Bollinger teams up with top chefs for Royal Ascot

Champagne Bollinger, the official Champagne of Royal Ascot, is collaborating with two of the UK’s top Michelin-starred chefs, Raymond Blanc and Phil Howard, throughout their residencies at Royal Ascot 2017.

(L-R) Chefs Phil Howard and Raymond Blanc.

Since Ascot Racecourse was founded in 1711, Champagne Bollinger has been the only ‘official’ Champagne poured at the event.

The holder of a Royal Warrant since 1884, Bollinger was served to Queen Victoria in the Royal Enclosure at Royal Ascot – a space that was then exclusively reserved for the Royal Family and their guests.Today, the Royal Enclosure is open to visiting guests, with Bollinger still served in accordance with tradition, as well as in the Bollinger bars central to the Royal Enclosure Gardens.

This year, chef Raymond Blanc OBE will return to Royal Ascot’s Panoramic restaurant – a sixth-floor Royal Enclosure venue with uninterrupted views over the track from a private balcony – to host a four-course fine dining experience, served alongside Bollinger.

Chef Phil Howard will return to host its On5 restaurant, located on the fifth floor of the Grandstand, offering a four-course menu with Champagne Bollinger on arrival and a complimentary bar throughout the day.

For 17 years, Phil held two Michelin stars at his co-owned restaurant, The Square, and recently opened Elystan Street in Chelsea with the aim of offering cleaner, lighter dishes to diners.

“Our association as Official Champagne of Royal Ascot allows us to activate the consumer facing side of the brand, aligning to the most prestigious of all events in the British social calendar,” said Victoria Carfantan, director of Champagne Bollinger UK. “The fine dining collaboration lets us speak authoritatively about the wine values of Bollinger, which is at the heart of all we do. The sponsorship of Royal Ascot crosses over into these two very different worlds in the perfect way.”

She added: “As a fine wine, Bollinger pairs wonderfully with savoury dishes and through the association with Raymond Blanc and Phil Howard during their Royal Ascot residencies, we hope to banish the taboo of drinking Champagne throughout the meal. A perfect Royal Ascot pairing comes in the form of Bollinger Special Cuvée with Raymond Blanc’s crab dish with aromatics of coconut, passion fruit and lime, Special Cuvée can both withstand and complement these delicious exotic flavours.”

This isn’t the first sporting event that Bollinger has an affiliation with. Last year it renewed its partnership with the Rugby Football Union (RFU), as the official Champagne of England Rugby, for another four years.

Royal Ascot 2017 will take place from the 21-24 June.