It’s easy – when you’re busy with events and planning and the day-to-day running of the company – to forget to mark the big milestones, and this is certainly a significant milestone for a young company like ourselves.

We’ve had five years of hard work, pressure, deadlines, tight schedules, exacting clients, and near-impossible rosters.  But we’ve also had five years of growth, partnership, camaraderie, job satisfaction, happy customers and invaluable staff.  We’d like to thank everyone who has been involved in our story so far – customers (past and current), employees, suppliers and friends.  We couldn’t have done it without you, and we look forward to many more years of involvement.

It’s said that 5-year-old’s are generally independent, creative, energetic and eager for new experiences.

We think that just about sums us up too.

The post We are 5! appeared first on Event Waiter.

We were there to help with the launch of La Touche, the new dining experience at Punchestown.  A newly-refurbished space, overlooking the winners circle and just steps from the parade ring, La Touche seats up to 250 guests in a chic and contemporary-styled setting.

Food and hospitality at La Touche is provided by Turning Tables Dining Services, and we were delighted to assist them with the service front-of-house.  The standard of food was just amazing – anybody familiar with Bouchon in Naas will be aware of the high standard of cuisine set by Fergal Nugent – and Fran and his front-of-house crew were a delight to work with.

We hope to be back in La Touche to help with the busy festival week, which runs from Tuesday 25th to Saturday 29th April 2017.  Festival-goers are certainly in for a real treat at La Touche!

Maybe next time we’ll manage to place a bet…

Group dining is not a problem on the spacious floor layout

One of several cosy booths at La Touche

*All photos courtesy of Turning Tables Dining Services

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To our clients, we extend our sincere appreciation for your continued support.  We have just recently celebrated four years in business, and we couldn’t have done it without you.  We look forward to helping you with many more events in the future.

We would also like to thank our team, who help us make events so successful.  They are our greatest asset, and we are continually grateful for their dedication, courtesy and good humour.

2016 was a record year for us in terms of the number of events, and 2017 looks set to be even busier.  We look forward to growing the business and the team this year and beyond.

For now, though, lets have the obligatory photo-collages from some of the events of the past year…

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Entertaining at home needn’t be complicated or stressful and – let’s face it – you deserve to enjoy the experience as much as your guests!  So we’ve put together a few tips to take some of the hassle out of planning and hosting your home event.

The Food

Depending on the nature of the occasion, and the number of guests you are planning to invite, there are many options for your food.

If you want to make a lasting impression, we recommend bringing in a chef to cater for your event, and having your food served by professional waiting staff.  Before you say “That’s waaaaaay too fancy for my house!”, we’d like to re-assure you that this is not as costly as you might think, and we are happy to connect you with the right chef and of course our superb team of waiting staff.  As well as having your menu designed, prepared and served by professionals, you get to spend more time with your guests on the day (There is nothing worse than attending a party where the host spends the night in the kitchen!)

We regularly supply chefs and waiting staff for house parties, and the feedback from the clients has always been that it was worth the money when they took into account the hassle that it saved them.

And so to the styles of food service you might consider:

Dinner Party

• A classic dinner party is a great way of entertaining smaller groups of adult guests.
• You’ll no doubt be familiar with your guests’ tastes, so make sure to design a menu that suits those tastes.  There’s very little point serving foie gras and truffles if your guests would really rather have a steak, but if you want to make the meal a bit more refined, you could turn that steak into an individual beef wellington.  Keep things relatively simple, stick with what you know, and do that well.
• Another simple way to impress with a dinner party is to set an elegant table: candles, placenames, lots of flowers, mix-and-match vintage dishes, etc.  This will create a great first impression that will stay with guests long after the party is over.
• If you’re not a wine connoisseur, don’t worry, any good wine shop will advise you on what wine to pair with your food – don’t be afraid to ask them!
• Always serve a good dessert.  Regardless of the quality of the starter and main course, the last course will stick in peoples’ memories.

Buffet

• A hot or cold buffet is ideal for larger or less formal groups, and especially suitable if guests are arriving in stages.
• Although food can be kept for some time on the buffet (either cold or in heated chafing dishes), remember that it does have a shelf-life, after which it will either be unattractive or unsafe.  So keep in mind what time guests will be arriving, and calculate your serving time based on that.  Otherwise, put the food out in batches and refresh them regularly.
• Choose dishes that are suited to your guests’ tastes, but that are also suitable for maintaining in a room that might get warm – shellfish or sushi, for example, might be best avoided.
• If you are serving a hot buffet, don’t forget that you’ll need chafing dishes (and fuel) to keep it warm.  If you are ordering food to be delivered from a local restaurant, check if they will provide the chafing dishes.  If they don’t, check with them how many chafing dishes will be required to hold and serve the food.

