Gabba catering turns to gourmet tucker for Ashes cricket test

GABBA bosses are counting on a new gourmet food menu to hit punters for a six, at the First Test of the Ashes cricket series.

Alex Laube, 19, Oskar Baker, 19, and Danielle Sidney, 25, share a Pimm’s toast at the famous Brisbane cricket ground. Picture: Nigel Hallett.

GABBA bosses are counting on a new gourmet food menu to hit punters for a six at the First Test of The Ashes series, in the single biggest catering overhaul at the venue in years.

Cricket fans, for the first time, will be able to catch a bit of pulled brisket or a lamb souvlaki while watching Dave Warner hit a boundary, as part the new high-end menu at the famous cricket ground.

The traditional meat pie, tomato sauce and chips, haven’t been left out.

Venue boss Blair Conaghan said the new food pitch was about meeting the changing needs of patrons as a foodie revolution continued to sweep Brisbane.

“We still have the staples of chips, burgers and other bits and pieces that we offer,” Mr Conaghan said.

“But there’s a real demand where people actually favour quality over price now so it’s matter of having food that might not expect to sell a lot of, but it’s high quality.

“That’s what people want.”

Cricket fan Alex Laube, 19, said he would be willing to splash out the extra cash for the gourmet sausage rather than buying a “cheap old pie” – despite living on a student income.

“They taste really good,” he said.

As part of alternative options on offer this year, the Gabba has extended a mint leaf to the Barmy Army by offering up jugs of Pimm’s for a bit of a fruity change at the series opener which starts on Thursday.

But while the new options are bound to bowl over some punters, their popularity will be unlikely to smash records set by the regular food and drink staples.

Mr Conaghan estimated to sell up to about 5000 of the new gourmet burgers a day during the series or up to about 15,000 jugs of Pimm’s.

Compare that to XXXX Gold, which is expected to sell about 100,000 cups a day after getting a run back on the menu for the Ashes this year. It was replaced by Carlton Mid-strength in 2014, for the first time in decades.

“That’s been an absolute godsend to get the local nectar back into the venue,” Mr Conaghan said. “It’s quintessentially Queensland.”

At $7.90 a cup, while still not cheap, it’s one of the least expensive beers you can buy from a major Australian sports stadium.

For the same style beer you can expect to pay $8.80 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, $8.70 at the WACA in Perth, or $8.40 at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

Mr Conaghan said the catering prices helped maintain the venue.

“That’s a constant challenge,” Mr Conaghan said. “The venue’s 20 years old. We have to generate some revenue to maintain the place.”