MasterChef: The Professionals winner and Hove-based chef Steven Edwards has been chosen to create menus for a new immersive hospitality experience at The Amex with Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club.
The Premier League team, currently sitting seventh in the league, will launch The Tunnel Club at The Amex in time for the 2023/2024 season, with Steven Edwards in charge of the menus for members.
The concept for The Tunnel Club has been introduced by Russell Wood, Head of Commercial at Brighton & Hove Albion.
The experience is designed to take fans to the very heart of the match, the one-way glass walled restaurant will see through to the players’ tunnel and the changing menu will be designed and managed by Steven Edwards and the Club’s catering team.
Russell said: “The Tunnel Club experience will elevate our hospitality to one of the best in the country and it was key that the menus reflected these ambitions. Steven is a fantastic chef who has a great reputation locally, not only for his food but his support of local causes and championing Sussex - I can’t wait to see what he has in store for our Tunnel Club members.”
Steven, who regularly plays charity football matches and was trained professionally in his youth, is delighted to be involved in what he believes is an exciting new era for the Club.
He won MasterChef: The Professionals in 2013 and opened etch. by Steven Edwards in 2017 following a series of successful pop ups.
The award-winning restaurant was last year ranked 58th in the Estrella Damm National Restaurant Awards and won the Tripadvisor Traveller’s Choice award. He opened Steven Edwards at the Bingham Riverhouse in Richmond, London in early 2020 and the restaurant has received high praise from food lovers and restaurant critics.
Steven says, “As a local chef, it’s been fantastic to see the rise of Brighton & Hove Albion in the past few seasons and I’m beyond excited to be involved in The Tunnel Club experience. It’s a privilege that the Club Members will be enjoying dishes that I’ve created and I look forward to heading down to the home matches as often as I can to cheer on the team.”
The Tunnel Club experience members can look forward to British dishes refined and elevated to Steven’s exacting standards and with the sense of fun he brings to simple, nostalgic dishes.
The menu will offer three options for starter, main and dessert and Tunnel Club members can look forward to Steven’s much loved Marmite bread with seaweed butter and dishes such as Slow cooked Trenchmore beef rump with poached and roasted salsify, salsify crisps and chicory jam.
Those looking for some sweet indulgence can enjoy Popcorn soft serve ice cream and a finale of Valrhona Chocolate crémeux with coriander ice cream and burnt local honey.
Where possible, ingredients will be sourced from Steven’s preferred suppliers in celebration of the fantastic produce available in the region.