Fork Supper

• A fork supper is also great for larger, informal parties.  They are also particularly ideal if you don’t have room for a buffet table.
• One or more hot dishes are served in small bowls and offered to guests on trays.  Usually followed by sweet canapés.
• There is less food involved than a buffet, but there is a bit more work involved in serving the dishes.  We would highly recommend that you hire waiting staff to serve the food efficiently and professionally.

Canapés

• Canapés (sweet and savoury) are great for parties of all size, but particularly for shorter parties where guests are not expecting too much food (for example, before heading out to eat elsewhere, or later in the evening after a lunch has been served earlier).
• Canapés might also be served as a starter/dessert before/after a buffet or fork supper.
• Canapés are best prepared and served by professionals – because of their small size, they need to look impressive!

The Drinks

We always recommend to clients that they utilize our professional bar staff for their parties.  Having bar staff can mean the difference between efficient and tidy drinks service, or a free-for-all where people raid your drinks cabinet for that vintage brandy you’ve been saving for a special occasion (and this is probably not be the occasion you had in mind!)

You will want to relax on the night, and enjoy the company of your guests without having to worry that peoples’ drinks are topped up.  Allow us to do that for you!

Some general tips for your Bar:

• Always have a plentiful supply of ice on hand.  We really can’t stress this enough – it looks bad if your guests can’t have ice in their gin after 10pm when the off-license has shut and you can’t find ice anywhere.  It’s relatively cheap, so buy plenty in advance.  You can even contact one of several companies that will deliver ice to your door for a reasonable charge.  Source a large ice bucket to serve, and it won’t have to be refilled constantly.
• Keep a good stock of lemons and limes on hand too.   If you don’t use them on the night, you’ll use them for cooking at some stage anyways.  And don’t forget cucumbers – a lot of people favour Hendrick’s Gin these days!
• If you have access to plenty glassware, take advantage of it.  We are always happy to source glassware for hire to our customers.  Bear in mind that whoever is serving drinks might not have access to the dishwasher or sink to recycle glasses, so you may need a lot of glasses to compensate.
• If you’re supplying the drink stock, keep it simple.  Nobody will expect you to have all the latest imported beers or every type of spirit.  Stick to the basics: whiskey, vodka, gin, white rum, one or two bottled beers, mid-price red/white wines, a small selection of soft drinks for mixers, orange juice and cranberry juice.  That should cover everybody’s tastes – and those that “only ever drink Chartreuse and Red Bull” can bring their own!
• Avoid shots unless you really want them, and be aware that these make people intoxicated quicker.  If you must serve them, keep them until the very end of the night, so you can send your “merry” guests home without too much guilt!
• If it’s a BYOB event, we’d still recommend that you have a reasonable stock of the above drinks – people never bring enough for their own needs, and they’ll appreciate your effort.
• If you want to serve cocktails, keep it to one or two varieties, and choose a cocktail that can be prepared easily or in advance.  We’d recommend a Mojito or Cosmopolitan – they are universally popular, and relatively easy to prepare.  Bear in mind that you’ll need extra juices, liquors, fruit, mint, etc., depending on the type of cocktail you choose.  You may also need a particular style of glass – for example, a Martini glass for a Cosmopolitan.

And lastly, few general tips to help you enjoy the event:

Don’t worry too much about the mess!  If you haven’t got waiting staff to clear up (and of course we really recommend you do!), don’t spend too much of your night running around picking up glasses and dishes.  If the host looks frazzled, it will rub off on the guests.  Accept that the place just isn’t going to be as tidy as you’d like, and get on with enjoying yourself!

Mingle!  Try to avoid getting stuck in one room for the evening – move about and enjoy the company of all of your guests – it will make for a more pleasant evening for yourself.

Don’t forget about music!  Music sets a tone, so give it some thought.  Maybe some Ella Fitzgerald during a dinner party, and nothing too sombre for a birthday party.  If you are having trouble choosing, let Spotify do it for you – there you’ll find tons of great party playlists to suit any mood/occasion.

Partying outdoors?  Be careful!  Irish weather is not very reliable at the best of times, even in the Summer months.  If some or all of your party is being held outdoors, consider renting a gazebo and/or a gas heater, just to be safe!

The post So you’re planning to entertain at home…? appeared first on Event Waiter.

Last week we were delighted to serve refreshments to the Chinese Ambassador,  Mr. Jianguo Xu, and other invited guests in the new exhibition space in Kildare Village.  The event was produced by Tara and her team at Xena Productions (who are always a pleasure to work with!).  As well as a selection of Chinese teas, we served delicious Chinese food to the assembled guests.

