Little Ship Club is our Venue of the Month!

The Little Ship Club is the City of London's yacht club, offering up a unique blend of sailing history and tradition. Of course it's an ideal venue for any kind of event, from weddings and Christmas parties to meetings large and small.

While we have several Riverside Venues, this one is pretty special; thanks to the Club Room, which offers large windows and doors that open up onto the Thames path itself, your reception can truly be right at the river's edge!

For that reason, we couldn't resist giving the Little Ship Club its own unique Christmas party theme of "Christmas Upon Thames". Host your celebration here and the club will become your own cosy cubbyhole, bursting with a sense of warm festivity and offering you the chance to sip some lovely bubbles right by the river.

It's also perfect for weddings - with a layout that just cries out for parties, the Little Ship Club is a superb reception venue and its licensed for ceremonies too. There are cabins at the club (with adorable berths rather than beds!), normally available to members only, which can be used by guests to stay overnight. And with its close proximity to major train stations London Bridge and Waterloo, and an NCP car-park adjoining the venue, it's an extremely convenient venue for wedding guests travelling from outside London.

But right now we're most excited about the new Summer Package at the Little Ship Club. Keeping the maritime theme, we're bringing the Great British Seaside right into the heart of the City! With our extensive supplier network we can provide all those things that make a beach party, from a traditional bandstand to a Punch and Judy act! That's not forgetting all the props: buckets and spades, deck chairs ...did someone say giant ice cream cones?

 

Of course, nothing says "seaside" like fish and chips! Since Ampersand are catering, the quality goes far beyond your average promenade fare. Their bowl-food version uses beer battered pollock, with tartar sauce and mushy peas - it's the seaside in a dish! Other great options include beef burgers, pie and mash, or a great British BBQ...

End the evening on the perfect high-note as you watch the sun set over the Thames with some Pimm's, candy floss and lollipops - bliss!

 

Team ITA goes Wine Tasting

The ITA team had a lovely evening when we went for a tasting of Simonsig Estate wines, hosted by one of our wine partners, Jascots Wine. Viticulturist Francois Malan was on hand to explain the process and help describe the delicious wines to us. Francois is among the 3rd generation of the Malans, who produce wines on the Simonsig Estate in South Africa.



The first two wines we tasted were the Simonsig Kaapse Vonkel Brut and the Simonsig Sparkling Rosé Brut. Both wines are an accomplished blend of Pinot Meunier, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. The wine savvy among you may have picked up on the fact that these are the same grapes used in Champagne. The result is a sparkling wine with Champagne flavours, but without the price tag! As such, a very worthy, noticeable and affordable upgrade from a typical prosecco reception.



Around 100 years ago, when they had an excess haul of crayfish, South Africa entered into a deal with France, who bought the shipment with a caveat that South Africa was not allowed to call its wines after French regions. South Africa agreed to this - unknowingly pre-empting modern day regulations dictating that wine cannot be labelled as "champagne" unless it is from the Champagne region - and from this deal the "Kaapse Vonkel" was born, a wine that is basically Champagne in all but name. After trying it ourselves, we can confirm that it certainly passes the taste test with flying colours!



Another advantage of this wine is its versatility when pairing with food. As Francois Malan said, it's the one to choose when you're having something unusual because, whatever the flavour, it's a safe bet that this wine will go well with it!

The wine is dry, as the name "Brut" implies. Francois told us the humorous tale of how this word came to designate drier wines. Originally, in the late 1700s to early 1800s, Champagne produced in France was very sweet. British recipients started to request drier wines, however the majority opinion from French vintners regarded the British as crazy and unrefined for requesting such a thing. However some French vintners built their business on production of the drier wines for "the English brutes" and hence the classification was born!



But the wine that really got us talking was "The War Horse", a Chenin Blanc. At the turn of the 20th century, horses were imported to Cape Town from British Colonies in India and Argentina to assist the war effort. Due to the arduous journey the horses settled temporarily near Stellenbosch (where the Simonsig estate grows its grapes) and this site, over 100 years later, is now the source of the War Horse Chenin Blanc vines.

Surprisingly refreshing and cleansing, Malan described this wine as a "fruit salad in a glass" and we could immediately see why when tasting; it's full of flavours of tropical fruits including banana, guava and pineapples rounded off by an elegant mineral finish - so yummy!

Simonsig is proud to say they have probably won more awards than any other South African winemaker; one such accolade went to the War Horse for "Super Quaffer of the Year". No surprises there; the wine is extremely easy to drink!



The evening was great fun, educational and, thanks to our catering partners Ampersand who provided some nibbles that paired very well with the wine, including "boerewors", a traditional sausage of South African origin, very tasty too!

We're happy to say that all of these wines are available in all of our packages. If you want to sample these wines at your event then just ask one of our sales coordinators when you get in touch. We can't wait to try more ourselves!

Cuban Summer Party at Museum of London Docklands

Museum of London Docklands has launched its new summer party package - for a Cuban Beach party!

Live "La Vida Loca" in London this summer! Considering the Museum's historic link with the Caribbean we looked to Cuba for inspiration for our parties this Summer.

The Cuban vibe can be enhanced with some exciting upgrades...you can add palm trees, a Cuban rum tasting, and finish the night off dancing away to a Cuban 4 piece band!

Mojitos, maracas and irresistible rhythm will make for a real Cuban party atmosphere.

