Events Team innovation is a recipe for success

Innovation comes in many forms, and by stirring up the Firm’s flagship client-facing event, our Events team have secured a double award win. 

The In-House Corporate Events, (ICE) awards reward the best and most innovative achievements of in-house corporate events planners, and the General Counsel Programme Dinner 2018 was proclaimed both the ‘Most Disruptive Event’, and the ‘Best CSR Event’ overall. 

The team created an immersive culinary experience, attended by 60 General Counsel and 35 partners, producing an entirely sustainable dining experience with zero food waste, maximum nutritional benefit – that could be described as Michelin star quality. 

Ten individual cooking stations provided ‘food theatre’ for guests, enabling them to ask questions and explore the sustainability narrative of the five course meal. Each course represented a different element; wood, fire, metal, water and earth.

The menu, created by eco-chef Arthur Potts-Dawson, was 100% traceable from sourcing to table – with guests able to follow the journey of their food all the way to the table via an app. 

The event was a hit at the awards, with judges commenting that “The unique take on a gala dinner identified itself as being different early on…it was delicate and exquisite with its delivery. 

“This made the event very creative but most importantly disruptive, as it was so different to the norm…it clearly demonstrated how all dining experiences in the 21st century should be delivered.”

We knew that mixing up a tried and tested formula was a risk, but thinking creatively has paid off – going down well with both the GCs who attended and the judges and providing something new and innovative. 

The event challenged us all to think differently about food sustainability, and our environmental impact is now a far greater consideration for our events team when planning and delivering events.