When Alex Zand got in touch in May 2019 with a brief for a Bat Mitzvah in November, the team couldn’t wait to get planning. The family wanted us to work on a street food menu for food stations that would complement the urban graffiti themed production that was going to fill Oval Space in Bethnal Green. The food needed to be adult and child friendly, made with great ingredients and big flavours, and represent happy memories from the family’s life together and…the cocktails needed to be AMAZING!
Over the weeks that followed Lily and Mark rose to the challenge; working on the menus, collaborating with our cocktail experts, arranging custom designs for napkins & stickers and finally carrying out a tasting at home with the family to ensure they could all be there to try the food for the party.
By September it was time for the operational planning. Charlie was now part of the TFI team & we carried out site visits, taste tasted ice creams & met up with the family at home for a second tasting for sushi & dumplings & the all-important cocktails. With the tough decisions made we all now looked forward to the Saturday night in question in early November.
The party started on the outside terrace with arcade games & neon lights, the kids enjoyed mini beef sliders & mini Pomodoro pizzas alongside a rainbow virgin Mojito bar, whilst the adults got stuck into some of our classic winter warming canapes such as delicious lamb & fennel sausage rolls or the caramelised onion & mushroom pithiviers.
Cocktails were shaken, stirred & muddled as the four street food stations opened. Beautifully hand made dumplings steamed to order were dressed with superior soy, chilli mayo and fresh herbs, whist our expert sushi chefs sliced tuna and salmon nigiri, dabbed truffle dressing and garnished with wasabi tobiko. Crispy sole fillets or Sofrito Chicken, avocado, coriander, lime, mayo & pico de gallo filled lightly steamed corn tacos and paired perfectly with the zingy margaritas that were flying off the bar. The cowboy slurpin’ noodle bar with build your own toppings and Buffalo Bill burgers with smokey mayo and skin on rosemary fries completed the menu.
An hour or so later it was time for the bar team to step up, shaking around of 125 mini espresso martinis for the adults & 100 watermelon & basil fruitini shots for the youngsters ready for the toasts.
No party would be complete without ice cream which our friends & experts at Happy Endings provided. The Malty One, Strawberry Shorty & Milk It ice cream sandwiches were on offer, all with perfect amounts of texture and frozen creaminess so you can take one big bite.
As the dancing and music came to an end, the guests made their way down to the coaches but before leaving there was one more foodie treat. Our chefs were dishing up decadent and creamy mac ‘n’ cheese, served with a special hit of truffle for anyone who wanted it, our team also handed out eco friendly cartons of water for the journey home.
The Food Initiative team loved this party! The planning, design, entertainment and catering all came together seamlessly and working with experienced and professional teams made it a joy to be a part of.
Location: oval space, Bethnal green
Guests: 125 adults & 100 children
Event type: bat mitzvah
Menu highlights:
-adult’S Canape: Caramelised onion & mushroom pithivier, parsnip purée & parmesan
-KIDS RECEPTION: -Mini pizza Pomodoro & fior di latte IN BRANDED MINI PIZZA BOXES
-COCKTAILS: NEGRONI, MARGARITa, APEROL SPRITZ & AGED RUM MOJITOS
-food station: fatty tuna nigiri
-food station: Mexican tacos with Crispy sole fillets, avocado, coriander, lime mayo & pico de gallo
-food station: prawn & chive dumplings with superior soy-happy endings ice cream truck :THE MALTY ONE
-Midnight snack: TRUFFLE mac & cheese from our hot dog cart
Organiser: ALEX ZAND productions
event design: gus thatcher
venue TEAM: OVAL SPACE
Catering & hire: The Food Initiative, happy endings
Front of house staffing: Splendid
Event porter: Hundred Strong
Bar: THE FOOD INITIATIVE & ALEX KAMMERLING
Photography: Nikos Tsogkas,Ian Tuttle
