Held each year in England for more than 130 years, Wimbledon is not only the largest international tennis tournament, but it is also the largest single annual sporting catering operation carried out in Europe.
Of the food served at Wimbledon, strawberries and cream is by far the most popular and celebrated food item with more than 8,600 punnets (small baskets) of strawberries consumed each day during the tournament. Aside from strawberries, the Wimbledon tournament (held June 24-July 7, 2013) also boasts the following food “scores”:
- 300,000 cups of tea and coffee
- 250,000 bottles of water
- 207,000 meals
- 200,000 glasses of Pimm’s
- 190,000 sandwiches
- 150,000 bath buns, scones, pastries and doughnuts
- 135,000 ice creams
- 100,000 pints of draught beer and lager
- 32,000 portions of fish and chips
- 25,000 bottles of champagne
- 23,000 bananas
- 22,000 slices of pizza
Watching the Wimbledon tournament this weekend? Bring on the strawberries!