Event Catering : Creative Canapés

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The Oxford Dictionary defines a canapé as ‘A small piece of bread or pastry with a savoury topping, served with drinks at receptions or formal parties’, but these days it can be so much more than that!

Canapés are the perfect catering solution for many events: A cocktail accompaniment at a product launch, a light snack at an exhibition opening, a quick way to circulate food on a conference break (avoiding those dreadful buffet queues!) the list is endless.

Event catering is also a great way to reinforce your brand identity, it could be something as simple as a themed presentation tray (pictured – wild woodland theme platter) or our chefs can create unusual flavour / colour / textured options to fit your event ethos.

To get your juices flowing, here are some tasty examples from the Summer 2014 menu in association with DeWintons:

  • Grilled Chicken Rice Paper Rolls, Coriander, Vegetables, Thai Dressing
  • Jerk Chicken, Avocado, Lime & Soured Cream
  • Yorkshire Pudding, Rare Roast Beef, Horseradish Sauce
  • Confit of Pork, Apple Puree, Quince Jelly, Rosemary Sea Salt
  • Smoked Duck, Orange Jelly & Spiced Sea Salt Skewer
  • Beetroot Gravadlax & Grain Mustard Butter Mini Bagel
  • King Prawn Skewers, Garlic & Parsley Mayonnaise
  • Seared Tuna, Wasabi, Pickled Ginger, Soy Reduction
  • Butternut Squash, Pine Nut & Dolcelatte Tart (V)
  • Summer Pea, Mint & Feta Crostini (V)
  • Roquefort Cheese, Caramelised Apple Chutney, Toasted Walnut Bread
  • Homemade Italian Sausage & Chilli Pizzetta
  • Grilled Tandoori Chicken, Onion, Mint & Cucumber Raita
  • Homemade Beef Keema Samosas, Chilli Chutney
  • Spicy Brown Crabmeat Cakes, Lime Crème Fraiche
  • Butternut ‘Arrancini’ Risotto Balls, Sage & Truffle Aioli (V)
  • Mushroom & Truffle Oil Pizzetta (V)

And a few to tempt those with a sweet tooth:

  • Toasted Pistachio & Raisin Fudge
  • Biscotti Crostini, Dark Chocolate Mousse, Confit Kumquats
  • Grilled Pineapple, Malibu Coconut Cream
  • Glazed Mango, Passion Fruit Cream, Sweet Brioche Croute
  • Salted Peanut Butter Brownie
  • Lemon Shortcake Biscuit, Vanilla Pastry Cream, Strawberry

Looking to shake up the food offering at your next event? Talk to us (email: Sales@EffectiveEventSolutions.com ) to see how our event catering will wow your guests.

Black Tie Dinner – transforming an office into a stunning venue

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With such a huge range of venues available these days it can be hard to know where to book. What happens when you have the perfect location but the venue is dull and uninspiring? You call Effective Event Solutions of course!

Our team have transformed venues all over the world (have you seen the event we produced on Alcatraz island?), so our creative managers took no time in getting to work on an open-plan office in Oxfordshire … check out the before and after photos on our facebook page to see the metamorphosis!

Transforming an office into a black tie dinner venue:

The Welcome Reception

With guests arriving at dusk we brought the building facade to life with giant illuminated tulips (other flowers available), traditional candle lanterns and some simple uplighters.

The guests were welcomed into the lounge area for champagne and canapés, chic styled furniture and our mirrored bar provided a relaxed atmosphere with just the woodland themed canapé trays (see the photos on our facebook page) hinting at what was to come.

The central part of the office was screened off with classic white draping and strategicaly placed uplighters to give the illusion of a hallway between the lounge and the dining hall. The hall itself was ‘closed’ upon arrival so guests had no idea what was behind the drapes …

The Dining Hall

Our woodland theme idea (the venue is surrounded by lush green lawns and towering trees) came to life when we draped the walls and ceiling, wrapped the pillars with faux trees and ‘grew’ branches across the ceiling with all sorts of stunningly coloured ‘wildlife’ climbing through.

With gasps of ‘Oh wow’ and ‘Amazing’ the guests entered through the room and were seated around candlelit wild moss table centres for a sumptuous three course dinner.

