southstandblue]

I actually quite like the cheese burgers! when I go to football I don't expect food to be excellent but it fills the hole and im not too fussy.

 

[Mad Cyril]

Quote[/b] (Beaver @ Mar. 03 2005,13:16)]

Quote[/b] (The Artful Shrimper @ Mar. 03 2005,13:11)]people will be coming straight from work

Brought that up  - apparently a warm pie or a 'wizard' hot dog should be OK as a substitue for an evening meal  

Try asking for a pan fried John Dory on a bed of wilted leaves at the East stand snack bar and see how far that gets you....

 

[Guest]

On the whole, I avoid eating at matches anymore. The burgers don't taste remotely like beef, the hotdogs are anything but hot and the tea is either ridiculously hot or tepid - and it don't tast too clever either.
You can't even get a bag of chips!
Overall, I've seen much better at non-league grounds, and the price is almost prohibitive anyway - you might as well leave ten minutes early and get something fromn the fish house!

 

[One O'Clock At The Crane]

Let's just say the catering is somewhat of a mixed standard.

The pies there are no complaints at all. There is the advantage, however, of them only having to be warmed up and not cooked.

The burgers and hot dogs - quite honestly I wouldn't feed my dog with what they dish up. Soggy hot dogs, burgers encased in grease, and with all the taste cooked out of both products.

Sweets, crisps and drinks seem much of a muchness with most other grounds.

I've not really thought much about the pricing. If a product is good you don't mind paying a bit extra. If it's bad you begrudge coughing up even the lowest price. It's quality I look for. With their pies, sweets and drinks it's fine. But burgers and hot dogs - well, someone needs give the caterers a swift kick in the knackers for the rubbish they produce.

 

[The Artful Shrimper]

Quote[/b] (Southstandblue @ Mar. 03 2005,13:26)]I actually quite like the cheese burgers! when I go to football I don't expect food to be excellent but it fills the hole and im not too fussy.

Yes, I understand. I quite like wine, but a bottle of Sarsens will do to fill that gap and it still gives you a kick.
A while back I wasn't getting any, so I indulged in Mrs Gimley, 80 years old, saggy and loose, but...like you say it filled the hole.
Musn't grumble.

 

[GNH]

I never eat anything in the ground due to the poor quality of the food (in my opinion). Always used to have a bacon roll or 2, but sadly these disappeared due to "profit margins" IIRC. How can you not make money by selling a bacon roll for £2

.

Also why oh why do they refuse to utilise the food bars in the south upper. I realise that no cooking facilities are available upstairs, but a hot cabinet filled with pies and cold drinks and crisps etc. is the least that should be available. Why should everyone in the south upper be forced to go down stairs and join an already long que to buy any sort of refreshments?

This really does **** me off

 

 

[Southstandblue]

Quote[/b] (The Artful Shrimper @ Mar. 03 2005,13:33)]

Quote[/b] (Southstandblue @ Mar. 03 2005,13:26)]I actually quite like the cheese burgers! when I go to football I don't expect food to be excellent but it fills the hole and im not too fussy.

Yes, I understand. I quite like wine, but a bottle of Sarsens will do to fill that gap and it still gives you a kick.
A while back I wasn't getting any, so I indulged in Mrs Gimley, 80 years old, saggy and loose, but...like you say it filled the hole.
Musn't grumble.

ha ha,I think this thred shows that we haven't got much to moan about.

Which is a good thing of course!

 

[Gremlin]

Quote[/b] (GNH @ Mar. 03 2005,13:33)]I never eat anything in the ground due to the poor quality of the food (in my opinion). Always used to have a bacon roll or 2, but sadly these disappeared due to "profit margins" IIRC. How can you not make money by selling a bacon roll for £2

.

Agree 100% Bring back the bacon rolls! I wouldn't touch any of the other muck even if the spotty uninterested monosyllabic juvenille behind the counter paid me to.

 

[The Flying Scotsman]

Best Bacon Rolls have got to be the ones at Cambridge.

 

[GNH]

Quote[/b] (The Flying Scotsman @ Mar. 03 2005,14:15)]Best Bacon Rolls have got to be the ones at Cambridge.

That's because they're the only ones!!

 

[The Fitter]

Quote[/b] (GNH @ Mar. 03 2005,12:33)]I never eat anything in the ground due to the poor quality of the food (in my opinion). Always used to have a bacon roll or 2, but sadly these disappeared due to "profit margins" IIRC. How can you not make money by selling a bacon roll for £2

.

Also why oh why do they refuse to utilise the food bars in the south upper. I realise that no cooking facilities are available upstairs, but a hot cabinet filled with pies and cold drinks and crisps etc. is the least that should be available. Why should everyone in the south upper be forced to go down stairs and join an already long que to buy any sort of refreshments?

This really does **** me off

 

Agree with all of the above.
Loved the bacon rolls and also refuse to go down to the South lower (or east if that's shut) just to get a cup of tea.
If I ever have had a pie my only complaint is the near melting point they manage to get the contents. They must use some sort of particle accelerator to achive such heat.

 

[Hong Kong Blue]

The club is undoubtably missing out on potential revenue.

I probably purchase food at Roots Hall on 1 in 4 visits.

I purchase food at away grounds on every visit.

If the food is any good I have been known to make multiple purchases. For example the food at Bristol Rovers was good enough to tempt me back for a second balti pie and a cornish pasty (the combined total of £6 is probably equivalent to what I'd spend in 2 months on food at Roots Hall).

I imagine on Tuesday arriving at the ground straight from work having not eaten I will want a pie before the game and something at half-time. The chances are I will be put off by the queue (I'd rather see the game than queue for a mediocre luke-warm pie) and wait until half time. Half time I will join the queue and if I'm lucky there will be a couple of pies remaining. Almost certainly they won't be the flavour I was after, but it'll have to do. If they're out of stock, the Fish House will once more get my custom.

I want to give my custom to the club, but the club isn't giving me the opportunity to do so. If Geoff King thinks the catering is satisfactory I am seriously worried about the future of this club.

I suggest Geoff tries a day out as a football fan for the Bristol Rovers game. Rather than stroll in at 7:40pm and sit in the directors box, he should try and purchase a ticket for the game and then sit in that seat, buy his own programme rather than be given one. Half-time he should join the queues and try and purchase his refreshments. That way he'll get a real idea of what the issues are as a fan, where there is room for improvement, whether the programme sellers are suitably placed, where costs can be cut and where revenue can be increased.

ps Once Geoff King realises that the club are losing out on a substantial revenue stream with regards food, I suggest he looks closely at what Bristol Rovers and Kidderminster provide in the line of food and contacts their suppliers. If he wants a more local example Grays (and check out their clubhouse as an example of what the Shrimpers should be like). Why not be novel and look into a joint venture with the fish house of providing food inside the ground? Something like that could be decisive in making wavering fans decide to turn up.