Jockey Club Catering is set to cater for the 125,000 race-goers who are expected to flock to the Investec Derby Festival, at Epsom Racecourse between 1-2 June 2018.
This year Jockey Club Catering’s operations are as big as ever, with a great team of food and drink colleagues, recruited from the local area and given over 5,000 hours of training, helping deliver the world class annual event.
A team of 120 chefs will help prepare the show-stopping menus that focus on seasonal and regional ingredients, delivering over 6,000 fine-dining hospitality lunches, as well as 3,500 freshly prepared best of British afternoon teas.
In the Grandstand Enclosure, the team has created a street-food market offering all the favourites, from traditional fish & chips to a hog roast, or a Cornish pasty, all made using top quality ingredients.
New for 2018 is an elegant MOET Champagne Terrace, which has two racing-level bars and unbeatable views over the final furlong from the viewing terrace above. It offers guests an area to enjoy a bottle of Champagne in and soak up the electric atmosphere as the horses race past to the winning post.
The Hyperion Lawn, at the Parade Ring, has a new Rum Runner airstream, offering an array of bespoke drinks created by expert mixologists, to the backdrop of celebrity DJ sets including Vogue Williams and Jo Whiley.
The scale of the event will also see Jockey Club Catering serve (an estimated):
•500kg of British beef sourced from Surrey Farm
•1,200 best of British cheese boards
•4,000 handmade race horse shaped biscuits to be served with afternoon tea
•2,500 handmade macaroons
•New 40-metre long bar, Lookout Bar, serving a selection of drinks
Nick Campbell, Managing Director at Jockey Club Catering, commented: “The Epsom Investec Derby Festival is one of the highlights in the UK’s sporting calendar. We have sourced the best local suppliers and talent at Epsom Racecourse to make sure we deliver an exceptional culinary offering that makes a visit to Epsom a great day out for all our guests.”
This year, Jockey Club Catering will be racing to raise over £5,000 for local charity partner The Children’s Trust, a leading charity for children with brain injuries.
Jockey Club Catering is a joint venture between The Jockey Club, the largest commercial group in British racing, and Compass Group UK & Ireland. The partnership was launched in 2009 with the aim of providing premium quality catering at all 15 of The Jockey Club Racecourses.