20 August 2025
“Sometimes it's just the confidence to stand up for yourself and say: you know what, this doesn't work for me. I deserve better. So don't be afraid to just go for it. Stand in the stadium that is cheering for you.”
Melissa Forde is Head Performance Chef at Wolverhampton Wanderers FC. In October 2023 she was nominated as the club’s ‘No Room For Racism icon’.
In April 2025, Melissa was one of five people recognised in the ‘Practitioners’ category at the star-studded Football Black List at the Emirates Stadium. The awards celebrate and honour Black achievement across the football industry.
The hat-trick came last month. Melissa and her team at Wolves – who work for sports and entertainment caterer Levy – became the first external staff to be awarded the club’s Foz Hendley Team Award, which celebrates outstanding colleagues for their contribution to the past season.
Receiving such accolades would undoubtedly be a source of immense pride for anyone. To Melissa, there is also a sense of validation of a decision she made towards the end of the Covid-19 pandemic. Her career prospects at that time seemed a long way from winning awards. However, Melissa has a long history of proving things to herself.
“I remember being about eight years old, trying to figure out some scales and how to bake a cake,” Melissa recalls with a laugh, suggesting that first attempt was unlikely to have won her a star baker apron.
“My initial plan was to join the military as I loved the idea of a very organised, regimented lifestyle. It didn’t work out for me, so I decided to pursue my second passion: catering. I really enjoyed cooking and being creative and I saw a programme for food technology at Birmingham College for Food (UCB as it’s now known). I applied, was accepted and the rest is history.”
After completing her studies, Melissa found a job at the Burlington Hotel in Birmingham, working as a commis chef, building on her training by learning to prepare and cook fresh food.
“I spent three years there and had great mentors," Melissa recalls. “They steered me on the right path and provided me with opportunities to progress. They supported me with culinary advice but also guided me on how to pave my own way forward. I'm really thankful to them and we still meet from time to time to have a coffee and put the world to rights!”
Melissa spent the next 11 years working in hotels across the midlands and Warwickshire before she became a sous chef for the Birmingham Hippodrome. There she supported the head chef in overseeing three food outlets – and went on to gain consecutive promotions, first to head chef, then executive chef. It was here that she first managed a team, with responsibility for the dreaded weekly roster. She was also able to put her stamp on catering for the eclectic tastes of performers and visitors in the restaurant and hospitality events.
But when the pandemic struck, the catering industry in the UK was one of the hardest hit. Over time, with two young children now to support, Melissa knew she had to get back to work. Then she saw an advertisement that stood out for its locality, rather than the industry.
“I know many people dream from a young age of working in football. Wolves were pretty much on my doorstep, and I could see the passion for the club within the local community. With restaurants and hotels still not hiring post-pandemic, I saw the job and could easily have talked myself out of it. But I was ready for a big challenge and thought 'why not?', and went for it.”
Melissa’s passion for fresh produce, working with great suppliers, and the opportunity to work with a team that were both creatively and culturally diverse – Melissa herself is of Jamaican heritage – quickly proved to be a perfect recipe. Once again, she found herself flourishing.
When catering for a diverse group of sporting superstars (Wolves boast players from more than a dozen different countries and four continents), what does an average day look like?
“On a typical day, I usually start work between 7:00 and 8:00,” says Melissa. “By that time, breakfast service is well underway. Breakfast tends not to be too varied, as players are very much creatures of habit. Whilst we are providing performance food, we can add some creative flair as well. That's what keeps any good chef going – being able to express yourself in your food.”
As well as the first-team squad and staff, Melissa also oversees the academy’s requirements, managing a dedicated team who ensure that the operation runs like clockwork too. She describes herself as ‘akin to an octopus’, juggling simultaneous plates physically, and metaphorically.
Another major component of her weekly work is centred around logistics planning. “I usually work a week ahead or two ahead of everything that is happening with the team, to plan menus with the team nutritionist. When are the training sessions? What does recovery look like from those sessions? What does preparation look like prior to each match? Is it an early kick-off or an evening game? With all that information, I then work backwards into a menu.”
When many footballers transfer to a new club, it can also be to a new country with a different culture and languages. So Melissa’s role also involves an element of ‘pastoral care'.
