feature | food
cheltenham | food
Executive chef Tom Parry
a l u n c h t o r e m e m b e r i s a v i ta l pa r t o f t h e r a c i n g e x p e r i e n c e a n d t h e j o c k e y c l u b ’ s r e g i o n a l e x e c u t i v e c h e f t o m pa r r y a n d h i s t e a m a r e d e t e r m i n e d t o s e n d y o u h o m e h a p p y, t h a n k s t o a wa r d - w i n n i n g d i s h e s u s i n g l o c a l s e a s o n a l p r o d u c e J dine with us local and seasonal, come
ust over 30 years ago a nervous yet excited teenager embarked on what has become a life-long culinary adventure. It may be three decades since Tom Parry worked as an apprentice chef at London’s prestigious Savoy Hotel, but his passion for excellence has remained. Today as the Jockey Club’s regional executive chef, based at Cheltenham Racecourse, Tom and his team dish up outstanding award-winning food. It means those expecting first-class racing on the famous Prestbury soil can also expect the same standards served on a plate. And it’s no easy feat for Tom and his chefs during The Festival. Each day his catering team of 3,500 – which includes 350 chefs, 350 managers and 750 students from more than 20 colleges – will serve 42,000 hospitality meals and 8,000 gallons of tea and coffee in the racecourse’s 12 restaurants. These include Champions Walk Restaurant for a more modern style of dining, Chez Roux at Cheltenham, where you can dine with a hero of the culinary world, the Gold Cup Restaurant, the Horseshoe Pavilion Restaurant, the Paddock View Restaurant, The Cheltenham Club and the Panoramic Restaurant, part of the Tattersalls Grandstand, situated on the fifth floor with superb views across the racecourse. Fresh for Cheltenham Festival 2018, Tom aims to set up a new restaurant with a Pan Asian influence – a ground-breaking concept for racecourses.
The catering logistics are mind-boggling – there are 34 temporary kitchens, 75 mobile catering units and five furlongs of temporary bar counters. Yet Tom and his team remain determined and faithful to the cause which is to serve the best local food, create delicious menus and present the dishes so that each plate looks and tastes like a work of art. “We eat with our eyes so it is essential that the plate of food looks good. I also like to include stories on the menus about provenance, to show them where their food
cheese for Cheltenham – five tonnes of cheese are consumed during the four-day event – all of it produced within 50 miles of Cheltenham. Diners also eat five tonnes of salmon, 100 per cent of which is cured or smoked and produced within 50 miles (Severn and Wye & Coln Valley) and is 100 per cent sustainable Scottish salmon. Cheltenham provides its own smoke and has its own recipe. “I believe it is about being ahead of the game, so I keep my eye on current trends and marry them up with the clients we have here at Cheltenham. “I am a people watcher and I like to see how they react to what food we present them with. “On racing days they want good hearty food and whenever possible we use produce from the fields of Evesham and nearby,” added Tom. Last year the racecourse won the Food and Beverage category for providing “outstanding variety of offering,” available in the new Princess Royal Stand in the 2016 RCA Showcase and Awards. “It is about flavour and provenance. For me it is vital that our clients have food satisfaction and have enjoyed what they have eaten, because we feel we have achieved something. “It is important that they go away not only talking about their racing experience but that the food at Cheltenham becomes a talking point too.”
“ Local produce is at the heart of what we do
The Cheltenham Club on the top floor of The Princess Royal Stand
has come from. It shows that we are local and seasonal in our approach,” said Tom, an award-winning chef with more than 20 culinary medals. “Local produce is at the heart of what we do – up to 70 per cent of our fruit and veg is sourced from the UK; 70 per cent of all food is sourced locally.” Tom is currently working with one of the racecourse suppliers to create a Festival
culinary feast
Make even more of your raceday and dine with us. For hospitality and restaurants call 01242 537653
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