POLOKWANE – The winning combination of strawberries and cream, was served at the first ever Wimbledon tournament in 1877, when 200 spectators came to see the Championships.
Historians believe that the tradition was started by Thomas Wolsey, an extremely powerful figure in the court of King Henry VIII.
He was known as the king’s right-hand man, as well as the Lord Chancellor. In 1514 Thomas built a grand palace along the riverside, which today we know as Hampton Court.
Thomas’ palace had a tennis court, where staff also served strawberries and cream to spectators. It’s thought that this is the reason why we now associate Wimbledon with the dish.
As the world’s most infamous and prestigious Tennis tournament gets underway, one has to wonder the amount of catering that goes into such a huge event.
Wimbledon is the largest single annual sporting catering operation (2200 staff) carried out in Europe and with 39,000 spectators in the grounds at any one time, the venue has to make sure that there is enough food to fill hungry tummies.
Did you know that 234 000 meals are served during Wimbledon?
The following infographic depicts average figures for the tournament:
Tell us, who do you think is going to take the Wimbledon title this year?
