Raising the Bar: Hull City Celebrates Double Award Win

On 3rd July, some of our amazing team members travelled to Brighton to represent VCP at the Stadium Experience Awards, hosted this year at the AMEX Stadium. These awards bring together clubs and caterers from across the UK to celebrate the best in retail, matchday and non-matchday hospitality.

I am proud to say that our team at Hull City, one of our long-standing partners, brought home two major accolades, recognising both our matchday retail and conference and events sales delivery.

These awards are more than silverware. They are independent recognition of the hard work, creativity and consistency delivered week in, week out by our team in Hull.

Best Retail Catering – Gold Winner, Hull City

Winning Best Retail Catering – Gold was a fantastic moment for us. This is the second time in three years that Hull City have received this award and it means a great deal to the entire team. We were up against strong competition from across the Premier League and EFL, including Brentford and Spurs, but our commitment to quality, innovation and fan experience stood out.

Retail catering at Hull City has been transformed over recent seasons. We have grown the spend per head to £5.50, after breaking the SPH record seven times already this season. This is the result of investment in street food concepts, dynamic menus and smart use of fan engagement.

Supporters now have the chance to vote each month for new dishes such as Toad in the Hole, Texas Brisket Burnt Ends and Sweet and Sour Chicken. It is a simple but powerful way to involve fans in shaping their matchday experience. We are also proud of the local provenance of our ingredients, with pork sourced within nine miles and beef always from Yorkshire.

Our offer is more exciting and more relevant to today's football fan. We have embraced bold, flavourful menus while maintaining consistent delivery standards. As our Retail Catering Manager, Henry Crane, said:

“This is recognition for a lot of hard work from a lot of people. We’re immensely proud of our output, creativity and consistency of service. Thank you for the recognition and we are excited to continue our standards throughout the forthcoming season with the support of VCP and their management team.”

Henry is supported by a superb leadership team. Dan Coulson, General Manager, and Gareth Howden, Executive Chef, both bring deep operational knowledge and a passion for the fan experience. Together with their teams, they have built a culture of service that is high-performing and forward-thinking.

You could say being recognised for retail catering is just desserts—especially as pudding sales are up 63%. But this goes beyond food. We are helping to support the identity of the club and create lasting memories for its fans.

Best Non-Matchday Sales Team – Silver Winner, Hull City

We were also delighted to receive Silver in Best Non-Matchday Sales Team, marking the second year running Hull City has been recognised in this category.

This award is based on a mystery shop of the sales experience for conference and event enquiries. It covers everything from how well we understand the brief to how professionally and politely we respond. Coming second only to Manchester City is no small achievement.

This success is down to the dedication of Katie West, Kathryn Drury, Joe Brewer and Sarah Shepherdson, who have worked consistently to grow the business through strong relationships, local insight and a deep connection to the Hull community. Despite increased competition from the Bonus Arena and the new DoubleTree by Hilton, the team has retained the majority of its business, with many clients returning after trying alternatives. The reason is simple. They get better food and better service.

We have also brought our street food concepts into the conference and events side, including the Christmas offer. We have moved away from tradition for its own sake and created an eclectic mix of menus designed to appeal to all tastes. This approach helps us keep our DDR rates competitive while delivering real value.

The enquiry process at Hull is about understanding people, their event goals and the outcomes they want to achieve. That is why this award matters. It recognises empathy, professionalism and genuine care in everything we do.

These awards are a credit to the people on the ground. From the chefs and service staff to the sales team and everyone behind the scenes, they reflect shared standards, mutual respect and a collective ambition to deliver the very best experience, whether you are a first-time fan or along-time client.

We are proud of Hull City’s success and even prouder of the team that made it possible.