RIO FERDINAND REVEALS WIFE, KATE, COMPARES HIM TO A “WASHING MACHINE” WHEN EATING - AS THE SUPERSTAR SPORTSMAN TAKES ON THE NATIONS FOOD FAILS • • •
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Ex-footballer and TV pundit, Rio Ferdinand, has taken part in a unique food experiment that sees the superstar sportsman sitting in the hot seat and taking on the nation’s food fails Rio talks life at home – unveiling wife, Kate, compares him to washing machine when eating and how his kids have to play music to drown out the noise during dinner time The sportsman dishes the dirt on Kate’s strange snack habits and reveals he has put a LOCK on the kitchen doors to keep the kids out Rio Ferdinand creates an edible ‘Snackadium’, to be enjoyed during a summer of sport with the Euro’s, on now, and Olympics just weeks away Commissioned by Peperami, the challenge follows a recent survey where one in four Brits believe British food is boring Rio speaks to Peperami team in new Q&A - talking family, life in lockdown, date nights with Kate and the Euros!
Tell us about the ‘Ban the Bland’ campaign with Peperami! What made you want to get involved? Is there anything you were dreading or looking forward to as part of the experiment? As a nation, we’ve got a bit of a reputation for our food being bland and boring. So, when Peperami asked me to get involved in the campaign, my competitive nature came out and I jumped at the chance to take part, eager to show people how we can do it better. As part of the experiment, the crew had me try some of the nation’s food fails – which I was dreading! I wanted to see if some of the strange combinations could be wonderful, but on the day, they were just plain awful! Being an ex-footballer, the crew had me trying foods famous at matches – such as a ‘Wigan kebab’ and jellied eels, which weren’t for me. My favourite part of the day was creating my snack solution – ‘The Snackadium’ – an edible football pitch perfect to tuck into when watching the Euros. The Peperami team gave me the power to go nuts and produce something really cool, that I can’t wait to bring out when watching games with Kate and the kids. You’ve spent a lot of time over the years either playing or watching football matches – what is your go-to snack when at the match and go-to snack at home? When you’re playing football, it’s really important to keep up your energy levels throughout the match, so high-carb meals such as pasta and chicken were always my go to
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