RACEGOERS heading for Royal Ascot at York this week can look forward to dining on the finest food.

Caterers expect to pop the cork on 60,000 bottles of champagne and 40,000 bottles of wine during the five-day meeting.

Visitors will be served 8,000 lobsters, 6,000 sides of salmon and 1,000 kilos of strawberries.

David Johnson, from hospitality firm Sodexho Prestige, which provides the catering for Royal Ascot meetings, said local produce and suppliers were being used wherever possible.

Family firm Yorvale Ice Cream, based at Acaster Malbis, near York, will deliver 13,000 scoops of ice cream for the event, including specially-made flavours for the royal box.

Director Lesley Buxton said the Queen would be served lemon curd, orange yoghurt and lemon, mascarpone cheese and mango-flavoured ice cream.

The recipes were written for the company by Savoy master chef Anton Edelmann.

Mrs Buxton said: "This is a fabulous opportunity for us, and supplying the royal box has been quite a talking point. I would love for the Queen to notice our ice cream and say 'isn't this nice'."

Yorvale won the contract after persuading catering chiefs it made little sense to have a London supplier deliver ice cream all the way to York.

Another local company to benefit is Shepherd's Purse Cheeses, based near Thirsk, North Yorkshire. About a quarter of a tonne of its Yorkshire Blue cheese - representing a full day's production - will be delivered to the Knaves-mire.

Shepherd's Purse founder Judy Bell said she was thrilled to have secured the contract.

The 390,000 racegoers will be served by 2,200 hospitality staff, most of them recruited locally.

Mr Johnson said the hospitality arrangements had taken months of planning. Some of the work has been subcontracted to York Racecourse's usual caterers, CGC.

"I am sure there will be some great benefits for local producers," said Mr Johnson.

"We look forward to a wonderful week and, hopefully, the weather will be on our side."