WUERZBURG, June 7: Soccer fanatics not content with just watching every match should head to Wuerzburg for the ultimate World Cup culinary experience.

From English fish and chips to Saudi Arabian lamb curry, the student cafeterias in the central German city are serving up dishes from all the 32 countries taking part in the four-week long event.

Meatballs on ginger noodles from Ghana, whose team are based in Wuerzburg, were dished up last month. Spicy Ecuadorean fish steaks will end the culinary tour on July 7, two days before the World Cup final.

Chicken nuggets, representing the US, Costa Rican burritos and kangaroo ragout for Australia are among the dishes coming up.

“We were wondering what we could do to mark the World Cup,” said Armin Gersitz, head of one of the refectories. “It's been a huge effort, but great too. Cooking is of course an art.”

Gersitz said European dishes had been relatively easy to produce, but tracking down recipes from some of the five African nations had proven difficult.

“We ended up getting them from students,” he said.

Wuerzburg has some 25,000 students.

Any plans to repeat the World Cup winners' dish after the final on July 9?

“No, I think we'll have done enough by then. We'll revert to more regular meals,” he said.—Reuters