About Us

Totally Wonderfuel is the brainchild of me, Mel Varvel, a keen endurance athlete and baker with a passion for natural nutrition.

I started competing in triathlon over a decade ago but over the years found myself increasingly frustrated (and hungry) with both the range and quality- or lack- of food and drink available at competitions, sportives and pretty much every mass participation event I attended.

To be fair, there is ALWAYS a burger van. On the face of it, there's nothing wrong with a good burger or a few streaky rashers sandwiched between slices of thick white, of course…in moderation…unless you're vegetarian or vegan. But I couldn't help but think that there must be room at sports events for more honest, wholesome, healthy, nutritious and delicious offerings designed for athletes (and their loved ones) by an athlete (all be it an aging one)...and I know I'm not alone.

My interest in baking was initially borne out of a desire to appease my significant other who was left at home, often for hours (days) on end waiting for me to come back from training or racing. 'Why?' was the question. Cake was the answer! But I also had a selfish interest in exercising my baking habit. After years of struggling with sugary gels and bars I started experimenting with real food and natural performance enhancers like beetroot (who knew) and caffeine. Placating baking became performance baking.

In May 2015 and I took a once in a lifetime opportunity to apply my experience as a frustrated, often hungry competitor and baker by taking voluntary redundancy from a career in the NHS and spending my redundancy money on a shiny silver retro catering trailer (affectionately known as 'The Rocket'). My cunning plan was to poach punters from the ubiquitous burger/ bacon butty van at sports events by providing an altogether more healthful, more delectable, more felicitous offering. In a nutshell, Totally Wonderfuel aimed to make race day food one less thing for athletes to worry about.

Fast forward to Spring 2022 (going straight past Covid....without collecting £200), weary from years of early starts and delighting athletes in muddy fields, we've launched our rocket straight into a new venture, outside the fabulous Boost Bike Hub in the heart of the New Forest. Same great coffee, same wonderfuel, new beginning. Look forward to seeing you there :-)

Mel