The Cheltenham Festival, which begins later, draws hundreds of thousands of punters from across the UK and beyond, but organisers are increasingly making a point of championing food grown closer to the course.
Some 48,000 meals will be served during the National Hunt Festival, which will finish with Gold Cup day on Friday.
The Jockey Club’s regional executive chef, Warren O’Connor, has had the ingredients for all of the starters, mains and desserts under orders for months, offering an economic boost to Gloucestershire’s food suppliers.
From trout smoked in the Forest of Dean, wild venison from the Cotswolds to sourdough and pastries baked in Cheltenham, many local ingredients are used across the racecourse
But its in the £1,400 a head ‘480 restaurant’ which serves food sourced within 480 furlongs (60 miles) of the racecourse that local produce comes to the fore.
“This day and age people want to see where their food comes from,” said O’Connor.
“I find local suppliers put more of their passion into it than if its mass produced.”
