From Kitchen to Kick-Off: Jean Delport Previews England v France

As two rugby giants prepare to renew one of the sport's greatest rivalries, guests attending England v France at Allianz Stadium can look forward to more than world-class action on the pitch. They'll also experience an exceptional culinary journey curated by acclaimed chef Jean Delport.

Known for his innovative approach to modern cuisine and commitment to showcasing outstanding seasonal ingredients, Jean will be at the heart of the hospitality experience for this highly anticipated Guinness Six Nations fixture. We caught up with him to discuss his culinary influences, what inspires his matchday menus, and how he plans to elevate the occasion for guests attending one of rugby's biggest events.

What’s your inspiration behind the menu?

I want to showcase the restaurant quite a bit. I'm from Cape Town, South Africa, so a lot of that flavours and traditions come through the base of our food. We use a lot of old English and French techniques and I really want to play on the fact that France is playing England.

So we're going to try and bring some home flavours in so everyone can understand inspiration of the dishes itself. It's varied, like obviously it's seasonal, really kind of local ingredients, which I really kind of want to drive home, but stuff that's super tasty, super appealing to everybody else, and the stuff that I love to cook.

How do you create a menu that complements the atmosphere of Allianz Stadium?

It's something new to me and a bit of a challenge, I wanted to kind of encapsulate the whole atmosphere. And it's such an amazing spot and everybody has such a good vibe around everything. So to try and encapsulate that onto a plate and to compliment the day was for me quite fun, but challenging. I think hopefully we've hit the nail on the head, ticking lots of little boxes and just make it super surprising, elegant and just. At the end of the day, it's good food on a plate.

What dish are you most excited for guests to try?

We haven't quite decided on the menu, have we? In terms of this of an awesome dish, the main course for me is always my favourite. It’s the hero of the menu, it always it's simple, super full of flavour. I've hit so many different aspects there and tying in our estate along with the Allianz Stadium and just kind of bring their atmosphere to the table. So yeah, super punchy, super super bold, and hopefully super, super tasty.

What’s one stand out rugby moment you’ll never forget?

Well, coming from South Africa we've got loads of good, good rugby moments fortunately and we've been on a good run the last couple of years. I mean anytime we win the World Cup it gives me goosebumps and to win it back-to-back. We're hoping for a three-peat pretty soon and that will be cherry on the top.

I think my first initial memory was when we won the 1995 World Cup, I was still super young trying to getting into rugby and it really united everybody. To see how sport can change culture so quickly was absolutely amazing. So to be part of that growing up, I'm kind of really fortunate and it made me super passionate about rugby.