Sport No ordinary race meat: Ascot’s vegan revolution
Forget the foie gras – this year’s menus are all about plants, writes Alan Tyers
What would you consider an archetypal high-end English summer lunch, of the sort the discerning racegoer might enjoy at Royal Ascot? Smoked salmon, something prawny or a pate to start? Then chicken, maybe trout? Followed by cheese or perhaps a fool or a mess (depending on frequency of visits to the betting window or encouraging nods to the waiter bearing the Chablis)?
All of those options will be available on the lawns and in the tents of Berkshire this week, but they will be joined on the plates of the lunching punters by a new menu focusing on plant-based dishes. For the winds of change are blowing through Royal Ascot, with all the on-site restaurants determined to give those of a herbivorous persuasion a wide array of options.
Raymond Blanc – a man so exquisitely, unimprovably French to the English eye that, had he not been born in Besancon on Nov 19 1949 it would have been necessary to invent him – leads the way. Monsieur Blanc has been feeding the British for five decades now, and knows
better than almost anyone how to keep the mutually sustaining flow of French food and British cash going to the satisfaction of both parties.
“Today, there is a true realisation that we must change the way we eat,” he said. “Vegetarianism and veganism is not a trend, but an important change based on knowledge and awareness that we, be it chefs, home cooks and retailers alike, must embrace.”
Blanc is delighted to be doing this at the Panoramic Restaurant. “I fell in love with Royal Ascot the moment I stepped on to the racecourse,” he said. “It is a British institution and the standards are exceptionally high, which makes it such a special event. My work is to add a little bit more magic, great food and French art de vivre. Royal Ascot gives you the best stage to celebrate.”
Jonathan Parker, the course’s director of food and beverage, said of this year’s direction: “It is a natural progression, looking at what society is doing and what people like to eat.” He explained that chefs-in-residence, including Phil Howard, Simon Rogan and Ollie Dabbous, will be whipping up plant-based plates in their oncourse restaurants. Sarmado Sibley, raw food guru, will offer menus at eight further locations at Royal Ascot. One promising dish sounds to be the “salt-baked celeriac and potato cake, gratin potato, heritage carrots, crispy kale and red wine jus”, trained by Aidan O’brien and ridden by Frankie Dettori.
All encouraging news for those of a vegan persuasion? Not for Dominika Piasecka, spokesperson for the Vegan Society. She said: “Offering more vegan meals can only be a positive thing and even though no vegan would attend horse racing, plant-based food is a healthy option for everyone who wants to eat better. However, horse racing is a romanticised industry that on the surface may seem a harmless sport, but it’s cruel and exploitative.”
While readers of this bit of the newspaper might not share that point of view, there is perhaps something worth reflecting on in the quirk of cheering on one animal while yumming up another.
But not this year: until such time as those clever pickpockets at the turf accountants can get us wagering on which bit of asparagus is growing the fastest, the chance to enjoy plant-based food in lovely surroundings, entirely guilt-free, seems like a decent bet.