The industrial plant in Suffolk is home to Premier League meals

Preparations for the start of the Premier League are in full swing, including at a small industrial plant in Suffolk. There, two chefs and their team prepare hundreds of meals a week to send to professional footballers to fuel them for this season’s league battles. So what exactly does a professional footballer eat?

Adam Gooderham, a former football club chef, started a meal preparation service for players when he was furloughed from his job at Ipswich Town Football Club during the Covid pandemic.

What started with cooking a few dozen meals a week for players in his home kitchen quickly evolved into delivering hundreds of meals a week to players and clubs across the country.

Now AMG Meal Prep’s meals are prepared in its kitchen in Hollesley, near Woodbridge, and its customers include England striker and Aston Villa player Ollie Watkins, Ipswich Town’s Cameron Burgess and Chelsea’s Trevoh Chalobah.

He has also worked with clubs across the country in the EFL, including Millwall, Stockport, Chesterfield and a “handful” of Stevenage players.

Mr Gooderham says the players who use his service “come and go”, but he notices a large influx of clients during the pre-season stage to help players cope with strenuous training sessions and recovery.

The Premier League, to which his former employer Ipswich Town has been promoted, begins on August 16th.

While the EFL Championship is back in action this weekend.

Trade increases by 70% during the preseason, he says.

“Without Covid, I’m not sure it would have been possible to start the business. It was just kind of a stroke of luck that helped us in that we could be mobile with the meals and work and produce them in a lonely, cramped place and stay safe that way.”

There’s no clichéd chicken, rice and broccoli that many assume only athletes eat. Instead, the 32-year-old and his team focus on creating restaurant-quality meals that provide players with a micronutrient breakdown while still tasting good.

The occasional sweet treat isn’t off limits either. Just ask Ipswich Town captain Sam Morsy, who enjoys the company’s lemon overnight oats for breakfast.

“Sam Morsy has been buying from us on and off for the past two years. He has a real love for the overnight oats we make, especially the ones with lemon. I think they’re right up his alley.

“Our overnight oats are very popular with athletes,” says Gooderham.

He believes the company’s success is due to players being confident they’ll get exactly what they need without having to struggle with cooking after a long day of training.

“You come home (from training) and you don’t have to worry about cooking. There’s a nutritious meal waiting for you. You just pop it in the microwave and in three to four minutes it’s ready.”

“During the preseason they go through an intense phase of high activity and training, so they try to provide their bodies with the best possible nutrients,” he says.

Mr Gooderham and his team use cutting-edge technology to calculate the macronutrients and calories of each recipe, so players know exactly what they are eating.

The company changes the menu weekly and offers many alternatives from fish and lean meat to steaks as well as vegan and vegetarian options.

However, you have noticed patterns.

Sous-chef Ryan Hickman says: “They don’t usually eat red meat because they have digestive issues, because red meat takes longer to digest before a game. So about 24 hours before a game they don’t want to eat red meat, so they’ll probably eat chicken.”