Event
professionals were taken on a journey Through the Looking Glass at The QEII Centre’s Spectacular Summer Showcase.
The Alice in
Wonderland-themed event, held on The QEII Centre’s lawn, was designed to give
guests a taster of the creativity and expertise on offer at London’s leading
conference and event venue, as well as a chance to experience an unforgettable
evening in the heart of Westminster.
Guests were
invited to navigate their way through a maze onto the lawn before being greeted
by the Queen of Hearts and the Mad Hatter where the experience
began.
Mixologists
from Shake & Stir UK created bespoke cocktails, such as the Queen of Hearts
– a blend of white rum, aged rum, orange, pineapple, lime and grenadine – and
Tea Time – a non-alcoholic cocktail made with green tea, mint honey,
elderflower and ginger beer.
QEII’s
in-house catering team QEII Taste designed a fantastical feast
that tantalized tastebuds and inspired imaginations. Creative canapés included
Chess Board – chess pieces cleverly crafted from gazpacho and gelatine and
served on a chess board – and The Rose Trees in the Garden – spinach tuile, red
pepper gel and pumpernickel soil.
Main dishes
continued to be inspired by Lewis Carroll’s literature with hot bowls including
Time for Tea – seared stone bass served with lobster ‘tea’, samphire gel and
black ink tuile – and Down the Rabbit Hole – an asparagus and chicken ballotine
served with potato stones, aioli and black olive soil.
A selection
of playful desserts which would make the Mad Hatter proud, including Blue
Caterpillar Éclair, Eat Me Chocolate Meringue Cookies and Humpty Dumpty Egg
Flans, completed the culinary experience.
More
entertainment was provided by games on the lawn, including flamingo croquet and
a giant chess board, while acoustic trio Wandering Hands by Sternberg Clarke
provided a musical backdrop for the event.
Mark Taylor,
chief executive, The QEII Centre, said: “The QEII Centre boasts an expert and
talented team of professionals who run and support events everyday within our
venue, so it is wonderful to have the opportunity to creatively showcase the
breadth of their talents and provide an entertaining evening for our valued
clients and associates from around the industry.”
Debbie Flannagan, owner of Unite Marketing and Promotions,
said: “It was such a lovely evening with delicious drinks, ingenious food and
wonderful weather!”
