The menu was rolled out for the ‘Dine with the Stars’ event on Thursday, April 16th and was attended by an audience of 50 Pas, corporates and agencies.
Guests were taken on a tour through Madame Tussauds on the ‘Spirit of London’ ride and were treated to a Champagne reception with general manager of events at Madame Tussauds, Michael Aldridge.
The dishes for the evening had been adapted but conveyed the BRIT Awards brief - 'an elegant and stylish menu using seasonal British produce with a contemporary edge'. The networking event kicked off with a mini version of the Dorset wasabi and green tea panna cotta starter with a toska salad, salted edamame, lotus root crisp, yuzu soy dressing, smoked tofu and pickled daikon.
The main course was served in the ‘World Stage’ which was adorned with some characters who have performed on the BRIT Awards stage at The O2. Guests were surrounded by the likes of Madonna, Amy Winehouse and Adele while they were served by the BRIT Award’s front of house catering team. The Wellington of slow-cooked rib wrapped in brioche dough, slow-roast fillet of West Country beef, Lincolnshire savoy cabbage and celeriac puree, was served with precision and highlighted Payne and Gunter’s innate ability to deliver exceptional food at any occasion.
Maggie Crowe OBE, event director of The BRIT Awards along with Adrian Carter, event manager of the BRIT Awards, and Bethan James, head of operations at Payne and Gunter, took to the stage to discuss the operations behind the scenes of the UK’s biggest music industry awards of the year.
Carter said: “Payne and Gunter have, and will always be, our preferred caterers. Whatever we throw at them, it's never too much and this is incredibly important when we're working with 30 plus suppliers. You can't fault the team. You can't fault the service. You can't fault the food.”
Crowe added: “We need a bespoke, one-to-one relationship with our caterer and that sense of bravery needed to embrace all our obscure and quirky requests. We get that from Bethan and her team.”
James said: “For us, it’s about the partnership – you have to evolve with your client. Rolling out a show-stopping menu to more than 4,000 guests in less than 75 minutes is no mean feat, but we have developed a great working relationship with The BRITs team and we understand the needs of the event. It’s great to celebrate the achievements this year at Madame Tussauds and to give guests a taste of the experience.”
Guests were encouraged to mingle with the stars as they enjoyed the "sherbet fountain" dessert - a lemon posset, pistachio sponge, candied lemon sherbet topped with a pillow of marshmallow meringue in a crisp case, dusted with freeze dried liquorice and the all-important liquorice stick that went in every tube of sherbet fountains.
With 25 years’ experience, Payne and Gunter prides itself on offering exquisite food which has been carefully designed in line with current market trends and with an underlying emphasis on serving seasonal British food.