Held in the ballroom at London’s Dorchester Hotel, the biennial fundraising event challenges senior figures from the hotel industry to ‘go back to the floor’ taking on silver service and sommelier roles for a gala dinner of colleagues, clients and industry guests.
Over 80 industry volunteers served 400 guests, competing in teams to secure the most tips from their intrepid guests who endured ‘more than their fair share of mishaps, breakages and the odd dropped bread roll’.
Further entertainment was provided by the London Community Gospel Choir in addition to a ‘raucous auction’ during which Chef Raymond Blanc OBE took to the stage to promote a lot donated by The Raymond Blanc Cookery School at Belmond Le Manoir aux Quat Saisons which achieved a £10,000 winning bid.
Hospitality Action Chief Executive Mark Lewis said: “Back to the Floor is without doubt the jewel in our fundraising crown. Philip Newman-Hall, Danny Pecorelli and Zoe Jenkins worked tirelessly to bring together a barnstorming evening of fun, laughs and some fiercely competitive fundraising.
I am humbled by the amount of money raised on the night, which beat all previous records and I will never quite recover from the sight of some of the most senior figures in the industry doing the conga for HA. The amount of money raised is transformational, and it will be put to good use to support hospitality workers as they face life’s challenges.”