Inside the VIP Club of the Mutua Madrid Open: Oysters, Champagne, and More

Oysters, champagne, cigars, unlimited sushi, a ‘beach club’, live music, DJ sessions… We enter one of the most exclusive (and ephemeral) spaces in the capital, which can only be accessed by clients of the boxes of the Caja Mágica and its guests during the 12 days of the prestigious tennis tournament.

He Mutua Madrid Open is already underway. The tennis masters held in the capital, one of the most important on the circuit, which brings together the best women’s and men’s rackets until May 5, has become one of the most anticipated events among Madrid residents. And not only for sports, but also for social reasons; Seeing and being seen at an event in which businessmen, elite athletes, politicians, celebrities and other personalities from Spanish society parade every year is the objective.

In many cases, tennis is the excuse to have access to the vip club of the tournament, the exclusive space with one of the best catering services in the world. But entering this venue of about 7,000 square meters behind the slopes of the Caja Mágica, where you can try French champagne, oysters, cigars, mojitos, the best of international cuisine and free drinks, among many other delicacies, is not up to the task. everyone’s reach. Only clients who have purchased VIP boxes on the center court Manolo Santana and his guests can enjoy all its luxuries.

Beach club terrace, this year’s novelty from the Mutua VIP club, with live music.

Nearly 50.000 personas They will have the privilege of spending the 12 days of the tournament in the VIP club, which this year even opens an idyllic beach club on the shores of the lake with live music and capacity for 120 people, which is accessed by a wooden bridge. It is the new addition to the enormous venue, one of the largest on the tennis circuit, which has a restaurant with ten dining rooms divided into two floorsand a terrace set to music for drinks and snacks, with various liquor and beverage stalls, a variety of Spanish tapas, a Joselito ham cutter, and which becomes a nightclub with DJ sessions at night.

The company behind this exclusive service is Austrian multinational DO&CO, one of the best gourmet cuisine brands in the world. With 14,500 employees and annual sales of 1.6 billion euros, the company, in addition to having eight of its own restaurants, provides catering for the VIP areas of some of the most important sporting events in the world, such as Formula 1, the Champions League final or the 51 matches of Euro 2024, among others. Also that of more than 60 airlines, including Iberia, Delta, Turkish Airlines… “We have been with the Mutua VIP club since 2002, when it was held at the Madrid Arena in the Casa de Campo. It is an honor that Gerard Tsobanian, the general director of the tournament, owned by IMG, continue to trust us. We started with 300 people in a single session a day Since then, we have grown every year with new ideas. Our goal is to provide a gourmet experience at our events. the austrian Wilfried Hohenwartergeneral director of DO&CO, whom everyone calls Willy.

Wilfried Hohenwarter, CEO of DO&CO, on the terrace about to welcome guests.

As the last person in charge of the VIP club, he is attentive to everyone and everything in the huge venue, even politely telling one of the waiters to tuck his polo shirt into his pants before receiving customers. In Madrid, he is in charge of some 900 people who have been accredited to work, in shifts, in this exclusive area, which is open from 1 p.m. to 2 a.m. for the 12 days that the event lasts. Waiters, cooks, hostesses, organizers… will feed, drink and entertain around 2,300 people for each match session (there are a total of 20).

Willy is used to it; Before arriving in Madrid, he took care of the 18,000 clients who passed through the VIP area of ​​the last Formula 1 grand prix held in Shanghai two weeks ago. “I’m like a soccer coach; I name the first 11 of the team and then delegate. Here in Madrid, 60% of the staff is Spanish, the rest from all over the place.”

A Joselito ham cutter.

What makes this VIP catering one of the most famous in the world and why everyone wants to try it? “First, customer service. We want to surprise you with the best. And then, offer you a culinary journey to discover all the flavors of the world, from Indian, Italian, Mexican, Chinese to Japanese, Thai, Austrian cuisine. All very authentic.” Spanish gastronomy is also represented on that trip, with ham and other tapas. “Last year we were not happy with the croquettes we brought, so this year we decided to make them all here daily,” says Willy.

They work in the kitchens between 150 and 180 chefs, who have been preparing everything for two weeks before the tournament. The majority are Spanish, but for certain things, they bring the best from other places. For example, the pizzaiolos who make the pizzas there come from Turin, the Indian food is in charge of a well-known Indian chef who comes from London, and for other positions, they have cooks from the different DO&CO restaurants.

