Four ways food can fuel your next conference or event

By Warwick Conferences’ Head of Food, Mark Ralph

Food is an integral part to any meeting, conference or event, especially when it comes to fuelling brain power.

Providing a tasty, fresh and varied menu is usually front of mind for any meeting organiser. But with ever-evolving food trends and dietary requirements, the need for more creative catering has increased.

From healthier alternatives to more indulgent options, it’s important to provide a variety of dishes to suit individual needs. This ensures each person is fulfilled, energised and motivated throughout the day.

Here are four ways that we look to innovate our approach to food, vital to keep the creative juices of any meeting flowing:

1. Keeping it local

We support the best suppliers in the Coventry and Warwickshire region, saving on air miles and providing produce that’s full of flavour. And with a shorter time between the harvest and our restaurant, its nutritional value has less time to decrease.

Because we only use the very best seasonal ingredients, our menu is flexible rather than defined months in advance. The one constant is flavour, whether that’s meat and vegetables from Cotswold farmers or soft fruits from nearby Worcestershire.

We’re also Bronze accredited with The Soil Association. This means that our lunch and dinner menus only use locally sourced ingredients with a clear provenance, supporting the best suppliers in the local area.

2. Staying in the know

To provide a memorable experience, we understand the importance of innovation. Staying ahead of trends help up add an element of surprise in everything that we create.

Our team of highly skilled chefs and hospitality operatives attend a range of events in order to develop their skills, learning continuously about upcoming food movements and unique service styles.

We even travel overseas to explore fresh cuisines, learn new culinary skills and immerse ourselves in different food cultures.

3. Cooking the next craze

Food trends are always changing, but we’ve found the best way to stay as responsive as possible is to look to the high-street for inspiration. Cultural diversity strongly influences the culinary landscape, so we love finding new ways to weave this into our catering experience.

We also look closely at the wider consumer psyche to discover new ideas for our dishes. From this, we can create recipes that impress with taste, whilst meeting any lifestyle and dietary requirements.

So far, we’ve experimented with concept of ‘Street Food’ focusing on Mexican and Cuban cuisine. We can even deliver these concepts out of our very own food truck!

4. ‘Take-away’ new experiences

To take the dining experience to the next level, we’re always keen to match the meeting environment to the menu.

Our creative spaces provide a laid-back ambience so we’ve recently introduced a ‘takeaway’ menu option, that allows take-out styled food to be delivered directly to the meeting room. Options include Thai, Indian, Chinese and Italian, keeping things exciting and exotic.

This informal concept adapts to the nature of the meeting and gives a more relaxed and flexible experience.

We’re passionate about creating and delivering innovative food concepts that capture our customers’ imaginations. We provide inspirational and memorable experiences, all whilst tantalising the taste buds.

We’ve worked hard to revolutionise the food offer we deliver to clients. Our catering team consists of a range of skilled chefs, experienced and educated with a wealth of nutritional knowledge.

Everything we produce is always designed to satisfy and keep guests alert to enhance our delegate’s ability to concentrate.