Cooking up a storm with Adam Webster

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The defender's passion off the pitch is in the kitchen.

Matt Bishop

2025-06-14T06:00+01:00

Sun Harvest AUDIO 2.00 03 02 06.Still001

When Adam Webster's not at the heart of the Albion’s defence, he’s turning up the heat in his kitchen.

The 30-year-old from West Wittering has a passion for cooking. He loves football, he lives and breathes the game – the centre-back is even an avid Fantasy Premier League player, although he refuses to pick himself – but away from the pitch, his way to relax is rustling up a risotto or cooking a katsu curry.

“I am a foodie and love trying new things,” said Webster, who made his 150th Albion appearance for the club in February’s 4-0 win against Southampton. “It’s a way of switching off. It takes my mind away from football when I need that, and it’s something I just really enjoy.”

Webster is yet to cook for his teammates – “they can’t be bothered making the trip to Chichester!” – but Alex Burrows, aka Buzz, the club’s kit manager has been round and Adam’s young family are treated to his culinary skills every evening.

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“I do a great steak – there’s a couple of top local butchers in my area – but I love a nice risotto too or some good pasta. Katsu curry is my new thing, which I’ve tried out on my family, and that’s had some very decent reviews as well.”

Adam’s passion for cooking has gone so far that even his wife, Mel, got him a camera tripod and some lights to kick-start a cooking channel on Instagram. Adam Chefster or ChefWebby have been mooted as potential usernames.

“I’m not too sure about it,” joked Adam. “I got all the gear for Christmas and Mel filmed me cooking a curry, but I still haven’t been brave enough to do a voiceover! I had my thumb operated on earlier this season, so holding the mic was a bit of an issue as well!”

Albion’s travels abroad in recent years have also aided Adam’s appetite for food. The Summer Series in America two years ago took the squad to Philadelphia and New York, while last season’s pre-season trip to Tokyo was a chance to try new dishes.

Adam and Solly took the opportunity to enjoy some culinary delights during our pre-season trip to America in 2023. 📷 by Paul Hazlewood.

“Some of the sushi in Japan was amazing and I treated myself to some new kitchen knives as well, some really traditional ones,” said Adam. “We tried loads of weird sweets too and Will (the club’s executive performance chef) went to the oldest fish market in the city, which looked unreal.”

“America was amazing as well. Solly is like me, he loves his food, so as soon as we landed in Philly we went for a cheese steak sandwich – I could only manage half though with our game the next day. Everyone always says it, but the portions were genuinely massive!

“You should have felt how heavy it was. And so thick. I was fuming I could only eat half, but we had Chelsea about 12 hours later!

“And then in New York, me and Sol walked for miles. We’d done some planning and had a little checklist of places to tick off. We saw the sights and ate loads.

Adam's homemade steak.

“In the end, we had about ten of the other lads just following us around on our little tour. It was absolutely boiling, we were in the blazing heat and all sweating, and they didn’t even know where we were going. When we finally got to the last place, they were fuming! They were like ‘what are we doing here?!’ but me and Sol just wanted to try this famous deli. That was their fault, we never even invited them!”

Back on these shores and back to football, Adam enjoyed some of his best form in an Albion shirt during the 2024/25 season. He says it’s the most consistent he’s been since 2022, and he’s relished giving something back to those who have stuck with him. “Recently I have felt like I have needed to prove myself a bit because, I’m just going to say it… I felt written off by some people on the outside. It’s been nice to get back into the team after injury and show I can still be an asset to the squad.

“Everyone within the club has been great with me – the manager, my teammates, staff, everyone. They have stuck with me through my tough moments, so it’s been nice to repay them. The vast majority of fans have been great with me too. I have maybe let the negativity affect me a bit too much at times, especially earlier on this season, but it’s been nice to get back to where I felt I was a couple of years ago. I just want to keep working hard and help my teammates as much as I can.”

Adam’s relationship with his teammates is as strong as ever. He is part of Fabian Hurzeler’s leadership group, has captained the club in Lewis Dunk’s absence and, behind-the-scenes, is one of the most popular people at the club.

Adam Webster made 14 Premier League appearances during the 2024/25 season, in which Albion only lost two games. 📷 by Paul Hazlewood.

“Last summer, we lost some experienced players and got a new manager. I’ve always been a big talker and have taken leadership in my stride,” said Adam. “We have a lot of young players, and I am always happy chatting to them. I want to be there for them, giving them some advice or helping in any way. That’s something I love. It’s part of my role I really enjoy, to help the boys and the club.”

That role as a leader has developed since Adam joined the club in 2019 – a length of time at the Albion the defender “‘would have snapped your hand off for six years ago! I remember joining like it was yesterday. It was a stressful time, but I was so happy to get the move done and I now love the fact I’ve been here so long.”

Adam’s grateful to Tony Bloom and the board for helping that happen. “Everything is run so smoothly; it helps us massively on the pitch” – but he’s not sure he ever imagined being here for over half a decade. “I don’t think you ever think that far ahead in football. I’m just so grateful that I have been able to make it happen. I have appreciated that a lot this year, definitely. There have been ups and downs, but I love playing for this club.”

It’s a very different club to the one Adam joined on that day in August six years ago, one that was entering a new era – ‘Webby’ was the third signing of Graham Potter’s tenure – but relegation battles and European campaigns are all part of the journey. “When I came in, we’d just avoided the drop – but since then, we have kicked on again and again. I’ve played my part in that and that’s something I’m proud of. Those experiences have got us to where we are currently."