Along the Sidelines: Dining at the Ajax Stadium
Was Johan Cruijff just an ordinary boy from Betondorp with a talent for football? Or a star, a diva, a big spender? When you read what he liked to eat, you’d choose answer B. ‘I eat quite a lot and I enjoy it, and it costs me a fortune,’ it says in his biography. Is Cruijff’s favourite food on the menu at the pop-up restaurant on the grass of the Johan Cruijff Arena? Ohhh, we really hope so!
No football, no football fans, and therefore no work for the catering team at the Cruijff Arena. So they came up with something clever: a pop-up restaurant in the Johan Cruijff Arena. Not in the stands or in the restaurant for the VIPs, but right on the grass. It’s called ‘Along the Sidelines’, and you get a three-course menu prepared by one of the chefs.
Irish Coffee to finish, please
What did Cruijff himself like to eat? Auke Kok wrote about it in his biography. ‘(…) a portion of frog legs, a glass of rosé, a little tournedos with a delicious sauce and an Irish Coffee to finish? My favourite food. As a footballer, I’m used to that.’
A tour of the changing rooms
Frog legs, tournedos… They’re not on the menu. But there are spareribs, cured beef sausage, cod and beef tenderloin stroganoff. What’s more: a maximum of one hundred people, a three-course menu, 57 or 99 euros per person, and reservations required in advance. You also get to take a look inside the changing rooms and walk onto the pitch via the players’ tunnel. ‘If you don’t know how to win, you have to make sure you don’t lose,’ Johan said, and the caterers understood that very well during the coronavirus era.
