Case Study: The Jacket that fuels England’s EURO 2016 Challenge

If you aren’t excited for this summer’s European Championships in France, we can give some of you a reason to be.

If you aren’t excited for this summer’s European Championships in France, we can give some of you a reason to be.

Many of you will have seen recently the “England” Oliver Harvey chef jacket that has garnered significant interest on social media. The “Three Lions” badge is embroidered with pride on the chest and is the official uniform of the England’s catering team.

While we wish we could sell these to everyone, this is an official uniform with a licensed badge, so unfortunately it is only available to official staff members or as an official piece of merchandise.

Nevertheless, it’s an incredibly awesome looking jacket which we really enjoyed producing. The jacket is a standard Oxford jacket, but with the addition of the fantastic logo we’ve all learnt to unwaveringly support, safe in the knowledge we will likely be disappointed again.

The jacket was a request from England national team chef Tim De’Ath, who previously made a name for himself as a highly-respected chef on the Hollywood scene and forged his reputation in football as West Ham United’s head chef.

Following this, he was invited to join the England setup by a nutrition-mad Fabio Capello, a feeling which he shares.

Speaking to The Caterer, he said, “Everyone working here has a responsibility towards the squad's performance. What I feed them is what fuels them. I can't allow them to be lethargic on the pitch.”

De’Ath is responsible for a number of things, such as ensuring the team has good nutrition and that no one gets ill. Remember back in 2006 when a Tottenham team needing to match Arsenal’s result to secure Champions League football all fell ill the night before due to dodgy lasagne? They lost 2-1 to West Ham. De’Ath is in charge of making sure sickness doesn’t befall our charge.

Nutrition in football is so much more than making sure you’ve had your half time oranges. Like with all sport, each individual aspect has to be carefully monitored. With football, for example, up to 5000 calories can be consumed in the build up to a game to fuel them up, while high-protein, low-carb meals are the order of the day on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.

The food will typically be quite plain - normally grilled chicken, with rice or pasta and lots of steamed vegetables - but it will be low in fat and not too heavy. It’s served in buffet form with a variety of different pastas available for even the pickiest of professional footballer.

De’Ath also makes substantial snacks on training days before dinner. Usually, this will consist of oatcakes with cottage cheese and salmon, which may not sound like the most delicious thing in the world, but it’s packed with protein… and he’ll look great while he makes it!