Event Catering – How does colour affect taste?

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Our team can cater to a huge range of tastes, whether it’s a classic 3-course dinner or an out-of-this-world cocktail menu. A recent Diffords Guide article got us talking about the colour of food and beverages at events though:

We know presentation is an important factor in event catering, it can tell the story or theme of the night or simply be designed to tempt and tantalize. Scent, sound and even touch can enhance a dining or drinking experience but colour is probably the most obvious feature.

As Jane Ryan reflects, our brains may often have a preconception of a certain colour as a particular flavour – notably you may expect an orange coloured cocktail to have a citrus taste, equally a green vegetable may appear to taste fresher than a less bright counterpart with exactly the same flavour.

She also notes that blue glassware can assist bartenders with fooling guests or experimenting with flavours; a trick which our creative mixology team have definitely used before!

If you’re looking for something with a touch of the weird and wonderful or just want to add a subtle twist to catering for your event, contact us today to discuss how we can innovate your next menu with colour and taste!

Glamour Awards 2014, Bespoke Cocktail Bar

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The Glamour Women of the Year Awards is the magazine’s annual star-studded event, which honours the most inspirational and extraordinary ladies of the year.

This year we were privileged to be working with First Drinks Brands to produce the official cocktail bar for the 2014 after party. A bespoke design was created with a strong floral theme to enhance the beautiful surroundings at Berkeley Square Gardens, where the event was held.

Our design team incorporated the brand logos along with bold displays of birds of paradise, which tempted guests over to try the delicious cocktails on offer: the classics like Disaronno Sour and Tia Expresso Martini are always a hit, with Monkey Shoulder whisky ‘Ginger Brewsky’ and Reyka vodka ‘Collins’ also proving incredibly popular!

The Effective Event Solutions mixologist team worked hard and ensured guests always had a stylish drink in their hands. The bar was visited by a host of celebrities including the One Show’s Alex Jones and presenter Laura Whitmore who enjoyed Tia Espresso Martinis, singer Katy B and actor Will Poulter sipped happily on Disaronno Sours while fashion designer Henry Holland enjoyed a Reyka and tonic.

For those of you that are keen celebrity spotters, check out our Facebook album to see who stopped by the First Drinks Brands cocktail bar!

Charity Event at ACC Liverpool

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Last night our mixologist team were mixing up a storm at Morrisons annual charity fundraiser, this year in aid of Sue Ryder, at the ACC Liverpool/Echo Arena.

The venue had been transformed from an 11,000 seat arena into a stunning banquet hall for 1,400 impeccably dressed guests. We were asked to run the fundraising cocktail bar on behalf of First Drinks Brands.

With a tempting menu including Hendrick’s Cucumber Collins, classic Disaronno Sours, Sailor’s kiss (Sailor Jerry rum shaken with honey, vanilla, fresh lime and apple juices) and Monkey Shoulder whisky’s famour ‘Ginger Brewsky’, the bar was packed all night!

An auction of incredible money can’t buy experiences and items ensured the Morrisons team raised thousands for the charity, Jools Holland entertained the crowd afterwards and we kept the cocktails flowing (and charity funds rising!) late into the night.

A wonderful night for a wonderful cause! Find out more about the partnership and donate to Sue Ryder here

And if you fancy trying your hand at cocktail making for charity, why not start with one of Hendrick’s Gin-tastic tipples? Click here for recipes.

Think outside the city – venues within easy reach of London

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London is awash with venue choices, from the stunningly unique to ultra-modern and technology led, not forgetting historical and traditional styles too. But you can get a lot more ‘bang for your buck’ if you are willing to look just a little further afield …

This month one of our clients did just that! Starting with a range of locations and wonderful properties (including the stunning Ettington Park Hotel)  they selected 5 star Luton Hoo.

The magnificent mansion house facade welcomed guests for their sales kick-off meeting, the sumptuous surroundings, dedicated event staff and delicious catering ensured the clients were able to concentrate wholly on the content of their presentations.

As day turned to night the guests were invited into the lounge for a champagne reception as the room was transformed from corporate meeting space into elegant dining room. A silver-service four-course banquet ensued and a late bar kept the conversation flowing late into the evening.

Next time you’re looking for a meeting venue, speak to us about somewhere just a little ‘outside of the box’ and you will be pleasantly surprised!

Private Dining Experience – Steak Secret

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Last month we were tasked with building a unique dinner event for a group of VIP clients; emphasis on it being something they wouldn’t have ever experienced before.

As event experts we have provided a range of engaging dinner entertainment acts, group activities and exclusive menus/tastings in the past so have a vast selection of ideas. This time though we knew of a rather special pop-up venue that might just fit the bill …

Steak Secret at JW Steakhouse on London’s Park Lane was a limited experience running up until early January. The public could book a seat at a shared dinner using secret codes found on social networking, the intrigue continued when you arrive at the rear entrance and are lead through the buzzing kitchens to solve the mystery and ‘uncover’ some of the best steak (& accompanying courses) you have ever tasted.

Our team managed to secure an exclusive night allowing our client to invite 12 of their top customers for a truly one-off evening of gastronomy and networking.

Head chef Julian Ward created an All-American mouth-watering tasting menu and introduced each of the 7 courses himself – taking time to show the guests the different steak cuts too.

Whilst this probably wasn’t one for the veggies, the specially invited guests had a wonderful time sampling the delicious food, matched wines and even a specially crafted Bourbon cocktail – overall an experience they’ll never forget.

If you’d like to take advantage of our private dining know-how and contacts, get in touch with your requirements via sales@effectiveeventsolutions.com and we’ll tailor options for your group and budget.

