Gearing up for Durban’s biggest racing day
More than 50 000 people are expected to converge at Greyville Racecourse on Saturday.
The perks for the VIP and VVIP guests include foot spas, massages, hair and make-up touch-up stations and photo booths.
One luxurious marquee on the golf course will have almost 1 000 staff to attend to guests – with a waitron per table.
Guests can watch the races on plasma television sets from their marquees.
Another popular hospitality marquee boasts almost 100m of fully-stocked bars, while others offer private viewing balconies.
The Marquee Village will have three double-decker marquees – the biggest event hospitality village on the African continent.
Regular racegoers can enjoy the “July Fever” alongside the track, in the grandstands or tucking into a full lunch or buffet meal at Gold Circle’s sit-down venues.
From tomorrow (Thursday), 40 chefs will prepare over 15 000 meals for the big day.
Their working times will amp up on Friday with an 11hour work day, and they will be up at 1am on race day to ensure all the meals are ready and perfectly prepped.
A steady stream of 390 waiters and barmen will serve up 17 000 bottles of beer, 2 500 bottles of spirits and 900 bottles of wine to thirsty patrons.
The catering manager has also ordered an additional 80 litres of orange juice, as well as 450 litres of milk to accompany the countless cups of coffee and tea.
A culinary highlight for many, 8 000 delicious portions of curry and rice are cooked, made up of 2 200kg of red meat, 750kg of chicken, 280kg of prawns and 300kg of crayfish. There will also be 2 600 pieces of sushi and 1 200 oysters.
The kitchen will also serve up 2 500 pies, 2 000 hamburgers and 350 litres of ice cream for dessert.
Gold Circle has ordered 7 000 bread rolls, 80kg of butter, 100 dozen eggs, 150kg of mushrooms, 120 pockets of potatoes, 280kg of cheese, 20 pockets of sugar, and 550kg of steaming rice And this is just for the facilities that fall directly under Greyville Racecourse.
Bon appetit!