“I also plan if there are any special occasions, or celebrations like Chinese new year or Black History Month and these will be factored into the menu I produce too. The nutritionist at Wolves is instrumental in the success of the performance catering, but he also supports my creations and passions, so all the players feel like they're at home. We want them to eat to enjoy, to relax, to fuel, and to recover.”
People-watching is another skill that may not be listed on a conventional catering job description, but one that Melissa believes is invaluable. By observing individual habits and what they put on their plates, she can quickly tell if a player is ‘missing’ something.
“When I'm trying something new from a particular region that I haven't prepared food from before, I will always speak to a player. I want to establish a relationship where they can approach me too. Sometimes they may want me to prepare a dish from their homeland.
“The player may say ‘I typically eat it like X at home'. I then find out what ingredients are typical to the dish and get to work. We may not always be able to cook exactly like their family does, but we ensure everything we produce is done with authenticity and respect. I have one golden rule when it comes to food: we can try to make it better, but never make it worse.”
With such a multicultural squad of players, observing cultural or religious practices is also important. With respect to Ramadan, for example, Melissa’s team will have suitable meals available at any time of day (before sunrise) or night for the breaking of fast, including the option for players to take food home with them from the training ground.
Depending on when players may break their fast, nutrition is provided to gently reawaken the digestive system first, with multiple options available ahead of match days to sustain a player through to kick-off. If a player breaks their fast during a match, the team nutritionist is also supplied with suitable options in their bag.
In England, it was Arsene Wenger who was widely credited with changing the focus on player diets. Almost 30 years since his arrival at Arsenal, what does a ‘typical’ player eat at Wolves?
“Many players will typically eat pasta on match day," says Melissa, "with a station where they can choose from a variety of different sauces. Mattheus Cunha was always a fan of pesto pasta. When a new player arrives, we will typically try to sit down with them during pre-season to understand what they like on match day minus one, and on match day itself."
Not every new signing may immediately arrive in a new country with family members, so the risk of culture shock, or worse, cultural alienation is something Melissa and the club work hard to mitigate against. When one player arrived from Colombia, fellow Spanish-speaking players acted as interpreters and a good translation app helped Melissa with sharing photos and recipes via Google, to ensure that Melissa and her team could help him to settle in.
“Some players are also very routine-oriented, so if they have a special request, we try to keep that tradition going for them too. My mantra is: happy players equal a happy team that work well on the field together. A good plate of food can be so warming to your soul. I think of it like a hug on a plate. For me personally, I see a good meal as filling my joy battery.”
The day after we spoke, Melissa celebrated her four-year anniversary at the club. During that time, she has seen more women leading key departments such as player care and sports medicine. What is her advice to fellow women thinking of entering the football industry?
“If we’re talking about catering, you must be willing to learn. I always tell young chefs: learn thoroughly what you’ve been taught; master what you’ve been taught, then try to put your own spin on it. If you can make it better, do it. But never compromise the integrity of the food.”
Having overcome her initial reticence of working in football, Melissa has a positive message to share with the industry as it continues to evolve.
“Whether you are a male or a female decision-maker, be open to conversations," she says. "If everybody in the same room had the same upbringing and same outlook on life, going forward, what they produce will look the same. No new ideas or new perspectives will ever come.
“It's about creating business opportunities and moving things forward. If you diversify your workforce, you will have more appeal for your clients or your customers. At the same time, life experience will enhance your business operations too. Mums, for example, tend to have a sixth sense. They may see something is wrong, and by asking, the other person may feel comfortable enough to have that conversation.
And for mums or caregivers, Melissa has one final, special message too: “Find the right manager for you. I give the club and my managers everything that they need from me for the job to be done well. The only thing I ever ask for is to give me the space to be a mum too.
“You don't have to reduce yourself to certain roles because you've had children. If I ever got to a point where an employer didn't respect me or wouldn't respect my needs, especially when I'm prepared to give everything that I have to the job, I would change. That's that.
“Sometimes it does take time to find the right place for you and where your value is realised. When you do find that, just keep pushing yourself forward. There are so many women in the workforce that can do great things.
“The challenges have always been there. Sometimes it's just the confidence to stand up for yourself and say: you know what, this doesn't work for me. I deserve better. So don't be afraid to just go for it. Stand in the stadium that is cheering for you.”
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