‘We’re not going to hold back’: Chris Lucas’ restaurants racing to Flemington for Cup carnival

Between cheering on the racehorses and posing in the Birdcage, punters at Flemington will be able to tuck into dishes like Chin Chin’s beef rendang curry and Society’s spanner crab tagliatelle as high-profile restaurateur Chris Lucas becomes a new Melbourne Cup carnival drawcard.

As well as Chin Chin and Society, food from the Lucas Collective’s Yakimono restaurant will be on offer.

Lucas has inked a deal with the Victoria Racing Club to bring some of his most popular restaurants trackside as the club looks to broaden the appeal of the racing carnival and open up Flemington throughout the year.

VRC chief executive Kylie Rogers said sporting groups needed to deliver more than just sport to attendees.

“It’s sportstaintment now,” she said. “It is about delivering passion points, and sport is one passion, but music is another, and fashion is another, and great food and wine is another. That was our missing link, and I knew the man to go to.”

Rogers said 53 per cent of the Cup carnival’s general admission ticket holders were aged under 35, and it was her job to ensure racing remained relevant to the next generation.

The partnership with the Lucas Collective plays into the VRC’s ambitious master plan for Flemington, which it is undertaking feasibility studies for at the moment.

“It’s not just about 21 days of world-class racing,” Rogers said. “We also want to open up our precinct 365 days with community sports grounds, equine therapy centres, pony clubs, permanent restaurants and a pedestrian bridge connecting us to Footscray Park and Victoria University.”

Rogers said she would like Lucas to have a permanent restaurant at the racecourse in the future.

“It’s a vision at this stage,” she said about the master plan, which has not been released publicly. “I’d like to think that we’re starting to do community and commercial deals by mid next year.”

Rogers and Lucas began talking about the partnership at this year’s Australian Grand Prix, where Chin Chin operated a pop-up restaurant.

“I’ve always said that what’s a great iconic Melbourne event without great food,” Lucas said. “There’s always hurdles and people that say, ‘Oh, it’s too difficult’, but we just found a lot of like-minded people that are saying, ‘Well, why not?’”

Lucas said people who attended international events like the Melbourne Cup from interstate and around the world should have the opportunity to experience the best of Melbourne’s food culture.

Melbourne Cup Day attendance last year was 84,374, with 66 per cent of the crowd from interstate or overseas.

“We’ll bring the iconic elements of what’s made our restaurants successful, and we’re not going to hold back,” Lucas said.

Chin Chin will take over a pocket of Flemington’s front lawn delivering a 60-minute “Feed me” menu for general admission ticket holders right next to the Fashions on the Field pavilion, which will be two storeys this year.

Society will occupy The Byerley restaurant in the members’ enclosure with executive chef Joachim Lim overseeing a European-inspired menu available from Turnbull Stakes day and across the Melbourne Cup Carnival.

Japanese restaurant Yakimono will open in the Birdcage for VRC members and Birdcage guests, who can snack on grilled skewers from an outlet next to the live stage.

The VRC is keen to turn to commercial partnerships to boost its revenue after posting a $7.2 million loss last year, its fifth consecutive multimillion-dollar loss since 2021.

International hospitality giant Delaware North took over the VRC’s main hospitality and catering contracts in April following the end of a previous deal with Crown.

The partnership between the VRC and Lucas Collective will bring some local restaurant clout to the track.

“We’re doing it this year and we will do it for as long as it works for both parties,” Lucas said.

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