For those on the list, Melbourne Cup dining is first across the line

Ross Lusted will cater for members at Flemington Racecourse ahead of his first Melbourne restaurant opening, and Birdcage guests are in for some feasting, too.

Ross Lusted is the guest chef at the Byerley Room during Cup Week at Flemington Racecourse. Eamon Gallagher

Necia WildenContributor

Oct 21, 2024 – 5.00am

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″Halfway through lunch, my guests are going to get up and go off to watch a race. That’s what I’ve been warned, and I’m fine with that.”

When you’ve been at the top of your game for as long as Ross Lusted, it takes more than a rapidly cooling sirloin steak or two to throw you off-course. Besides, says the Sydney-based chef, cooking for the Victoria Racing Club’s (VRC) Byerley Room for the Melbourne Cup Carnival is all part of his enthusiastic immersion into the finer points of local culture.