Lioness chef who cooked for Harry Kane and Lucy Bronze lifts lid on England menu

Daily Mirror

5 hours ago

Jodie Smith started out pot washing in a family friend's local pub, now she cooks for football royalty including Harry Kane, Lucy Bronze and Keira Walsh
A chef who serves up dishes for the Lionesses has lifted the lid on the tasty treats England will need to fuel a Euros win. Jodie Smith, 35, Hertfordshire, has been a personal chef to Harry Kane and Lucy Bronze and is one of several chefs that the FA work with to serve the various England squads.
Having started out in a pub kitchen, Jodie, who grew up a Chelsea fan, told the Mirror she 'never imagined' she would end up cooking for football royalty. "I was at Wembley and watched the Lionesses win the Euros in 2022, I never thought then that I would be cooking for players this big," she said.
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As well as private events, Jodie has worked with Southampton and Tottenham football clubs before a contact put her in touch with Harry Kane. She spent eight months with the England legend's family in Bayern Munich before returning home and landed a job cooking for England's youth squads.
More recently Jodie was taken on as a personal chef for Lucy Bronze when she returned from Barcelona to join Chelsea, and has also worked with fellow Lioness, Keira Walsh. Speaking about the kind of food the team will have out in Switzerland, Jodie said: "It's very demanding on a tournament because you have to draw up menus for several weeks, while keeping it interesting and exciting.
"You have to obviously try and include some delicacies from that country, so maybe they'll try cheese fondue at some point. I always say food is mood, because it can have such a huge impact. If the team has lost a game or had a bad result you can literally lift their mood with the right meal.
"Of course it's nice to watch them come out and say 'have you seen what we've got for breakfast' and looking excited." In her time working as a football chef, Jodie has cooked up a whole host of post-match meals from burgers, to spaghetti bolognese, Katsu curry and poke bowls.
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The England squad have a team of nutritionists on hand alongside their chefs to ensure every meal is up to scratch and has the right balance of protein and carbs. But Jodie revealed the squad are allowed treats in moderation, and has made beetroot brownies and chocolate mousse made from yoghurt to give players a sweet fix without too much sugar.
Fortunately for Jodie, Bronze, 33, appears to be the least fussy Lioness and recently revealed her teammates call her the 'garbage can' because she'll eat anything. She said: "I'm not scared of trying different foods. Lauren James always says don't ask Lucy if the dessert is nice because she will eat it anyway, if someone is eating something they don't want to finish everyone says 'Lucy will have it'.
"When I lived in Leon I did eat fried frogs' legs, I actually quite liked them. "In Spain, when they cook gambas, the giant prawns in paella you're meant to cut the heads off and suck the brains out because that's the best bit, it has the most flavour. I do that all the time now."
But opening up about her eating habits, Ella Toone admitted she is less impressed with camp England's dessert selection. The 25-year-old striker said: "In England camp and when you're away with football, before a game you usually have a dessert but they're usually apple crumble or rice pudding… they are the worst two desserts in the world, rice pudding I can't even look at it."