3 minute read
Food for thought
from Upgrade Issue 8
Something is finally being done to alleviate the graveyard shift at events and it revolves around what we eat
We have all attended conferences and been fed cakes at the tea break, carbs for lunch and more cakes during the afternoon tea break. It has been the norm in the events industry for many years and hotels are as much to blame as anyone else, automatically playing safe by serving a menu catering to all tastes and budgets.
Advertisement
That heavy helping of lasagne may hit the spot in the middle of the day but it weighs heavily for the afternoon sessions. Add a darkened room and warm room temperature and the speaker will be hearing snoring rather than applause.
It doesn’t help the situation that costs are paramount when running an event. The standard day delegate rate includes two tea and coffee breaks, room hire and a buffet lunch for a set fee; ask for bespoke items and the price rises.
Leading nutritionists attest to the correlation between healthy food and performance, mood and alertness. Hi-tech and media companies with a generally younger and more health-conscious workforce are breaking the mould in event catering. It began in-house when the likes of Google – which offers free food during work hours – worried about staff suing them for obesity so asked their outside catering company for healthier food options. “They wanted leaner meat and less cream, so we took out 40% of the calorific value from our menus and took away the snacks and fizzy drinks and put bottles of water at eye level,” says Nick Vadis, Culinary Director for the UK’s largest contract caterers Compass Group UK & Ireland. There was no pushback, and no law suits.
A key issue is budget; not every company has Google-sized budgets and healthier options are more costly to put on the table. “It’s a fallacy that a plant-based menu is cheaper,” says Vadis. “It costs between 20-30% more to produce.”
Lime Venues, which represents over 80 unusual UK venues, is ahead of the curve in delivering healthier menus. “Do you need a full English breakfast every day of the event? Just grapefruit would be fine one day, and lunch could be soup and fresh bread and not two courses,” says the company’s Sales Director Jo Austin. “We have to help people make different choices and create good habits.” She would like to see companies taking nutritional
performance seriously in the event world. As an example, Vadis might provide granola, fruit and poached eggs for breakfast, fish salad for lunch and less alcohol too. “Some 40% of any menu we create has to be under 500 calories.” Reducing sugar and salt content is a given.
Vadis believes we are reaching a tipping point, spurred on by trends in clean eating, vegetarianism and veganism. “Flexitarianism – i.e. not eating meat every day – will also become more popular,” he predicts.
Gemma Austen, Business Leader at cievents, FCM’s sister division specialising in meetings and events, believes demand depends on industry vertical. “Look at the delegate type. If it’s a 25-year-old attending an event in a cool hotel then granola bars and quinoa salads are fine but that might not be suitable for a pharma conference of 20 doctors in their fifties.”
BRAIN FOODS
Leafy green vegetables, fatty fish, water, dark chocolate, whole grains, blueberries, tomatoes, eggs, blackcurrants, avocados, flax and pumpkin seeds, broccoli, sage and nuts.
fadvert ILLUMINATE
