Event professionals were taken on an exciting journey Through the Looking Glass on Thursday 6 July when they attended 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 their spectacular 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 award-winning 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.”
Being ‘Curiouser and Curiouser’ to learn more about the venue, it was an event that was enjoyed by all. Debbie Flannagan, owner of Unite Marketing and Promotions, said: “It was such a lovely evening with delicious drinks, ingenious food and wonderful weather!”
