Guests of the Lavazza marquee will get a taste of Milan at this year’s Melbourne Cup Carnival, with the Italian coffeehouse returning for its 15th consecutive year.
Vogue Living’s Neale Whitaker is responsible for the creation, which boasts Tom Dixon Plane chandeliers, traditional terracotta flooring and a 360-degree view of Milan’s Galleria, the epicenter of the fashion capital, with the walls and ceiling of the marquee replicating the magnificence of the Italian mid-century building. While stock images would have been the easy option, to get the image as current as possible, a photographer in Milan recently took the image for a true representation of the iconic Galleria.
“My inspiration for the marquee comes from Milan’s Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II which is possibly the world’s most beautiful shopping mall. The Galleria is the heart and soul of the city,” Neale says. “Guests will truly feel like they’re amidst luxury boutiques and pavement cafés in an Italian city. The design concept celebrates the Italian custom of passeggiata, the true Italian tradition of strolling the streets.”
To continue the Italian theme, chef Adam D’Sylva of Melbourne restaurants Coda and Tonka has created four signature dishes for the marquee’s menu.
Drawing from his Italian heritage, Adam will serve one of the signature Italian dishes on each day of the Melbourne Cup Carnival.
“My passion for great Italian food stems from my nonna who spent many hours cooking with me as a child,” Adam says. “I’m honoured to again partner with Lavazza to share some of my own family classics as well as some new Italian dishes I’ve been working on for the marquee.”
Adam’s bespoke creations, exclusively designed for the 250-plus guests at the Lavazza Birdcage marquee each race day, include herb and panko crumbed lamb cutlets with chimmi churri sauce, mushroom and goats cheese tortellini with black tartufo sauce, quail breast saltimbocca with smoked scarmozza cheese and crispy sage and John Dory fillets with Acqua Pazza.
“My advice for the racing season is to stay well fed, indulge a little, and enjoy it all with a complementing Lavazza coffee and the odd champagne,” Adam says.
For guests with a sweet tooth Lavazza will be dishing up desserts topped with Lavazza Prontissimo – the brands’ instant coffee range to be launched later this month. Desserts include Lavazza Prontissimo crème brülée with pistachio and cranberry biscotti and figs with Lavazza Prontissimo masala syrup, white chocolate ice cream and biscotti.
Bec Hewitt, Racing Ambassador for Lavazza during the Melbourne Cup Carnival, will also be in attendance on Derby Day, Melbourne Cup and Oaks Day.
“My advice for the perfect outfit is to be creative. You only get one chance a year to put your best racewear together, so be extravagent. You have to also be comfortable, but be bold, be fun with your colours and have fun with your girlfriends,” Bec says. “I leave the real betting to Lleyton who’s much more invested in the actual racing – he’ll study the guides – but I always back the horses with a unique name, jockey colours and the favourites.”
After spending so much time court-side watching her husband Lleyton on the tennis court each year, Bec says taking a greater interest in the spring racing carnival is a nice change of scenery.
“Lleyton always says Melbourne is the sporting capital of the world, and I guess it’s true. I’m really looking forward to being invovled in a sporting event that doesn’t involve the stress of watching one of Lleyton’s matches – although he’s always so entertaining to watch,” Bec says.
AFL player Max Gawn will also make his debut as a barista for Lavazza at the launch of the Melbourne Cup Carnival. The Melbourne Football Club ruckman and café owner will join in the festivities to launch the Lavazza Coffee Bar. Located in ‘The Park’, Flemington’s multi-million dollar new precinct for general admission racegoers this Melbourne Cup Carnival, the Lavazza Coffee Bar will sit amongst gourmet food stalls and live entertainment, serving coffee lovers from gates open daily.
This year general admission racegoers able to enjoy complementary cups of Lavazza Prontissimo from roaming waiters around the racecourse.