The Food: We designed a menu with a twist on classic British dishes, featuring smoked salmon, beef two ways and eton mess with mint powder for an extra dimension.

The After Party

The woodland themed room wasn’t the only surprise we had in store for the guests, after dinner they were invited through to the psychedelic night club to continue the party long into the night!

The Effective Event Solutions team pay attention to every little detail right down to the last tiny butterfly (see them in the tree canopy photos on our facebook page) so if you’re looking at transforming an office into a stunning venue then drop us a line for a FREE no obligation chat!

Email us Sales@EffectiveEventSolutions.com or call us on 01865 877 877

Whisky Sour Day – creative cocktails at your next event

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It may seem like there is a special ‘day’ or ‘week’ dedicated to almost everything at the moment. Some (e.g. Radio Commercials Day ) may be rather odd but many serve as a nice little reminder of our favourite treats, like yesterday which was Whisk(e)y Sour Day in the US.

Our mixologists have been providing stylish and creative cocktails at events for years, whether your tipple is classics like cosmos and mojitos or you want to wow your guests with some cocktail wizardry and special effects, we can create the perfect bar and menu for your event.

Find out more about our bespoke event management services here and drop us a quick email sales@effectiveeventsolutions.com to talk about your next event.

Find out more about Whisky Sour day here.

Corporate Away Day in London

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When gathering important delegates from different international locations it can seem difficult to please everyone, which is why we were enlisted to work with a VIP team of corporate executives this week.

Bringing high level executives from the company’s international HQs in China, Israel, India and the USA to London for a crucial 2 day meeting, our client had the opportunity to plan a corporate away day during the trip. These teams meet annually but don’t often get much ‘down time’ to spend with each other, nor sightseeing time to enjoy all the incredible places they travel to. So we produced an afternoon that encompassed exactly that.

Collecting guests from their morning meeting we began an afternoon seeing ‘unusual London’. The Effective Event Solutions tour guides know all the frequently asked city facts, but unlike a big bus tour they have a whole lot of unusual facts and entertaining tales to show our clients London in a completely different light.

Today’s tour guide Charley led the group on a whistletop tour of St Paul’s cathedral, enchanting them with tales of Prince Charles & Princess Diana’s wedding plus a few fun facts about the whispering gallery, before we whisked them off to the river for a private lunch time cruise.

The vessel we used was once a Royal barge; the perfect cruise option for our overseas guests! Catered by Jamie Oliver’s team, they took in the sights and sounds of the river during a sumptuous three course lunch with paired wines.

After disembarking from the Royal Nore we led the tour around St Katherine Dock and the Tower of London before whisking the guests back to their hotel for a relaxed dinner.

Check out our snaps from the day in this facebook album

We also organised private dining and private transfers throughout the week. If you’re looking for some corporate away day ideas to treat your team or wow visiting executives then get in touch via sales@effectiveeventsolutions.com or 01865 877 877

Social Media at Events

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Social media at events can be quite daunting if you’re not familiar with all the terminology out there, let alone the technology involved.

Whether you’re looking to create a buzz ahead of your event, generating engagement during an event or gaining meaningful feedback post event, there are a range of social media options to help achieve your goal. As part of our event management service we can advise and provide onsite support to ensure you nail it every time.

An interesting article caught our eye from Emerald Street this week; “Twitter and Marc Jacobs have joined forces to revolutionise shopping”

It is a fantastic concept, joining two of our favourite past times; social media and shopping! From 15–17 August, the Covent Garden Tweetshop in London will throw open its doors to lovers of all things Marc Jacobs.

Promoting the Daisy fragrances with Daisy macaroons, a luxury nail bar and a Vine booth, the Tweetshop encourages you to tweet updates, snaps and comments – with big prizes to be won. And it’s simple enough – just include the hashtag #MJDaisyChain for a chance to win!

Send one tweet and you’ll take home a deluxe mini fragrance, plus, if you include a picture or a Vine you’ll enjoy a beauty treat. The most creative social media posts will (literally) bag you bigger prizes, such as a Marc by Marc Jacobs accessory or handbag.

Ingenious!

