Page 115 - Paddock Life Issue 13 ADRENALINE

reception in an open plan style. Lovely, but still very corporate. We were driving down an avenue of Hospitality units, from the giants of Mercedes and Audi to the privateers of Black Falcon or the sponsors of Kaspersky.
Then there is was, directly in the middle of the paddock was the brand new Blancpain SRO hospitality unit. Resplendent in the matt black of the Blancpain Brand the two-story building towered supreme in the sunny Spa paddock. Anthony came out to meet us, smiling like a kid with a new toy showing his friends for the first time. He leads us up the ramps past the two alfresco terraces and through the glass sliding door of the Business Club. First a coffee, then the tour. As we drank our coffee the Blancpain watch maker was set up at one end and there were large screen TV’s either end showing the races. This bar and lounge had a collection of sofas and very cool designer chairs. The outside top terrace, entered from either end of the bar, had a row of high tables, each seating four against the very cool branded railings that in turn looked down on the sunny casual lower terrace, with seating all around the perimeter and lounge chairs across the terrace.
Anthony took us upstairs, the narrow boat-like staircase opened out onto a floor of glass office suites, giving the SRO team a perfect working space and a large meeting room that he explained was available for guests to book and use during the weekend, so those all-important deals that keep us all racing can be done in private and comfort. The view from the glass offices, through the very cool external grid work, extended across the paddock in three directions. Stephane’s office really did give him a commanding vista over the empire of team
trucks and mobile buildings of this moving city he has created that is the Blancpain GT Series.
Downstairs, we slip through the door at the end of the bar into the restaurant. A beautifully presented space that really was more like a London Restaurant than any hospitality unit I’ve ever seen. The tables varied in size, none of this expanse of big round tables. Planters and foliage divided the spaces, with low hanging lampshades giving a warm glow. The grey tables, dressed with linen tablecloths had a mixture of wicker and grey composite chairs creating the perfect contrast to the stained wooden floors. The main entrance was via a separate ramp to the front of the building through double glass doors where you are greeted at a reception desk by a lovely young lady. A lounge area at the front with the dining area to the rear and another terrace with dining and bar tables on the far side.
The glass partition dividing the restaurant from the Business Club adds to the atmosphere and huge black glass front and side windows give a slightly subdued light inside whilst allowing guests a one way view of the passing paddock traffic. The buffet table along the wall to the Business Club looks nothing short of spectacular, but Chris and I have work to do before we can sample any of those delights.
The geeky technical side of me is intrigued as to how they get this unit set up. I can see how the Business Club concertinas out and up, but I need some facts; It takes a fleet of four trucks, the hospitality unit, the kitchen unit and two loading vans, to ship this around Europe. The structure takes three days to build, followed by a further two days to prepare the interiors. Most of the build is done
with hydraulic systems. The restaurant is raised 1 meter above the ground and the aircon equipment has 200 Kilofrigories, which is the European version of UK BTU’s and I gave up trying to work out a comparison, but suffice to say it was a hot day and the perfect temperature inside. At the highest point the unit stands a towering 7 metres high and the total weight is a staggering 120 tons, covering a surface area of 625 square metres the unit was conceived and designed by a team of engineers, architects and interior decorators.
Sitting proudly in the paddock it is staffed by a team of the hardest working crew in the paddock if my experience of our caterers on movie sets is anything to go by. The crew comprises of; an ambassador team and a service team which includes, waiters, Maître d’, bartenders, ham slicer, specialist oyster shuckers, florists and even stage prop specialists. Then there is the kitchen team of the chefs and cooks, usually lead by a locally renowned or Michelin chef from the region. All looked after by a team of staff coordinators. Probably more staff than any of the teams in the paddock...
During a race weekend the combined unit offers an open bar, lunch and dinner serving 760kg of fabulously prepared food and 884 litres of perfectly chilled drinks, the favourite drink among the guests at Spa was the Aperol Spritz, whilst the wild salmon tartar with avocado and oriental dressing or the low-temperature cooked lamb with roasted sweet potato and crunchy leaks were the proven winners from the menu.
Between 600 and 800 guests were catered for over the weekend and Chris and I have been made to feel very at home in the Business Club,
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