Julen Lopetegui served up Premier League survival in his first season at Wolves.
Now he wants to know what ingredients he can work with next term as he aims to put more ambitious dishes on the Molineux menu.
After arriving in November with Wolves bottom of the top-flight , a 13th finish was tasty for fans despite a couple of unappetising heavy away defeats after safety was secured, including 5-0 at Arsenal on Sunday. The Spaniard is hungry to compete higher up the table after opening up on his passion for football and food over a glass of smooth red wine at Wolves’ training ground.
Football wasn’t in his blood but food and sport were after growing up in his family restaurant in Spain where he often had to work the grill as a teenager.
It was demanding, hot work in his hometown of Asteasu in the Basque country up north. Lopetegui once even had a week’s pay docked when he burnt dozens of steaks after nipping outside for a kick around with pals. But he learned to cope with the heat in the kitchen and he has also thrived in the pressure cooker of the Premier League.
Former goalkeeper Lopetegui, who now has a restaurant of his own in Madrid, smiled: “I was the black sheep of the family, it is true , I always dreamed I can become a player. My family owned a restaurant and me, my father, my mother, all my brothers, my aunty, all of us worked in the restaurant at different times.
"We worked in the family business and, if you wanted to go and play football, first you had to finish your homework - not school work - in the restaurant. My favourite memory was managing the grill. I love to grill, believe me I am a master. But I remember one day the restaurant was full of people so we had maybe 25 steaks grilling over the flames.
"A friend of mine came with a ball. My job was to attend the flames on the grill, that was my only job. So I'm looking after the fire and saying: ‘it will be ok’. For a few seconds, I'll play football, but it was more like 10 minutes and the steaks all went on fire! It was the equivalent of one week's wages - all gone. It was my fault , can you imagine?”
HAVE YOUR SAY: Rate Lopetegui's first season as Wolves manager in the comments below.
But the incident did not put Lopetegui off his love of food which he reckons is biggest indulgence off the pitch. He added: "I like a lot of different food. I prefer to spend my money on good meat rather than good clothes or a good car.
“The Basque country is the part of the world which has more Michelin stars per square kilometre than anywhere else in the world. I know them all. One of them, Martin Berasategui, has twelve Michelin stars - he was my friend at school.”
Despite his affable nature, assisted by his decent self-taught English, there is a steel to Lopetegui too. Just ask Nottingham Forest after stormy clashes in both the top-flight and Carabao Cup saw the clubs fined.
Lopetegui, who represented Barcelona under Johan Cruyff and Louis van Gaal, admitted: “Sometimes when I see myself I don't like me. I think: ‘he is crazy, he is mad’. But the next match I am the same, sorry, it is me.
"Each person has their character and mine is more or less like this. I try to be honest and direct with the players and don't ever lie. All these codes in the dressing room are important. I was a player and the worst thing as a player was if anyone lied to me. I prefer to be honest.”
Lopetegui has “forbidden” his son from following him into management however. Daniel Lopetegui, who is studying in London, is instead an analyst assisting Wolves' sporting director Matt Hobbs.
His daughter is a keen pianist who introduced her father to the instrument too. Lopetegui said: “When I want to be alone I like to play piano.”
Wolves fans now just hope Lopetegui will continue to hit the right notes next season despite concerns over Ruben Neves’ likely sale and their spending power for next term amid Financial Fair Play issues.
