Ryan Giggs and Gary Neville today admitted they can cook little more than a bacon sandwich and a bolognese between them as they launched their new football-themed restaurant.
But the Manchester United stars said they knew about fine dining because they had visited the world’s best hotels and restaurants during their playing careers.
Their new dining room Cafe Football, which opens at Westfield Stratford next month, features dishes inspired by “authentic football culture”.
These include Nev’s Noodle Pot (gourmet instant noodles), Pistachio Turf (sponge and chocolate in the form of a football pitch) and a posh marzipan half-time orange.
Neville, 38, who retired as a player in 2011, said: “I make a good bacon and sausage sandwich, but that’s not tough is it. When I lived in Manchester with my wife Emma I cooked all the time.
“I wouldn’t say it was cooking in the homemade sense — it was more warming things up.”
Giggs, who is now a player-coach with United and turns 40 at the end of the month, admitted: “Stacey, my wife, cooks. I rarely cook. But the one I love to make is spaghetti bolognese.
“Ask any footballer if they can cook and they’ll say ‘yeah I can do a bolognese’,” he said.
He added that the restaurant was the next step as their playing careers draw to a close, saying: “We knew that we had to prepare for another life away from football.”
The pair have brought in Michelin-starred Michael Wignall and executive chef Brendan Fyldes to design the menu and do the actual cooking.
Neville added: “You are so regimented when you’re a football player, you eat certain foods at certain times. That’s something I’m happy to be out of. ”
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The pair also spoke to Newham College students in East Ham yesterday about their new venture. Staff from the restaurant have been using the college kitchens to train in and Cafe Football will take two apprentices from there.
Giggs told the students that they must work hard to achieve their dreams — just as Alex Ferguson told him.
“I learnt from Sir Alex for such a long time the bedrock of his success is hard work,” Giggs said.
