Dining at racecourses can be a bit of a hit and miss affair, and is a very difficult thing to get right. Over the years I’ve eaten in many different courses, and at many different levels – from the sandwich stalls to lobster, and everything in between. For the last couple of years we’ve used the Parade Ring restaurant at Ascot, and I continue to be impressed by their commitment to innovate, titivate, and more importantly facilitate dining between races. This is much harder than it sounds, and the task falls to the in-house management team and to Sodexo, who are the main caterer at Ascot.
During Royal Ascot the restaurant serves 200 customers several courses between the arrival of the Queen, five sets of parade ring viewings, race and presentations – it’s an incredible feat. The food has to be as fresh as possible, and yet be easy to deliver in a consistent format to the customer. Things aren’t always perfect at the beginning of the week, but by the end of the week the standard is incredible, and you can see the development of the dish along the way, as things are tweaked, refined and improved.
There are many excellent restaurants at Ascot, but if you fancy a treat, book yourself into the Parade Ring, and let the staff pamper you!
Royal Ascot June 2012
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Canapés: salmon with roe, sour cream and ?,
quails egg with celery salt, a cornet of beef with parmesan and horseradish
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| Chilled garden pea, buttermilk, and snow pea velouté, serrano ham, and mint flowers |
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| “Hot Shells”: Roasted crevettes, parlourde and razor clams, mussels and queen scallops, marsh samphire and cream fish reduction |
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| Seared foie gras, asparagus gelée, fleur de sel, extra virgin olive oil, black truffle juice |
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| Heirloom tomato and basil salad, mozzarella ice-cream, tomato and lemon thyme tea |
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| Scallop ceviche, asparagus, samphire, tarragon and crab salad, tangerine vinaigrette |
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| Roast fillet of Angus beef with foie gras, port and red wine braised shallots, wild mushroom tortellini, summer vegetables and bordelaise sauce |
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| Poached lobster, crushed Jersey royal potato salad, pink grapefruit and English asparagus |
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Frais de bois vacherin, lemon and basil parfait, strawberry gelée,
French meringue tears, strawberry sorbet, edible flowers
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