The Diary

The Gentleman’s Journal x Royal Ascot Lunch

Gentleman's Journal, in association with Billecart-Salmon and Huntsman, host the inaugural Royal Ascot Lunch

Words: Gentleman's Journal

There are long lunches and then there are long lunches. This one spanned many dimensions at once. Sprawled across four spaces down in Carpark Number 1 (we are still uncertain if there are other carparks), the Gentleman’s Journal Royal Ascot Lunch was a celebration for the ages: a jolly coming together of friends and racing aficionados under Berkshire’s frankly Saharan sun — and all supremely designed and executed by Studio White, the first name in party planning.

Out from two handsome restored Kingsley Land Rovers emerged a succession of vast, beading magnums of Rock Angel rosé and Billecart-Salmon champagne — the ideal refreshments for the morning-suited masses, many of whom had slipped a surreptitious ice cube under their top hats to survive the swelter. (Other coolants were available, of course: ‘Schooner Scorer’ Alex Hendy opted for a demi of cold Moretti.) The wines were expertly paired with some nifty Gentleman’s Journal-branded tins of caviar, served on good blinis and bolstered with excellent smoked salmon and cold, rare roast beef. This carried guests — including George and Camilla Blandford, Mathias le Fèvre, Daniel Fletcher, Archie Rutland, Perry Pearson, Tom Lucy, Margaux Lichine and David and Jemima Tollemache — amply through to the Royal Enclosure and its confetti of lost betting slips, before they headed back to the encampment for scones, tea and a splash more champagne. Important to stay hydrated out there, you see.