Sushi and sashimi dish, one of the most popular.

They usually arrive at the facilities between 8 and 9 in the morning to prepare for the first session (from 1 to 6 p.m.) and leave around 12 at night, after dinner. All food is prepared on site daily with fresh and natural ingredients and products, 80% are local (vegetables, fish, fruits…), and the dishes change every day, because “it would be very boring if people always eat the same thing,” says Willy. However, there are some “must haves”, such as ham, tapas, premium Tomahawk meat, sushi and oysters, that are always present.

The wines chosen by DO&CO are from Marquis of Murrieta. The Rioja winery has been the only wine at the Mutua Madrid Open for 10 years and, each year, around 17,000 bottles of red Marqués de Murrieta and an Albariño from its Galician winery Pazo Barrantes are opened there. He champagne It is what customers like the most, according to Willy, and more than 2,000 bottles of the French brand Laurent Perrier are uncorked.

Tribute to music

Decoration in the dining room dedicated to rock.

The This year’s theme is music, and each of the ten dining rooms is inspired by a genre, from a Cordoban patio with flamenco music, to a jazz club or a rock room. Diners can ask to be served or do it themselves at any of the so-called food “stations”, such as dim sum, wok, Austrian schnitzel, poke bowl, tacos, kebabs, pasta (which makes an Italian chef right there every day, up to 3,700 kg during the tournament, with semolina from northern Italy), hamburgers, fish of the day…

But the stations that are most successful and where long queues form are the oyster bar, which come from France and of which about 35,000 are consumed during the event; the sushi and sashimi bar, where they make between 1,800 and 2,000 pieces in a session; and the position of the carne Tomahawk, a cut that they bring from Uruguay and Australia and that Chef Abdi cooks with love (up to three tons throughout the tournament). “The Spanish like meat a lot,” he says.

Tomahawk cut of meat, the most desired.

In the middle of the dining room, on a huge table, the different cheeses, mostly from France and some from Spain, and on one corner, at another station, a Viennese baker puts several loaves of bread in the oven. They are part of the nearly 4,000 different ones he makes a day. For dessert, fresh fruits, crepes, pancakes, souffles, ice cream, cakes from the famous Viennese artisan confectionery Demel (be careful with the Sacher), Catalan cream and even San Ginés churros. And, for after dinner, there is no shortage of mojitos, various alcohols and sweets. Everything to never want to leave there.

That was precisely one of the problems that the tournament management encountered shortly after arriving at the Caja Mágica (it did so in 2009): the boxes were left empty during the matches because the public was in the VIP club following them through. of the screens that were in the dining rooms and terrace. So, it was decided to remove the plasmas so that people could watch the games live, which somewhat solved the problem. Nowadays, unless the best tennis players play on the center court, people prefer to have fun in the restaurant.

Preparing the oysters in the Oyser Bar of the Mutua Madrid Open VIP club

The players’ VIP miniclub

The players are the protagonists of the tournament and at DO&CO they are clear that the priority is to make them feel as good as possible also with the catering, even if there is some, as in the case of Novak Djokovic, which presents every year a long list of ingredients and foods you need. “For us it is a challenge, but there are others, like Carlitos Alcaraz or Nadal, who eat everything and are not complicated on that subject,” says Willy.

According to the manager, what is served in this dining room has changed in recent years. Before they offered pasta and simple dishes, “now it’s much more sophisticatedbecause the players themselves ask for it.” Meat, fresh fish, seafood, sushi (the most popular), tacos, Indian cuisine and even cakes, “something that coaches don’t like very much,” he says. “It’s like a little VIP club.”

Sushi and sashimi dish, one of the most popular.

Some exorbitant figures from Mutua

7.000. These are the square meters occupied by the space designated for the VIP club.

49.000. The number of people who will pass through the exclusive restaurant, with 387 tables, throughout the tournament. About 2,300 per session.

35.000. The number of oysters, from France, that will be consumed in the 12 days that the Open lasts.

2.000. The bottles of Laurent Perrier French champagne that will be opened during the event.

60. The tons of fruit and vegetables, of local origin, used for the entire tournament.

3.200. The kilos of Austrian chocolate from the Demel confectionery for the entire championship.

2024-04-25 23:45:00
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