But at the core of this package is the versatile Cuban inspired menu.

We say versatile because you have the option of canapés, hot or cold, bowl food or a barbeque menu - an ideal choice to make the most of the outdoor space that Museum of London Docklands has!

We can't wait to try the "spicy mojo chicken" canapés!

There is also a fantastic range of fish on the menu, of course considering the Caribbean origins - from sautéed red snapper on the bowl menu, or marinated swordfish steaks cooked in front of you and your guests on the barbeque.

We have even thought of dessert - inventively using rum in different ways, from a mojito soufflé, to Cuban rice pudding and rum soaked raisins or a sweet casserole with dark rum and bananas.

Our on site chef, Eddie Banks developed this menu for us:

"Having been to Cuba, I've tried the local cuisine and have been inspired to bring those flavours to this new menu. They have some great rums too and it felt only natural to combine rum flavours to the food as a nod to the Museum's history as a rum store. While out in Cuba I also sampled the cigars too...so it's great to see cigar rolling as an option in the package which will definitely add some fun to the proceedings"

This is just a taster (excuse the pun) of the full menu, which you can see by downloading the package below:

Download Museum of London Docklands Summer Package.

See our other summer packages

 

Giles Deacon Fashion Show at Stationers' Hall

ITA and Ted Baker - The Photos!

We're still buzzing from our client event with Ted Baker earlier this week. It was our first time working with this fantastic brand and hopefully not our last!

It's been all go throughout the weeks building up to the event getting things organised, but we think the hard work paid off and hope that our lovely guests had a fabulous time!

The timing seems perfect for an event like this: Ted Baker's beautiful Spring/Summer 2013 range now fills their Cheapside store - just in time for our guests to reward ourselves for spring-cleaning our wardrobes. With 20% discount on the night it's a great opportunity for them to restock with some new threads!

It's certainly a unique sort of store as it's home to "Ted's Beauty Spot", a private salon within the store. One guest, thanks to her prompt RSVP, was lucky enough to win a full treatment there!

This was an exclusive event for 40 people only; we invited a selection of event bookers, and took the opportunity to get an idea of what they are looking for right now so we can make sure we are putting on events that are new, hot and on trend. We've got some brilliant summer packages and this was a chance to share our excitement with clients - but also to let our hair down a little and do some clothes shopping too!

Naturally we wanted to - literally - give our guests a taste of how wonderful an event can be, so our catering partner Ampersand provided the delicious canapés and bubbles for the evening.

From pear jelly with blue cheese and walnut biscuits, to beetroot macarons filled with goat's cheese, they brought a stunning level of quality to our event. But of course that's a given when you partner with Ampersand! We'd like to say thanks to their great team for helping the event run like clockwork and for the delicious canapes. Especially the Disaronno and Biscotti Chocolate Bombs!

After our guests had browsed the store and filled their baskets with gorgeous things, we sent them on their way with a goodie bag filled with little treats from Ted Baker and from ITA.

We love client events, they're always fun, not only because we get to really work as a team and pull a great event together but also because we can get to know our lovely event bookers a little better and in a relaxed,welcoming, and inspiring environment. A big thanks to the Ted Baker team for their part in creating a great event!

Check out the photos!

 

The Top 3 Parties at 28 Portland Place

This might just be stating the obvious, but we love a good party! We've spent untold hours of this unusually cold and snowy March dreaming of parties yet to come and reminiscing about those amazing celebrations gone by. As the 'venue guru' of 28 Portland Place, Nicola Stoddart has decided on a list of the top three parties we've helped host at this fab West End venue. It has certainly hosted some fantastic ones!

We just couldn't rank these (getting down to three was hard enough!) so in no particular order...

Lisa Snowdon's Birthday Party

We've picked this one not just to name-drop guests like Matt Damon (although we just did! Oops!) but mainly thanks to the way the venue was transformed, almost unrecognisably so. Given an art deco style, the Sainsbury room became a high end nightclub, complete with a lit up white dance floor so guests could shimmy the night away. Perhaps the highlight of theming was a giant martini glass which just happened to come with its own burlesque dancer inside!







Casino Royale for Christmas

To make a great party you just need a few basic things - good company, music, good food and, of course, a plentiful supply of drinks. But a party can become just that bit more magical, exciting and unique by adding simple extras, and the client for this Christmas party in 2012 really went to town! Casino tables in the Sainsbury Room, smoke machines and dazzling lasers in the adjoining Adam room. The entrance hall hosted a photo booth, and the lobby a bar. With the whole venue playing a part to create a journey through the night, this was a Christmas party to remember.







'At Home' with Ampersand

We are, of course, a little biased in picking a party held by our catering partners Ampersand but for this event they really made this Georgian town house a home, with Chesterfield sofas, board games, and Martin Dibben, Ampersand's Director of Operations, delighting guests when he displayed his dulcet tones alongside a pianist! A charming relaxed and homey atmosphere was created, totally different from a disco or casino feel.

Justifiably proud of their cooks' culinary skills, they let Executive Chef Gary Devereaux take the back of house to the front of house, by setting up a 'kitchen' in the Sainsbury Room to prepare and present a spectacular array of food to the guests. As an expert caterer, their food is truly the star of the show!









We picked these parties as we felt they really showcase the possibilities for a perfect, unique, and memorable event. We're constantly surprised and delighted to see how the same venue can change from party to party. In a space as versatile as 28 Portland Place anything is possible!