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Eventia's Man About Town - May

Welcome to the second edition of our new column featuring Mark Gill from First Protocol as he reviews the supplier events he's attended in recent months. (as featured in the May newsletter).

Out & about with MG@FP 

It seems ages since my last article so thank goodness I’m back with part 2.  It’s been a busy few weeks and the industry seems to be back up and flying, but I’ve still managed to get out and about and show my face!  Here’s this month’s rundown…………… 

April opened with our company meeting at the Intercontinental Park Lane.  This was a chance for Intercontinental to showcase their flagship London property to the team.  We’ve had mixed success at the hotel over the past couple of years and they really rolled out the big guns to impress our team.  We had a full turnout of senior management and at the close of the meeting we were treated to some delicious cocktails and canapés in the Cookbook Café.  The hotel holds its own alongside its closest competition from the Hilton but, the challenge will really come with the forthcoming re-opening of their neighbour, the Four Seasons London.  I can’t wait to check that place out!

Early April also saw the opportunity for me to catch up with the team at Gordon Ramsay Holdings.  As we look forward to a busy summer I went to take a peek at a couple of their key London restaurants including the brand new Petrus.  We expect great things from this place especially given their past association with Marcus Wareing at the Berkeley.  Check out www.gordonramsay.com/petrus for more info.  It’s stylish, sexy and well worth a visit. I look forward to dropping in for lunch sometime soon.   Definitely off to the right start.  I also stopped off at Murano to say hi to Angela and then it was on to Maze and Gordon Ramsay at Claridge’s.  There was even time for me to squeeze in a quick lunch and a glass or two of fizz with the delightful Toni Mears at the York & Albany.  Excusing the fact that you have to get up to Camden this is a gem with comfortable bedrooms, an awesome deli and a fantastic restaurant and bar.  Y&A is a great North London addition to the GR portfolio. 

Mid April saw me appear at Madsen in South Kensington to spend an evening with Wonderful Copenhagen & Visit Denmark.  Denmark isn’t top of the requested list for our clients but, these guys are working really hard to promote the destination so I wanted to go along and offer my support.  My concerns are around the lack of 5* luxury hotels.  All the big brands are yet to plant their flag in the ground.  Let’s wait and see how things develop with this destination. 

Late April saw me hit the Wapping Project for a client event and it was as interesting as ever.  Jules, who owns the place, is quite a character and as usual the evening was a memorable success.  If you’re looking for a unique venue in East London for a launch or a party then check this place out.  I do hope you love Australian wine though.....................

The end of April saw a chance for me to head to the Renaissance Chancery Court.  I hadn’t been for ages and, to be honest I decided to reserve judgment but, what I saw looked impressive.  I’ll need to go back to really scratch beneath the surface.  After a welcome glass of bubbles with the GM it was on to the highlight of the evening, dinner in the Pearl restaurant.  The food was exceptional and we even had an appearance Executive Head Chef Jun Tanaka (I didn’t know the name either but, I soon recognized him from Saturday Kitchen!)  My only criticism would be the lack of named products in the restaurant toilets.  

The close of the month saw me drop into the Ritz Carlton reception at the Met Bar.  I suspect it was just an excuse for the boys and girls of the RC to ply their key clients with copious amounts of booze but, there was a still time to network with a selection of their fabulous hotels.  Once again my good luck deserted me and I missed out on winning anything in the prize draw.  Sadly for our hosts they suffered a bit with a high number of no shows on the night which was a shame but, it left more for the rest of us!  That’s one for my room 101 – if you’re not going to make an appearance on the night do let your host know in advance.

Well that’s another month wrapped up.  I’m off down under for a couple of weeks for a well earned holiday, and a chance to check out the Four Seasons and Shangri-La Sydney.

See you all soon and, keep an eye out for me!

MG@FP