While the well-heeled punters soak up the opulence of their luxurious suites and marquees, plenty of regular racegoers will enjoy ‘July Fever’ alongside the track or in the grandstands, or while munching on a full lunch or a buffet meal at Greyville’s various sit-down venues on Saturday.
Over 50 000 people are expected on course.
From Thursday onwards 40 chefs will be carefully preparing 15 000 meals for the big day.
Their work ethic amps up on the Friday with an 11 hour work day, and then they’re up at 1am on race day to ensure all meals are ready and prepped for the thousands of feet passing through their restaurant doors and other food outlets.
A steady stream of 390 waiters and barmen serve up 17 000 bottles of beer, 256 000 containers of minerals, 2 500 bottles of spirits and 900 bottles of wine to thirsty patrons.
The catering manager also orders an additional 80 litres of orange juice as well as 450 litres of milk to accompany the countless cups of coffee and tea to serve up to the thirsty guests.
A definite culinary highlight for many, 8 000 delicious portions of curry and rice are lovingly cooked for the hungry guests and are made up of 2 200kg of meat, 750kg of chicken, 280kg of prawns and 300kg of crayfish.
A horseracing event in a coastal town wouldn’t be complete without some delectable seafood, the 2 600 delicate pieces of sushi and 1 200 oysters going down a treat.
For those diners looking for something a little more familiar on their plates the hardworking kitchen also serves up 2 500 pies, 2 000 hamburgers and 350 litres of ice cream for dessert.
And all those extras required to complement the mouth-watering meals, 7 000 bread rolls, 80kg of butter, 100 dozen eggs, 150kg of mushrooms, 120 pockets of potatoes and 280kg of cheese, 20 pockets of sugar, and 550kg of steaming rice are ordered in – and this is just for the facilities that fall directly under Greyville Racecourse.
