Celebrating getting back to business with FCSI UK&I events
“Everyone you will ever meet, knows something you don’t”. Bill Nye
This quote really struck a chord as yesterday we experienced our first face-to-face FCSI UK&I event since before the pandemic began. Whilst we’ve run several online events for our members during the last 18 months, you can’t beat that deeper connection and the relationship you build when you are talking to someone whilst enjoying good food and drinks. By working in hospitality, we are all hospitable by nature and so it felt so normal to be back supporting our industry. Whilst websites, social media and email marketing can help drive new clients, you can’t beat face to face networking for creating those new business opportunities and a deeper connection.
An Italian foodie experience at Eataly
The conversation flowed, the drinks flowed, and we had very generous portions of delicious food from the Eataly London team. You could feel the energy in the room as people recognised the significance of this opportunity to connect once again.
Our antipasti menu included a selection of three Italian fried croquettes, tomato, basil and fiordilatte mozzarella arancino, fried pizza dough with tomato coulis, spaghetti and béchamel ball with cooked ham and peas, a selection of our best cheese and charcuterie and a vegan option of slow cooked and baked aubergine with tomatoes, taggiasche olives and baby basil. Main course options were tagliatelle bolognese, ravioli barbabietola e caprine and spaghetto Eataly. For dessert, our guests enjoyed cannolo, Tiramisù tradizionale or mixed seasonal fruits from Natoora.
It’s more than a restaurant
Eataly London only opened a few months ago and we felt it was somewhere a little different for our members to enjoy. It has its own food market and offers a series of foodie workshops. From their hands-on classes at La Scuola to storewide wine tastings, their events are designed for food lovers and the food curious. The FCSI UK&I guests enjoyed a tour of the venue, learning about the history of this hospitality chain and how they operate. We all witnessed fantastic customer service, and I think everyone enjoyed exploring and shopping in the food market before they left. It’s somewhere we would absolutely recommend to others, whether you want a venue to meet a friend or client for a coffee or to go out for a full evening meal.
A chance to chat, connect and collaborate
This event was purposely designed to be informal. After so much time apart, the FCSI UK&I committee felt that we needed to offer our members the chance to simply connect. After months of chatting on Zoom or Teams, it was great to see such a buzz in ‘real-life’. For some of our members who had joined during the lockdowns, they celebrated their first FCSI event in style. There was such a positive vibe with guests sharing their hope and positivity for the future as well as the innovation and creativity they have used to develop their consultancy or business during the last 18 months. In some ways, we think the pandemic has accelerated business development for many and it has encouraged our consultants to try new things and broaden their expertise.
Want to get involved?
This will be the first of many new events for our members. Watch this space for details of future locations. We are looking for venues which are a little bit different with a great story and selection of food and drinks. If you are interested in becoming a member and joining one of our future events, please email Louise@fscsi.org.
