Can you cook?
Events are rather like a soufflé: get everything spot on and you’re everyone’s best friend, but get just one smidge wrong (bit of a limp wrist on the egg whites?) and you have a flop. Literally.
So, chefs de partie, here we go on how to cook up a storm of a Christmas bash.
First of all, how do you want your soufflé to look and taste? We always recommend a “backwards brainstorm” with our clients; start with the end result and work backwards. You can’t cook up the perfect party if you don’t know what the perfect party means.
So, where to begin…
Start with good ingredients: that is ingredients that work to your taste and to your (dinner) party guests’. We always recommend getting away from the “set menu”!
INGREDIENTS
Venue
Catering
Entertainment
Décor
Venue
- Location, location, location – close to the office AND within easy reach of public transport.
- Brand fit – does it reflect the values and culture of your company?
- Access & late licence – at what time can you start set-up? Until what time can you party – lights on at 11 school disco style or all-night clubbing?
- Capacity – will you all fit? Remember the way capacities are listed, noting that “dinner dance” capacity is lower than a straightforward dinner.
Catering
- Think “look & feel” as well as quality and quantity in terms of food and drink. Catering can really influence the feel of a party.
- Rather than taking the caterers’ set menu as red, brainstorm with them. Chefs love to go “off-piste” and get creative.
Entertainment
A party is not a party without entertainment and the range is broader than you can imagine, whatever your bag.
1. Fit is all important, not just with the venue but with the theme and the company brand. Remember your aim is to please everyone, offend no-one.
2. If you are booking entertainers, check their “rider”; timings expenses, requirements (hot meal or 1,000 red roses in their hotel suite…)
3. Ask yourself why you are booking entertainers – to break the ice or to be the headline act? You are going to have to justify the budget so make sure you know the why as well as the what.
Décor
- Don’t set out to transform a venue unless you have a very generous budget. If you do, ideally start with a blank canvas venue where you can start from scratch.
- For the modest to medium budget use the venue as a foundation and build on it. Aim to create an ambience rather than working to a specific title.
- Appeal to the senses – snowflakes on skin, the aroma of Christmas spices, hushed voices of carol singers…
Back to the chef’s kitchen….
So you’ve got the ingredients, now we need to know the …
QUANTITIES
Remember the soufflé? The rule here is: get the balance right.
1. Prioritise – which is the most important of the ingredients in the section above?
2. Allocate the budget according to your priorities, but also bear in mind that the lion’s share will be devoured by venue and catering.
3. Remember to reserve a small pot for those potential extra touches (gifts, midnight nibbles) and to have a contingency fund
MIX IT UP!
This section is all about how you transform those individual ingredients into your soufflé ready for the oven.
- Project plan – have a (realistic) detailed schedule to include a projected timeline for each task.
- Get tasks in order. Certain elements will need to be completed before and will impact upon others.
- Do your research. Does your market prefer the savoury or the sweet souffle?
- Get strategic. Ask yourself “why?” at every point. It will help you justify budget, your actions and every element of the party to your boss and the budget-holder. It will also ensure you are constantly looking to match the event to your company culture and your target audience.
…AND WHEN THE OVEN BREAKS DOWN
Plan not only for what will go right on the night.
Every event planner worth their salt has a good event disaster story to tell…how you handle it is the proof of the pudding.
1. Don’t panic! Think the situation through and work through the best, closest and most viable alternatives and solutions.
2. Have a Plan B wherever possible – it will be far from the perfect solution (that was Plan A) but it will divert attention while you deal with the disaster.
SETTING (AND CLEARING) THE TABLE
Set-up on the day and post-event de-rig.
- Allow yourself time to set up on the day – allow what you think and then add an extra hour. Expect delays.
- Take a detailed schedule with you with all timings so that on the night you don’t have to think, you just do.
- Leave yourself time to get ready after set-up - the hostess with the mostess needs preparation time.
- Know when suppliers are returning to de-rig
SIDE DISHES
What other extras might accompany the main event?
Security staff – ensure they are polite to guests and not on a power trip. Ensure they are provided with a guest list and are briefed fully on guest protocol / entry rules.
Staffing – anything from freelance event managers to naked models. Again brief fully, explaining what is expected (and not) of them.
Fancy dress – are you dressing up the waiting staff to fit with your theme? You do not have to blow budget on full costumes, how about wigs or hats?
Gifts – are you giving guests a goodie bag or is Santa arriving at midnight with a sack of presents?
Post-party party – if the party finishes early, have a venue lined up nearby where the survivors can go and enjoy a nightcap.
TOPPINGS
The icing on the cake….
Attention to detail is the key to a fabulous party and it is the little touches that guests will remember. Think rose petals and scented candles in the ladies loo, a polite and smiling cloakroom assistant who finds guests coats immediately, the cab ready and waiting as you step out into the cold. It is the sparkly toppings that put the finishing touch on the fairy cake.
BON APPETIT!
Being a chef is a vocation as well as a career. Chefs are borne out of a love of good food. So tuck in & savour the flavour. You have created this Christmas party whether it’s just a side dish or a 7 course menu gourmand. It’s now time to enjoy it.
Kate works at Beyond, Bespoke Events Partner to Keith Prowse.