Visitors to the Formula One this weekend in Bahrain will munch their way through more than two tonnes of meat and close to three tonnes of fruit and vegetables this weekend, a report said.

Caterers at the Bahrain International Circuit (BIC) have also ordered in around 25,000 cartons of soft drinks for guests to slurp and 800kg of flour to make freshly baked bread, reported the Gulf Daily News, our sister publication.

This is just the food that will be eaten by the GP2 teams, corporate guests and the media and does not include snacks bought from refreshment kiosks by fans or Formula One teams' own private catering.

The responsibility for feeding all those mouths lies with BIC catering officer Lizzie White, who has been working at the track for the past five years.

She must ensure the 400 or so diners who descend on the catering tent each mealtime can eat their fill.

"To cater for the GP2 teams it's all very healthy," said White. "They have got to have fish, they have got to have pasta, but if they want to be naughty we have got desserts too."

Packed lunches are prepared for teams who are too busy to sit down to eat and the caterers also prepare luxury items for the 34 corporate lounges, including specialities like European sea bass, Brazilian tapas and teppanyaki ice cream.

"It's fun," said White. "We all love it and we all help each other. We are a brilliant team."

Fellow catering officer Mohammed Shakeel oversees operations for the corporate lounges where "VVIP" guests watch the action.

"All the lounges are completely booked for this, our 10th anniversary race," he said. "It's packed out, it's amazing. We want to do somehing very special and different and just give a big warm welcome to all our international guests who are coming to Bahrain.

"We want them to be happy and to carry the good experience with them when they leave, as a reminder of the 10th anniversary."

Among changes this year include the removal of breakfasts from the menu, since the racing takes place at night, and the introduction of a range of tapas as replacement, catering supplier Christian Maibohm told the GDN.

"We came up with something really special for the VVIPs," he said. "Due to the timings of the race, the corporate terrace has been given an Arabic makeover. We have a shawarma section and a sheesha section and we have very special grapes and Arabic cakes."

Though getting everything ready in time is quite a challenge, Ms White said the close-knit team at the BIC always managed to pull it off.

"We have to work very closely together. It's a very stressful job and we all have to be there for each other. We cry and we laugh together," she said.

"It never gets any easier. You always find every year that there's something that's a challenge, but by the end of it you think: 'Phew, we made it again'. "And it's brilliant, very rewarding. Especially when you see happy faces walking around and you think: 'Yes, we did that'." – TradeArabia News Service