Five ways to host the perfect Spring Racing carparks party

While Melbourne’s Spring Racing Carnival might be the horse race that stops a nation, it’s also four huge days of food, fashion and free-flowing Champagne that has the potential to bring even the most seasoned event host to their knees – which is where our team comes in.

Peter Rowland has become synonymous with the Melbourne Cup Carnival, and our legendary hospitality can be found across multiple locations at Flemington Racecourse during the biggest event on Australia’s racing calendar.

This year, to make life easier for party hosts in the Flemington carparks we’re offering a wide selection of catering and styling options to help make your day a breeze. Not sure where to start? Relax, we’ve come up with our top five tips to help pull off the ultimate carpark gathering with effortless elegance.

1) Fabulous food

Step one: tailor your menu to your guests and the style of your event. Step two: leave the rest to us. Peter Rowland provides a wide range of menu options, from brunch and high tea hampers to lavish picnics and fully serviced BBQs to ensure you have the right food for your crowd. Whether you’re hosting a corporate crowd on Cup Day, catering for families on Stakes Day or celebrating with your girlfriends for Oaks we can style a menu to fit the bill.

2) Keep it fresh

Our Group Executive Chef Matthew Haigh’s mantra for car park food is: “Simple, seasonal, inspired.” Matthew explains: “On a practical level, you need food that is easy to manage, ideally something you can hold in one hand.” He also suggests mixing in some contemporary options alongside the classic Peter Rowland chicken sandwich. But most importantly, he says,“Keep everything fresh – race days are long and the carparks can get hot.”

3) Hassle-free tipples

Bubbles and racing go hand in hand, so save on fuss and keep the good times flowing with one of our beverage packages. Race day is an all-day event and our beverage packages have been curated to ensure that your guests have a range of sparkling wine, local wines, beer and soft drinks to take them from brunch to sunset. And with glassware and ice included, it makes it easy for you to provide a full bar from your car.

4) Style your space

Keen to really step it up for your guests this year? Create an oasis that sets the mood, wows your guests and inspires the envy of passers-by with one of our carparks styling packages. Forget packing your fold-up chairs; not only can Peter Rowland provide stylish furniture, fixtures and florals, our experienced event managers will help style your event, with a range of contemporary themes to suit every taste.

5) At your service

When you’ve gone all out to look a million dollars and welcome the perfect guest list the last thing you want to do is rush around and get flustered on the day. Hiring our experienced hospitality staff means that you can relax and enjoy hosting while they ensure that the drinks are flowing, catering is served, and your guests’ needs are taken care of. And the best part? Our staff can also take care of packing everything up at the end of the day. Makes perfect sense, no?