(CNN) Raymond Blanc comes to Ascot Racecourse with royal approval.
First invited there by the Queen Mother in 1974, the "young French Republican" as he refers to himself, was blown away by the pageantry of the occasion.
Now, Blanc is back for Royal Ascot -- serving up his five-star cuisine in The Panoramic restaurant as some of the world's richest racehorses battle it out for glory on the turf.
And he has every intention of being first past the post with his cuisine at one of 12 fine-dining restaurants at the venue for the event from 20 to 24 June.
Royal Ascot is a highlight of the British cultural calendar.
Royal Ascot is one of the highlights of the British summer's sporting and cultural calendar. Britain's Queen Elizabeth II and other leading members of the royal family are regular visitors.
It begins every day with the royal procession in horse-drawn carriages in front of the stands.
Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, attended the opening day of Royal Ascot in Berkshire, west of London in 2018.
Prince Harry and Meghan present a trophy to jockey Frankie Dettori for his winning ride on Without Parole as trainer John Gosden (right) watches on.
The Queen is a big horse racing fan and continues the royal traditions of riding in a horse-drawn carriage up Ascot's Straight Mile to open each day, first introduced by King George IV in 1825.
Prince Charles and his wife, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, are regular attendees.
The Duchess of Cambridge, Prince William and Zara Philllips, daughter of Princess Anne, can also be spotted.
Royal Ascot is a quintessentially British sporting occasion.
Lunch in the car park is a Royal Ascot tradition for many.
Racegoers are obliged to dress up for the occasion, particularly in the Royal Enclosure where top hats and tails for men are compulsory.
Royal Ascot is very much a cathedral of high fashion ...
... and an occasion for dressing up.
Hats are big and bold -- no fascinators are allowed in the Royal Enclosure.
Even the dress code assistants have a special uniform.
Royal Ascot is a byword for pomp, pageantry, glamor and elegance.
The racing is world class with the cream of Europe's equine superstars and top trainers and jockeys.
Royal Ascot features five top-level Group 1 races over its five days with the highlight being the Ascot Gold Cup. Jockey Frankie Dettori won on Stradivarius for trainer John Gosden in 2018.
Britain's Queen Elizabeth II presents Frankie Dettori with his prize after he rode Stradivarius to win Ascot Gold Cup on day three of the royal meeting in 2018.
READ: Duchess of Cambridge keeps her cool as Ascot swelters
It is a love affair with Ascot, he says, which began "a long, long time ago."
He tells CNN: "Since 1974 when the Queen Mum invited me as a young French Republican as her guest at Royal Ascot -- so that's a long way back.
"I fell in love with the pageantry, like the best event in the world, I love all the beautiful ladies with all their hats, plus of course the racing. But the food now is becoming very important."
Blanc has cooked in private boxes for the rich and famous before but was let loose on his own restaurant last year and has been invited back.
His signature restaurant Belmond Le Manoir aux Quat' Saisons in Oxfordshire has, for 30 years, boasted two Michelin stars -- the benchmark for fine cuisine -- and his partnership with the course extends beyond just the few days of Royal Ascot.
The two parties have created an academy as well as a scholarship for Ascot staff to come to his restaurant to "learn to raise every standard -- be it food, be it service -- to create an event, which is as good as the racing."
The Frenchman's secret to fine dining at the races is simplicity, his aim being to utilize British ingredients, ranging from Devon crab to lambs born on the Royal Ascot Estate.
Belmont Stakes
The Belmont Stakes is the oldest event in horseracing's esteemed Triple Crown.
First held at Jerome Park racetrack in the Bronx, the race dates all the way back to 1867 -- six years before the inaugural Preakness and eight years before the Kentucky Derby.
It was named after August Belmont I -- a New York financier, politician and society figure -- and has only missed two editions, when anti-gambling laws in New York forced its cancellation in 1911 and 1912.
One of the most celebrated champions was Secretariat, which won by 31 lengths in a record time of 2:24 in 1973.
This year's race takes place Saturday June 10 on Long Island, New York.
It boasts a prize purse of $1.5 million, with the winning connections taking home $800,000.
American Pharoah is undoubtedly the most famous runner in recent years. Among the favorites in 2017 are Classic Empire, Irish War Cry, and Japan's Epicharis.
One-eyed Patch has Derby-winning jockey John Velazquez onboard after finishing 14th in Kentucky.
READ: "Queen of the Turf" targets Melbourne glory
"When you are planning a menu like that you don't want to be outrageously creative because you want something fresh and clean, no guilt whatsoever, food that's fresh, festive, celebratory, seasonal at all times," he adds.
"It's crucially important the food must be totally beautiful and coming as well from a noble background, so no chemicals whatsoever. That's very important to my values."
Blanc, though, is well aware the service needs to be good but also offer restaurant goers the chance to place bets during the day.
Despite the number of covers he will be facing, the heralded chef will sneak out to lay the occasional bet himself.
"Of course I will, it's part of the fun, part of the celebration," he says. "I'll put a few quid on, it's great fun, a wonderful moment."
Another two-star Michelin chef, Pat Howard, will also be at the course feeding diners at the On5 restaurant.
Describing Ascot as a classical event, he plans to provide the food to match that sentiment.
"I'll never try to do anything that is too elaborate or inventive," he says. "It just wants to be delicious, well-executed dishes relying on ingredients that are in prime season and can be bought locally. Those are the real driving factors."
The Derby. The Bunbury. What's in a name?
It's the richest horse race in Britain, but the Epsom Derby only received its name on the toss of a coin.
The tale goes that during the celebrations following the inaugural running of the Oaks Stakes at Epsom in 1779, a new race was proposed. It would be named after the party's host, the 12th Earl of Derby, or one of the guests, Sir Charles Bunbury, depending on the toss.
Derby won the naming rights and the rest -- not least the Kentucky Derby -- is history.
This year's 238th edition of the Epsom Derby is worth nearly £1 million ($1.3 million) to the winning connections.
But, in the early years, drinking, carousing, gambling, cockfighting, illegal bare-knuckle boxing matches and all manner of other activities ran alongside the racing.
That didn't detract from its popularity, with the attendance swelling to around 8,000 in 1795 to 10 times that number in 1823, according to the official Epsom Derby website.
A full cross section of society still attends to this day. Queen Elizabeth II has only missed two races since 1946.
"There's no occasion that gets to you like the Derby," said two-time champion Frankie Dettori. "It's stressful and nerve-racking. You feel the tension, but that's a good thing -- if you arrived at Epsom and you didn't feel it, that would mean the Derby didn't matter. And believe me, it does."
This year's event takes place Saturday June 3. The Derby. The Bunbury. What's in a name?
Ascot boasts 12 restaurants and 221 boxes, as well as a litany of other food outlets across the course.
As the course's commercial director Juliet Slot puts it: "We have something for everybody, which is really important for us, and all different price points from having a lobster and steak at £35 ($43) right up to our top restaurants.
"We believe there is something for everyone at Ascot. It's a very unique racecourse for everyone to visit."
And she argues the partnership with a pair of two Michelin-starred chefs puts it at the forefront of horse racing cuisine.
"What we hope is a Michelin-starred experience in terms of the service, which at a racecourse is not necessarily what you might expect, but that's a brand standard that we like to have here at the racecourse."