KINGHAM, OXFORDSHIRE - AUGUST 27: Jamie Oliver attends a cooking demonstration at the Neff Big Kitchen on day two of The Big Feastival at Alex James' Farm on August 27, 2016 in Kingham, Oxfordshire. (Photo by Tim P. Whitby/Getty Images)
Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver created an impressive plant-based menu for the world’s first vegan football team, the Forest Green Rovers, The Sun reports.
Oliver, along with farmer and television presenter Jimmy Doherty, met the team at their home stadium – The New Lawn – for the filming of their Channel 4 cookery programme “Friday Night Feast.”
Oliver and Doherty prepared multiple plant-powered dishes, including a Sri Lankan curry with roasted cauliflower, for the League Two team. Speaking about the experience, midfielder Dayle Grubb revealed that the celebrity chefs were excited about the team’s vegan focus.
“They both seemed really impressed with the way club is run as a vegan football club and how some of the players have made the transition themselves,” Grubb said to The Sun. “They were really interested in the impact it had on us as players and also the fans. Even down to the organic pitch we have, they were surprised with the level to which Dale has taken it,” he added, referring to the chairman of Forest Green, Dale Vince.
Vince maintains an eco-friendly position in the way he runs the football club, only selling plant-based foods to spectators, encouraging meat-free eating for players, and investing in the organic pitch. Vince also owns the world’s first vegan-certified electricity company Ecotricity that promotes sustainable, animal-free energy.
Grubb previously ate meat but went vegetarian after joining the team.
“I wouldn’t be a vegetarian right now if I hadn’t made the move to Forest Green. By eating the food at the ground and at training, you become more knowledgeable with the food you can eat and it is eye-opening,” he explained.
“When you eat meat, you think it has to be in every meal, but it isn’t until you are shown alternatives that you realise there are a lot of different options for you,” he said, also adding that the plant-based food Oliver cooked was “unbelievable.”
The midfielder said he hopes the “Friday Night Feast” segment “comes across well and opens the club up to a new audience.”
The episode will air this Friday.
Image Credit: Jamie Oliver | Forest Green Rovers
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