WIMBLEDON cannot cook for legends Roger Federer or Serena Williams this summer.
Yet the strawberries and cream will not go to waste — as tennis chiefs instead feed thousands of vulnerable people across London.
The 2020 Championships have been cancelled for the first time in 75 years due to Covid-19.
There will be no balls struck in anger or incredible matches to watch on Centre Court.
But we can reveal one of the SW19 kitchens will still be busy as the All England Lawn Tennis Club provide around 200 free meals per day for disadvantaged people.
Executive chef Adam Fargin, 35, usually heads a team of 320 during the two-week tennis action, ensuring thousands of punters are well-fed and watered. Instead, he has been hard at work — five days a week, eight hours a day — cooking high-spec ready-made meals in the Wingfield Cafe which are then distributed across the capital.
On the menu this week was spiced aubergine, rice noodle, sweet chili, lime and coriander salad.
Other delicious specials included smoked mac and cheese, vegetable lasagna and teriyaki salmon.
Fargin told SunSport: “Our food is made on site. And then City Harvest distribute that to food banks or charities.
“Some is what we would have produced for Wimbledon. It’s nice the local community are still getting a taste of the Championships.
“It’s all based on what we would have served at the end of June. It’s good quality, fresh and then delivered in the best conditions. The club are committed to do this throughout the year.
“The team here should be proud of what they have been doing for others.”
Charity City Harvest claim they distributed one million meals in the first six weeks of lockdown through its team of volunteers and 13 vans.
Chief operating officer Nikki Tadema said: “We’ve 300 charities on our books — homelessness, social self-isolation, youth clubs, hostels, recovery units. Whoever is hungry, we’re happy to support.
“Maybe it’s a single mum who is working part-time and struggling to feed her children.
“Worryingly now, with such high projections of unemployment, there will be more people that still don’t have the funding to feed themselves.
“Wimbledon opening up an industrial kitchen to produce this food for the people who need it is outstanding. They’ve stepped up to the plate.”
AELTC chief executive Richard Lewis said: “Many groups are without access to proper food.
“We would like to pay tribute to the invaluable efforts of both Food and Drink at Wimbledon, our year-round catering partners, and City Harvest, our distribution partner, as we work with them to play a small part in helping our community through this time of crisis.”
As for the 191,930 portions of strawberries which were ordered before the cancellation for Fed and Serena? Well, it’s not quite game, set and match.
Most will now be turned into rich Wimbledon strawberry jam for afternoon tea.
Ideal for members who can still use the grounds in these unprecedented times.
