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A latte, two teas and three scones please?

That was the question that made us realise that we had hit our stride. After a couple of years helping out with junior cricket we looked around the club and saw we had a chance to involve more parents in the everyday life of the club. So, each Sunday tea scones and coffee came to be the order of the day. We offered a safe, fun and perhaps a smidgin of time, where busy parents could relax for a moment and experience the wonderful private setting that the Anglesea Road ground can provide. When you can add a brilliant mix of enthusiasm from the likes of Mark Forbes, Conor Austin, and the Huss, the expertise of Ed and Dom Joyce, the youthful experience of young coaches such as Tom, Jack, Sean, JJ, Rachel, Leah, Celeste, and many more, we realised that under the wise tutelage from Eddie Lewis that prospective cricketers could find no better nursery to begin their sons and daughters journey involving cricket, it’s rules, code and wonderful oddities.

The Emergence of a Foodie Culture

The interface between foodies and the cricket club began really back with the swelling of numbers in the youth section back in 2012. It became apparent that Paddy and I were not going to be able to ensure that we provided expertise in the fine art of coaching “Googlies” or coaching youths to hit sixes into Hazeldene. We soon found a common interest in chatting about our love of food, wine, recipe sharing and what latest delights we had concocted over the previous week.  We both saw that the clubhouse should be used more and that food related events could be a way to drive some income to the youth section either with a BBQ, Cake Sale, and regular Sunday tea, coffee and scones.

Looking back 8 years down the road the art of integrating food related events requires four essential elements: 

  1. A smattering of foodies
  2. Willing helpers
  3. Some logistical nous
  4. Don’t take things too seriously 

Every club needs an Arlene and Paddy. Without their willingness and can-do attitude,  the first youth BBQs would have not run so well. So we hatched a formula: we would provide the burgers, chicken, buns and baps, offer it at very reasonable prices (€3) and seek to break even. We then asked parents to bring down some salads and desserts. We could not have imagined how these BBQs could have turned into the success they would become.

Often we had to cater for up to 200 hungry mouths. But we slowly started to get ourselves into a routine that could be replicated and reproduced quite easily.  Put out the trestle tables, with the salads, sauces and plates and napkins.

A typical preparation would be for Arlene and Paddy and myself to discuss on the Thursday, before the Friday, who would go down to Musgraves and FX Buckley’s in Deans Grange to  pick up the boxes of chicken fillets, quarter pounders, hot dogs and all the accompanying condiments.  We also would coordinate with Anne access to the store rooms and check that we had gas cylinders and Paul or Nikki to tend the bar. We also had a great supporter in Paul Quinlan who would advise us on any BBQ hints, tips and tricks.

Then Paddy would take four boxes of chicken filets and start marinating them in lime juice, chilli, teriyaki sauce, no mean feat on a Thursday evening. Then, on the Friday afternoon we would agree to meet up at 4:30 and a running order was put into place:

  1. Clean and pre-heat the BBQs
  2. Peel and slide about 59 onions
  3. Pre-heat the main over and start off the burgers and chicken so that they can be finished off on the grills
  4. Arrange the trestle tables with plates, napkins and sauces.
  5. Organise the tickets 

Then, fingers crossed we look to the skies and plan for around 150 kids and up to 70 parents.

As we developed a routine we soon started adding additional pieces to each BBQ. We were asked can we have a cheeseburger, so cheese slices were added to the list. In addition, the quality of the salads started to really ramp up –  an Ottolenghi inspired salad of caramelised figs, oranges, goats cheese finished off with a Pernod and Fennel Seed dressing. Howzat for starters! As we started to grow more confident we added the ice cream delivery van but some of the desserts were also out of this world. Chocolate Tortes, Pavlovas and fruit salad concoctions that would not be out of place in any restaurant about town.

So over time we soon accepted that the kick-off, mid season and end of season BBQS were a calendar item. Then, our Indian members invited us to participate in various curry nights and their wonderful Indian cuisine. If you have not attended one of these you have missed out on a foodie event of wonderful proportions and incredible taste. Each of these successes spurred us in to discuss how to help kickstart the Sunday Nursery as children u11 had to be accompanied by an adult. So, as soon as we started offering teas and coffees we added in some scones and before long we had a willing band of foodies assisting us with a rota. Maeve and Caoimhe, Anne, Sonja, Emer, Marika, Joyce and Cliona started to show how the humble scone could be elevated with pear and almond, orange peel and walnuts. Paddy’s own magical black pudding and apple bread is better than anything you can find in the locale!

Ice Cream Van at Youth BBQ

Where to now? 

As we slowly restart the season and matches once again get going we will continue to look for opportunities to bring the foodies to the fore. We might start a fundraising event with a cake sale some Saturday morning. We will definitely run a BBQ! We will also speak to Sai and friends about a Indian night. Most importantly if you would like to get involved in cricket in a not playing mode this could be your way in to support our wonderful club. It is often difficult for new members, particularly parents to feel they are part of the club. So please if you have a foodie nature and feel that to support the club you could bake a cake, flip a burger, knead some dough, there is a place in this club for you. 

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