Meet Birmingham and The ICC undertake UK first at International Confex
8th Mar 2010
Meet Birmingham gave visitors the chance to experience a UK first on their stand at Confex this week. Birmingham Convention Bureau and The NEC Group have teamed up to offer a series of live food demonstrations to launch a tasting menu that is the first of its kind in the UK’s event catering industry.
The new tasting menu – which allows the customer to experience small tasting samples of two starters, a fish and meat main course, two varieties of dessert and a cheese course in one sitting – has been developed by Paul Gould, Executive Head Chef for The NEC Group.
Paul said: “While a tasting menu is a familiar sight in Michelin star restaurants, we have found that the catering industry has failed to deliver this for high volumes. We’re recognised for being able to take niche restaurant concepts and deliver them to scale, so this presented a great challenge and opportunity for the ICC catering team to be the first to do it!“
A selection of the menu was cooked in a special theatre kitchen on the stand at the show with samples available for visitors to enjoy. Meet Birmingham’s cookery demonstrations were designed to give visitors a taste of the city’s award winning and diverse culinary offering for business and leisure visitors alike.
As well as gourmet delights, visitors could discover more about Birmingham’s range of world-class venues and state of the art facilities that make it one of Europe’s most popular conference destinations. Hilton Birmingham Metropole, Wroxall Abbey, The Public and q-basemedia all formed part of the Meet Birmingham stand and advised visitors and help on their conferencing requirements.
Ian Taylor, commercial director at Marketing Birmingham, said:
“Birmingham is a well connected and highly reputable events destination which is reflected in the breadth of venues on the Meet Birmingham stand. In the same respect, the city is increasingly regarded as a major player on the food and drink stage. With Michelin starred food and innovative catering, Birmingham has the whole package for event organisers.
“Together with The NEC Group, we are working hard to ensure the interest in the city continues and have a host of national and international business confirmed for this year.”
To make bringing events to Birmingham even easier, Birmingham Convention Bureau launched the Meet Birmingham guide 2010 at the show. The 80 page publication showcases the breadth of the business offering in the city and the wider region, and full details of the venues, accommodation and activities on offer.
To download a copy of the Meet Birmingham guide 2010, click here.
