The Canaries may not be hot stuff on the pitch at the moment - but off the field they are cooking up a real storm after the Carrow Road food was voted the third best in Europe.

The Canaries may not be hot stuff on the pitch at the moment - but off the field they are cooking up a real storm after the Carrow Road food was voted the third best in Europe.

It would appear the club's catering staff have been borrowing a few tips from joint majority shareholder and celebrity chef Delia Smith after its food was deemed behind only Arsenal and Barcelona in a survey of 1,000 fans.

Gary Jones, senior bars and kiosk manager at Norwich City, said: “We are delighted to be up amongst some of Europe's top clubs for the food we serve to our fans at Carrow Road.

“The quality of our food at an affordable price is our priority, whether that's Cornish pasties and steak and kidney pies to our range of healthy options including organic smoothies and fresh fruit.”

It is a far cry from seven years ago when supporters said the Carrow Road grub was far from upper crust. In 2000 City fan and steward Mark Sullivan told Ms Smith the pies were the worst he had ever tasted.

That prompted her to switch pie suppliers to Lancashire-based Holland's, who still provide the match day pies.

Sausage rolls are provided by Norwich based bakers Linzers - to specifications set out by Delia herself, while a variety of other local suppliers provide the rest of the food.

For the home match against Ipswich last month the club cooked 4,600 pies, pasties and hot dogs for hungry supporters.

Just below Norwich in the survey by property consultants Drivers Jonas was Scottish club Kilmarnock, home of the award winning “Killie Pie”, with Wigan fifth among Europe's culinary giants.

Carrow Road failed to make it into any of the other categories though. Manchester United's Old Trafford ground was voted Europe's best football stadium, while Anfield, home of Liverpool, was deemed to boast the best atmosphere of any European club.

Geoff Aucock, partner at Drivers Jonas and head of the company's sports division, said: “The study clearly shows that fans' enjoyment is not just measured in terms of the quality of the football, it's about the whole match-day experience. Fans appreciate good stadia facilities, ease of access and most of all, a fantastic atmosphere.”

How highly do you rate the food at Carrow Road? Write to Evening News Letters, Prospect House, Rouen Road, Norwich, NR1 1RE, email eveningnewsletters@archant.co.uk