Mount Gay Rum – sampling at Waitrose

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Throughout the month of December we’ve been running sampling sessions for Mount Gay Rum at Waitrose stores across London.

The high footfall of Christmas shoppers provides the perfect opportunity to both introduce new customers and promote Waitrose’s special offer to those who already know and love the brand.

Effective Event’s bar team have a wealth of rum knowledge to engage consumers and drive store sales of Mount Gay Extra Old: An opulent blend of the finest spirits aged for 8 to 15 years. Where Eclipse is floral and fruity, Extra Old blends significantly older barrels of mainly double pot distillates that have rounded these crisper notes into a subtler balance, which is on special offer until the new year at Waitrose.

Every great story begins with a time and a place. For Mount Gay Rum that time and place is the Caribbean Island of Barbados in 1703. Rum, originally called “Kill-Devil” by the Barbadians who first distilled it, is truly a product of the island. The abundance of molasses combined with the culinary ingenuity of early settlers and, of course, their legendary thirst for alcohol lead to this unique discovery in the production of spirits.

We brought the heritage and charm of the world’s oldest rum brand to life in our sampling area; producing logo’d barrels and displaying traditional accompaniments such as banana, coffee and sugar cane.

Sampling at locations from Richmond to Oxford Street also involves a detailed logistics plan, which our team have expertly executed thus far, to ensure all items (and staff!) arrive on time and raring to go at each location.

Sampling stats coming soon! We’re off to Gloucester Road next … Why not pop down for a bottle of Mount Gay Extra Old Rum to enjoy Christmas like the laid-back Bajans this year?

Brussels Christmas Markets

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The countdown to Christmas is in full swing once again! Last weekend whilst UK shoppers hit the high street in search of bargains, we took a corporate group to Brussels to add a little extra Christmas magic to their annual sales meeting.

Whilst there are many wonderful Christmas Markets across Europe, Brussels has the added convenience of a direct Eurostar route from London St Pancras, making it ideal for group trips.

After speeding through group check-in everyone had a chance to grab a light breakfast (and a quick snooze) on the train, before arriving in Brussels at lunchtime. We transported the group to Le Meridien hotel in the city centre where a sumptuous buffet lunch and meeting room awaited.

Following a successful afternoon of presentations and sales strategy discussion, the Effective Event Solutions hostess walked the team to dinner at the nearby Belga Queen restaurant.

Situated in a former bank building, the restaurant offers modern Belgian cuisine accompanied by stunning architecture. No Christmas party is complete without crackers & novelty hats (which isn’t exactly a Belgian tradition) so we had sent these ahead to ensure the British Christmas spirit was still in plentiful supply!

After dinner we had a private area booked beneath the restaurant in the late night bar, located in the original bank vaults. Celebrating their successes of 2013, the team danced on into the night.

Saturday morning’s itinerary left plenty of time to explore the Christmas markets and with Le Meridien’s central location near the famous Grand Place, the guests didn’t have far to go to experience all the wondrous sights and sounds of the festive season in Brussels.

With luggage full of Belgian chocolates and ornate Christmas baubles, it was time to head back home full of Christmas cheer and enthusiasm for the sales year ahead.

UK launch of Girvan single grain scotch whisky

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Last friday we were thrilled to assist William Grant & Sons with the unveiling of Girvan whisky as a UK market exclusive.

The original Girvan Patent Still, know affectionately as “No. 1 Apps”, a distillery term for apparatus, was built in 1963 under the stewardship of Charles Gordon, a whisky pioneer and the great-grandson of William Grant. Fifty years later, William Grant & Sons proudly launched its first ever single grain whisky under the emblem of the very first Girvan Patent Still.

John Ross, Master Distiller, said: “The Girvan Patent Still continuous distillation method takes the finest cereal grains to produce a very pure, fruity and clean-tasting grain spirit, which is lighter in aroma and character than most malt whiskies. It is then matured in first-fill American White Oak which adds flavour, character, colour and complexity. Time mellows the whisky, amplifies the aroma and enriches the taste. Characterised by vanilla, toffee, honey and caramelised fruit notes, the whisky delivers a taste that truly reflects William Grant & Sons’ pioneering distillation heritage.”

Our team worked with the distinct flavour notes of the whisky to create matched sweet canapes for service throughout the launch night.

The evening was well attended by the media, who were eager to be introduced to the new brand ahead of it’s exclusive UK-Only store-drops in 2014.

Siemens Family Fun Day

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Last weekend saw Siemens’ annual day out for colleagues and their families, with the Effective Event Solutions team bringing together a fabulous array of activities to keep everyone entertained.

The traditional go-karts and pony rides were back for another successful year, plus brand new inflatables inspired by the hit family show ‘Total Wipeout’; the iconic red balls and giant inflatable maze were definitely favourites!

Even when the weather took a little turn for the worse the zipwire and spider mountain (a brilliant elastic climbing frame) were in high demand with the older kids.

A day full of fun and laughter for everyone. Check out some of our other activity days in the inspiration gallery – here

A rewarding experience at Jo Malone

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We’re big believers in the power of incentives for motivating your workforce, and in the current economic climate, it is important to inspire your team without blowing the budget on an overseas trip (as much fun as they are: check-out recent European trips: Athens, Prague and Lisbon).

So how does an exclusive night out at your nearest Jo Malone store sound? Probably an easy sell for the ladies but you’re not sure if the gentlemen will be overly keen … well that’s why we combine the evening with a wine and canape tasting to compliment the incredible signature scents of the Jo Malone collection.

A wonderful way to treat your team and colleagues, get in touch with the Effective Event Solutions team to arrange an evening at your local store.