For more information about this particular event see marcjacobs.com #MJDAISYCHAIN

London’s social media week (22nd-26th September 2014) might also be worth a look if you’re still a little befudled by the whole Social Media thing.

Or talk to us about how we can incorporate social media at your next event!

photo credit: daniel_iversen via photopin cc

Team building – Unique, Innovative & most importantly FUN!

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We’re not saying that a round of ‘It’s a knock-out’ on inflatables isn’t fun … just that you’ve probably seen it, done it and got the team t-shirt … several times.

If you’re a bit bored of the old team building classics or looking for something innovative to motivate your colleagues, how about this?

‘Break The Ice’ with an Ice Sculpture workshop

Ice carving workshops can be run for 2 people to 200+ and can be worked into 1 hour, 3 hour or a full day of team building depending on your needs.

Guests are divided into teams of 2 or 3, which maximises participation for everyone, an ice-sculpting master will provide a demonstration and discuss ice carving techniques with the teams before they take on their own ice challenge.

A 1 hour class would work on a basic ice template, whereas the 3 hour workshop is divided into 3 sessions: a design workshop from which an expert ice sculptor carves the winning sketch created by the delegate teams, a workshop for teams to work on their own basic ice sculpture and a short course in fusion techniques with a team challenge to design the highest and most creative ice fusion structure.

This activity works indoors or outdoors – ice sculpture team building can be brought to company offices, hotels, conference spaces or even private rooms in restaurants.

An Irish Whiskey Master (and where to drink it)

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The Irish Whiskey Sector is booming right now and our client’s at William Grant & Sons are top of the class with their Tullamore Dew Irish Whiskeys. So today we’re raising a glass in celebration of their achievements at this year’s Irish Whiskey Masters!

Judging this year was; Adam McCullogh, bar manager of The Cadogan Arms, Toby Quirk, freelance brand ambassador, and Charles Montanaro, group manager for 5cc. The panel began with a large flight of Blended Premium whiskeys, where the standout whiskey was William Grant & Sons’ Tullamore DEW 12yo Special Reserve, which was described as “just delightful” and awarded the one and only Master of the round! They scooped a further 2 awards with Tullamore DEW Original and Tullamore DEW Phoenix.

To read more about the Irish Whiskey Masters, check out The Spirit Business’s write up, or to find out more about Tullamore Dew products have a look at their website.

If you fancy sampling Tullamore Dew then here are a couple of our favourite places for a tipple:

Silk’s Bar

Housed in the fresh, modern Grange St Paul’s hotel, this sophisticated cocktail lounge offers an extensive drinks menu alongside sharing platters and light salads.

Benihana

These Japanese Steakhouse and Sushi restaurants view ‘food as an event’, with chefs preparing dishes on a teppan (large hot plate) at each table – head along to their Picadily or Chelsea restaurants and indulge in a world class Tullamore Dew whiskey pre, post or during dinner!

Slug & Lettuce

With 70 bars across the country, you shouldn’t have any trouble finding your ‘local’ with  Tullamore Dew on the menu.

Cool Branded Merchandise for Travel

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Whether it’s a company giveaway, a thank you gift or a useful item for your staff, there are a huge range of brand-able items these days which can help re-enforce your company image or ethos.

With the recent announcement that all passengers flying into or out of the UK are advised to ensure electronic devices are sufficiently charged to be switched on, what better giveaway or branded gift than a portable charger!

Whatever your company colours or brand style we can find the perfect branded merchandise for you!

Here are a couple of our most popular chargers:

Stone Powerbank – 2200mAh with minimum order of 25 pieces these start around £15 each (printed one colour, one position)

Organic shape, stone look and feel with leather tag. Original and robust powerbank. High-end quality gadget to charge most smartphones. Nice branding options.

PEBBLE™ Smartstick – 2200mAh also with a minimum order of 25 pieces these start around £18 each (printed one colour), the bigger order the better the price though – scaling up to an order of 50 pieces already sees it drop to around £14 a piece.

