Ascot Sweep Up At National Racecourse Catering Awards

The Sodexo Prestige Team at Ascot Racecourse took home an incredible four awards on Friday 19 October at the 2012 National Racecourse Catering Awards. The ceremony welcomed the crème de la crème of the racecourse catering industry through the doors of Cheltenham Racecourse for a delectable buffet lunch and an afternoon’s racing.

The catering at Ascot Racecourse is run by Sodexo Prestige, the UK's largest event caterer and provider of corporate hospitality packages, which also manages Ascot’s conference offering.

The Ascot team were acknowledged not only for their high quality and innovative cuisine but for delivering numerous high class dining experiences. Categories in which Ascot were successful were; Best Fine Dining Experience for Ascot’s Parade Ring Restaurant, Best New Catering Product for Guilty Cocktails, a certificate of Merit for Best New Catering Concept at the Greenyard Grill and the highly acclaimed Catering Excellence Award.

Sweeping the board with these four well-earned accolades, Ascot Racecourse executive chef, Steve Golding, couldn’t have been prouder of the recognition for his team’s hard work and creativity, commenting;
“It is a huge honour to receive these awards and for the team at Ascot to be credited for their dedication and hard work over the past year. We are always looking for new, innovative ways to improve our menus, service and overall dining experience and taking home these awards is a great boost for all of us involved – bring on next year!”

Ascot’s most exclusive restaurant and winner of the Fine Dining Experience category, the Parade Ring Restaurant, is situated at the centre of the Grandstand with outstanding views over the Parade Ring and Winner’s Enclosure, along with trackside viewing adjacent to the Royal Box. Steve Golding’s á la carte menus of signature dishes are accompanied by the finest wines to provide guests with a day of world class sporting hospitality.

The ever popular casual dining experience at the Greenyard Grill won the Best New Catering Concept; clearly signifying the appeal of a more relaxed option to go alongside the wide variety of fine dining services available at Ascot. The Greenyard Grill offers each party their very own BBQ table at which to grill a selection of dishes including British free range sirloin beef, line caught tuna and dived scallops accompanied by a selection of salads and side orders.

Winning the highly sought after Catering Excellence Award finished what had been a highly successful day for Sodexo Prestige and Ascot Racecourse. Managing director for Sodexo Prestige England and Wales, David Johnson said: “It is a fantastic honour for Ascot Hospitality which is operated by Sodexo Prestige and the team at Ascot Racecourse to be commended for their hard work throughout the year. We are proud to provide Ascot with a consistently high standard of food and service, which we deliver in line with our strong sustainability ethos. I’m sure the team’s willingness to innovate and improve will maintain Ascot Racecourse’s position at the forefront of the UK’s sporting hospitality scene in the years to come.”