When interviewing staff “are you a list maker?” may not be my first question, but it is actually one of the most important. How the applicant responds is likely to be key to my decision-making process.

In my opinion, list-making is a key skill and possibly the most important one. It defines how I want our events to run:
* Well organised
* With attention to detail
* With all aspects covered.

Of course, creative flair and computer skills are important assets, but list-making, for me, comes top. When you have lots of events on the go and/or managing complex events maybe over several days, it is physically impossible to remember everything and very hard to delegate if you aren’t working from a list. There’s no point in your client investing in the most elaborate set and having room décor to die for if the event organiser has forgotten key logistical elements, such as arranging speaker transport, as they were so busy in the final run-up to the event that it slipped their mind or everyone thought someone else was doing it. All guests will remember is that everything ran late and lunch was overcooked!

Many years ago I attended a Tasting at one of the major London conference hotels. When the client asked whether it would be possible to garnish the lamb with Rosemary, the banqueting manager, to my utter dismay, suggested that the client should consider holding the event at The Savoy for that type of personal touch that eluded most banqueting kitchens. In those days a tasting was purely to decide which dish to choose and heaven help the events management company who dared suggest serving one of the dishes slightly differently.

Thankfully things have changed. A Tasting is an opportunity for the events management company and the client to meet with their caterer to sample and discuss the suggested menus. Whenever possible it is advisable to sample the food before making your menu selection and often this involves discussion about how to adapt or change dishes or ingredients to look or taste slightly differently so that the dishes look their best and compliment each other.

My favourite Tasting of the year is the annual canapé tasting with caterers By Word of Mouth. The Canapés are always amazing and it is such a treat to weigh up the merits of their various suggestions when making the final selection. Apart from the fact that everything looks and tastes delicious they are innovative – both in the creation of the dish and its presentation. It’s a definite perk of the job and reminds me why I chose a career in events management!

New staff look at me in amazement when they see our kit box check-list.  It goes to all events – a tool case packed to the brim.  Apart from the obvious:  a stapler, spare place cards, an Accident Book etc, over the years I’ve added often obscure items which have proved invaluable. Whilst you clearly don’t need to take a bottle opener to The Dorchester, it’s handy when you’ve bought the drinks (in credit crunch times the budget often doesn’t allow for waiter hire) to realise the specified wine didn’t come with a screw-top!  Similarly whilst male delegates are unlikely to want a spare pair of tights – girls occasionally do. 

Of course it is as much for our benefit as that of clients and guests.  The last time we organised a country wedding I got an SOS text from Dominique:  The shoe-string strap on her frock had just died and she was in danger of becoming the cabaret and losing her dress whilst checking guests onto the coach to go to the Church.  A safety pin and borrowed cardi sorted the problem short term and by the time the happy couple were wed and guests counted back onto the coach for the Reception, the sewing kit had come into its own and the offending strap was repaired.

I also benefitted recently when I had a wardrobe malfunction.  Having bought a glorious new dress for one of the winter ‘black tie’ events we are organising, I had it professionally shortened weeks ago. I exited the lift on the night and promptly tripped on the back of my dress.  When my heel caught for the fourth time I realised that the chic jersey material had ‘dropped’, making the frock far too long again.  Thank goodness double-sided sellotape  was in the kit box!

Some years ago I was asked to plan and handle event management, including a schedule for wives and partners, for an international conference in Edinburgh.  Not familiar with the City I threw myself into researching possible venues and activities and thought I’d found the perfect venue for a lunch.  Located under the iconic Firth of Forth Bridge, this pub had played host to Scots hero Robert Louis Stevenson, who had apparently penned part of Kidnapped whilst staying on the premises.  It was still open for business, took group bookings for lunch, and with my experience of event management seemed a great choice for a group of European business men’s wives and partners – the perfect mix of history and charm, and within budget.

Luckily I persuaded the client that a conference of this status merited a site visit to check out the recommendations and logistics first hand.  I flew to Edinburgh for the weekend and arrived at the aforementioned establishment in time for bank holiday Monday lunch.  Warning bells rang in my head as I arrived … the pub was surrounded by bikers in their leathers, the walls inside were yellow with nicotine and the place had a faded and rather jaded feel about it.  Undaunted, I tried to order lunch – which turned out to be curried turkey casserole and tasted as if it was still left over from Christmas, even though we were in May.

Needless to say we found another lunch venue, and when this group of well-heeled, elegant European women arrived I thanked my lucky stars for that site visit.  The idea of them tucking into turkey curry whilst inhaling the smell of old cigarettes was not one any event manager would wish to aspire to.

‘Wow’ food is a quintessential ingredient when planning parties and events, and if you’re the one in charge of event catering and lucky enough to choose the Menu you have to remember it isn’t all about you and your personal taste buds, but about your guests and theirs. The fact that you hate coconut is no reason to select a different pudding if the

Pudding at a wedding

Coconut Soufflé is the Chef’s signature dish. Event catering is all about your audience – who they are and what they will like. Think about who is going to be eating the food and what they are likely to consider delicious. If you have a large number of guests unlikely to eat beef or shellfish it might be an easier option to select dishes that don’t contain these, rather than have large numbers of guests ordering the vegetarian menu. If your audience is mostly young women, they are unlikely to want a heavy meat meal at lunchtime – or to negotiate something with a large number of bones and difficult to eat whilst chatting. There are no hard and fast rules, but knowing your customer really helps to get the event catering right.

My personal bugbears are cocktail canapés that aren’t ‘bite-size’. No woman wants to tackle a fist-sized snack whilst standing drinking with a drink and probably her handbag in the other hand. It’s her outfit she wants to be wearing, not the food, and the logistics of negotiating the food without dropping it or stuffing it all into her mouth at the risk of making her look like a chipmunk with cheek pouches, will probably make her just pass on the opportunity. Almost as irritating are stunning cocktail skewers that leave you wondering how to get the food off – and what to do with the stick later as so often the waiter has departed by the time you have managed to eat it, leaving you to go in search of a suitable receptacle to deposit it in.

Canapes on the menu

When talking to your event caterer establish what their ‘show-off’ dishes are, their favourites – and what they would choose if it was their function. Yes you can up the ante and get them to go that extra mile with rose petal decorations, tuille biscuit baskets and petits fours served from teapots steaming with dry ice, but remember that it isn’t clever to give them hoops to jump through that will be too difficult on the day. You – and they – have to be confident they are going to be able to deliver delicious food without either of you having a complete nervous breakdown!