Available in 4 super sleek and stylish colours (Black, Silver, Pink, Purple)

PEBBLE™ Smartstick emergency portable battery pack charger for most mobile devices. Charge your portable device on the move without the need for mains power. Small and light enough to carry around in your bag, the PEBBLE™ Smartstick portable emergency charger will provide your mobile device with up to one additional charge, charging most popular devices including; Apple 30pin, Blackberry, Sony Ericsson and devices that use mini or micro USB.

The USB port on the PEBBLE™ Smartstick also allows you to charge your mobile device with the supplied manufacture’s cable. *Compatible with iPhone 5 when used with the Apple supplied lightning charging cable*

Contact us today for more branded merchandise ideas to suit your company and your event!

Awards Dinner at Spencer House

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We were delighted to be working with William Grant & Sons on their annual Stand Fast Awards Dinner again – the event offers recognition for the outstanding achievements of those employees who really help bring the company’s values to life.

The nominees travel from far and wide (this year we had guests from Mexico and Sydney as well as many from the company’s Scotland HQ) so the night is a real highlight in their diaries and as such must be a night they will never forget…

Being held in London there was a long list of suitable spaces, using our venue knowledge and the client’s specific brief we suggested Spencer House; built for the first Earl Spencer (an ancestor of Diana, Princess of Wales) it is the city’s only great eighteenth-century private palace still intact.

The venue allowed us to build bespoke bars representing William Grant & Son’s core brands, staffed by our mixologist team they served Hendrick’s Gin Cucumber Collins, Hendrick’s Gin Summer Punch, Reyka Vodka Cold Snap Cosmo (in solid ice tumblers!) Sailor Jerry rum Sailor’s Kiss, Monkey Shoulder whisky Jam Sour, Tullamore Dew’s The Montserrat and a twist on a classic: Glenfiddich ‘Oak’ Fashioned.

Icelandic vodka Reyka wanted to showcase a little of their homeland so we made ice tumblers specially for the event – and supplied guests with cool Icelandic gloves to avoid frostbite whilst enjoying the cocktails!

After arriving on classic red London routemaster buses the guests enjoyed drinks on the terrace, before moving through for the awards ceremony and an exquisite 3 course dinner. Dinner was followed by the traditional Spencer House ‘bombe’ – similar to a baked alaska this house speciality was offered to each guest in the stunning Great room.

Jubilant award winners and their colleagues continued the celebrations with further drinks on the terrace, enjoying the beautiful surroundings (and the glorious June sunshine we were blessed with!)

For more photos of the event, have a look at our facebook album.

To find out more about the drinks we served, check out each brand’s website: Reyka, Sailor Jerry, Hendrick’s Gin, Tullamore Dew, Monkey Shoulder and Glenfiddich.

Summer Product Launch in London

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This July we were thrilled to be working with William Grant & Sons UK again on their annual Market Report* launch.

It was a particularly special night for the client as they proudly announced the new company name of William Grant & Sons UK (previously First Drinks Brands – FDB). This presented some challenges for our branding, as guests would arrive to the presentation expecting to see FDB signage before the announcement was made …

We created double sided welcome boards for our flexible display stands, meaning we could flip all the signs whilst the invitees were enjoying the presentation – thus they exit into the new William Grant & Sons UK event. A great surprise and success!

As William Grant & Sons UK represent a vast range of prestigious spirit brands we created a ‘kitchen table’ style bar with a huge range of ingredients on display. Whilst giving our mixologists space to showcase the brand serves from Sailor Jerry rum, Hendrick’s Gin, Reyka vodka and Girvan whisky, it also meant guests could request and create their own drinks on the night.

We were also delighted to be joined by the expert bar team from the Rivoli Bar at the Ritz London hotel, who showcased their Tallulah cocktail made with Piper Heidsieck champagne, which features on their new summer menu.

Star of the show was quite probably Three Barrels Honey which had it’s UK product launch that night! We used quirky vintage accessories to re-create Lord Basildon’s style (see the Three Barrels Honey link below) out on the terrace which really captured the ‘Embrace the Unexpected’ moto of the brand.

Have a look at more photos on our facebook page

*The Market Report itself is a valuable tool for the UK drinks media providing insight into future trends for both on and off trade, while looking at the evolution of the UK drinks industry as a whole.

Take a look at last year’s event at the Violin Factory here

To find out more about the new Three Barrels Honey flavour click here