S P EC I A L I STD I N I N G

S P EC I A L I ST M E N U S We have always catered for a range of dietary requirements, whether a racegoer enjoying one of our Fine Dining restaurants or a guest attending a business or private social event. Since the changes in allergen regulations in 2014, it’s been more important than ever that we cater for all dietary requirements, while maintaining the standards expected of Ascot’s food and drink offering. From gluten free and vegetarian to dairy free and vegan, we are used to accommodating a range of needs while still giving the ‘Ascot experience’ – it’s important that we don’t alienate guests by giving them food that isn’t of a similar standard to the food served in our restaurants on a raceday.

Ascot’s commitment to providing the best possible dining experience

extends on a year-round basis to encompass all racedays, non-raceday

events and dietary requirements.

by Jonathan Parker Director of Food & Beverage, Ascot Racecourse

We cater to all and any dietary requirements. Sodexo is the catering partner at Ascot Racecourse and has been for 13 years, although this joint venture was rebranded ‘1711 by Ascot’ in 2016 to reflect this long-term relationship. Having overseen the food and drink operations of the racecourse for well over a decade, and with a 70 person F&B team on-site, we’re able to respond to and navigate changes in consumer demand quickly and smoothly.

Our highly skilled chefs prepare every dish in our main central production kitchen beneath the quarter-mile Grandstand, so we control all ingredients coming on to the premises and every dish going out to our 15 restaurants and 200+ Private Boxes.

We do however source our kosher menus externally but work with providers that meet our high standards and complement our in-house offering when served side-by-side.

We ask clients for dietary requirements in advance to make the customer experience as smooth as possible on the day, but we also appreciate this isn’t always possible so will always accommodate specific requirements on the day. The benefit of having an on-site team and so many food outlets across the venue means that we have the resource and ingredients on-hand if a bespoke dish needs to be prepared at short notice.

D I E TA RY R EQ U I R E M E N T S

C O N S I ST E N T LY R E F L EC T I N G T H E A S C OT B R A N DAside from things like our new plant-based menu and offering vegan wines on our wine lists, we are also keen to raise the bar across everything we do whether it’s for a raceday diner or a delegate. We have just launched a brand-new Day Delegate Rate (DDR) menu for our Conference & Events clients that takes elements of our Fine Dining offering and makes them work for an event. We want everyone coming to the racecourse for an event to have an elevated dining experience that we deliver on a raceday – daily delegates shouldn’t miss out on this.

The new menu offers a wide range of finger items and small plates – a bit like a mezze or tapas – so that people can try lots of different dishes. Food envy is never a good feeling after all! Dishes include a lamb niçoise with pulled shoulder, pomme Parisienne, fine beans, tomato emulsion and tapenade jus, scorched mackerel, pickled slaw, spiced cucumber consommé and crisp fennel shards, and a deconstructed vegan wellington of wild mushroom duxelle, pastry tuile, charred shallot and herb oil.

We still have a range of sandwiches and side dishes on the menu, but we want to excite people with food and you don’t always get that from a normal DDR menu.

We have seen an increase over the past few years, particularly with dietary choices, such as vegetarian and vegan, rather than allergies. Allergy-specific requirements are and always have been an important part of the service we offer – there is no room for error so it’s imperative we treat them as such from the moment of booking to service delivery on the day.

When it comes to dietary requirements that are not driven by an allergy, this is where we’ve seen a significant increase. As more people adopt lifestyle changes for health reasons and general wellbeing, it’s increasingly important that operators respond to these changes, whether they are driven by moral or medical reasons. The rise in veganism and people choosing to eat gluten free – rather than coeliac sufferers where it is not an option – has driven a consumer demand for menus that are

To discuss dietary requirements and special menus please contact us as follows:

RACEDAY FINE DINING: Call 0344 346 3000 or email hospitality@ascot.co.uk

EVENTS AT ASCOT: Call 0344 346 3611 or email events@ascot.co.uk

tailored for those specific needs. And it’s not simply a case of having a standard salad offering or another stuffed pepper dish that has haunted many vegetarian and vegan diners for years.

This change has driven us to develop a purely plant-based Fine Dining menu for Royal Ascot, one like our award-winning food but offers diners with certain dietary requirements the same exceptional experience as everyone else on their table – no one wants to feel left out, especially when enjoying an occasion like the Royal Meeting! From vegan nettle pesto and soured cream made from fermented cashew nuts to meringues made using chick pea water it’s really very clever how the menu is packed full of flavour and incredible skill but without compromising our service for those with a specific requirement.

A L L E R G I E S O R D I E TA RY C H O I C E S?