Incidentally, the exhibition space is currently hosting an interactive exhibition that explores the unlikely links between Shannon, Co. Clare and the Chinese region of Shenzhen.  It’s a fascinating story, and well worth a visit.  You can see more details of the exhibit here.

Guests at the recent Chinese New Year celebrations at Kildare Village, including the Chinese Ambassador and Andrew Marshall of Value Retail

Over the weekend we were also busy at Kildare Village for a celebratory fashion show, staged by a group of the local Chinese community.  The ladies and children of the group donned traditional Chinese costume, and gave a wonderful presentation set to Chinese music.

Traditional Chinese costume on parade!

All the “models” pose for a group photo

When the show was over, we served them savoury and sweet canapes.

Savoury canape selection

Sweet canapes

The post Happy Chinese New Year! appeared first on Event Waiter.

We hope you’ve recovered sufficiently from the holidays, and that you had a great Christmas.  Indeed, from all here at Event Waiter, we want to wish you a very Happy New Year!

Like most of you, we’ve made a couple of New Year’s resolutions – one of which is to blog more frequently!  And with that in mind….

We had a very busy Christmas at Event Waiter.  December began with the Private Sale at Kildare Village Shopping Outlet, where we spent ten days providing hospitality at the VIP Lounge for private clients attending the sale.

The month continued with lots of corporate Christmas lunches and parties in various different venues in Dublin and beyond.  We got to work in some unusual places that we haven’t done before, e.g. we worked at several Christmas parties at the Wax Museum in College Green – it was very unusual to have Elvis and U2 and lots of Hollywood stars (or at least their wax likness!) looking over our shoulders while we worked!

A Christmas party at the Dublin Wax Museum (famous guests in the background may or may not be real!)

Between Christmas and New Year, there was a spate of weddings!  Winter weddings seem to have become a lot more popular in the past few years.  The weather for these weddings may be unfavourable – at least for outdoor photographs – but the compensation is evidently in the cosy, candle-lit atmosphere that December evenings lend to the occasion.  We were busy with these weddings in such venues as Tinakilly House Hotel & Gardens, the Royal Hospital Kilmainham, and in the striking King’s Inn

Winter Wedding at the King’s Inn, Henrietta Street

Candle-lit winter wedding at Tinakilly House Hotel

Fabulous Christmas wedding at the Royal Hospital, Kilmainham

So keep an eye on the blog during 2016.  We love keeping you up to date with what we’ve been up to, and hope to keep sharing with you our busiest year ever!

The post New Year, New Blog Post appeared first on Event Waiter.

We are looking for friendly and experienced Waiting Staff to help with our busy schedule of events in Dublin and the greater Leinster area.  In particular, we are looking for candidates that are available to work on the following dates:

• Friday 18th September – Lunch / Dinner events
• 8th October – Lunch / Dinner events
• 10th October – Dinner event
• Various Christmas Party events throughout November/December

Employment is offered on a casual basis, i.e. you will be called on when events arise, but for the right candidates we offer rates of pay that are well above the industry standard.

This position may suit somebody that is returning to the workplace, is in full/part-time study, or who is looking to supplement their income with evening/weekend work.

The Candidate

To apply for the position you should:

• Be hard-working, friendly and outgoing
• Have fluent spoken English
• Have a minimum of two years’ experience in the catering industry, particularly in banqueting and large events
• Be entitled to work in the Republic of Ireland

How to Apply

To enquire about the position or to submit your CV please click here

Please note that we will be holding interviews in Dublin city on the 14th and 15th September 2015

The post We’re Hiring Waiting Staff! appeared first on Event Waiter.

Superbly organised by Xena Productions, the event was run in conjunction with Jaguar – the official car partner of the Champions Weekend – and included a fashion show that featured a host of Kildare Village brands and Irish designers such as Louise Kennedy.

Fashion show compered by Anne Marie O’Connor

Jaguar brought it’s own stylish model to the show!

We served Louis Roederer champagne and refreshing, fizzy seasonal cordials, and Kevin Thornton, from Michelin-starred Thornton’s Restaurant, served delicious canapes including Rod-caught Swordfish, Lamb Belly marinated in Hay, and St. Tola Goat’s Cheese

Selection of canapes from Kevin Thornton

Rod-caught Swordfish dipped in sesame, sheep’s cheese yoghurt

Lamb Belly marinated in hay, wild rocket & broad bean flower

It was great to watch Kevin Thornton at work, and his attention to detail showed in the stunning canapes that you see above.

Never one to miss a photo-opportunity, one Kevin insisted on getting his picture taken with a famous Kevin (we’ll let you decide which is which…..!):

A quick snap of the two Kevins in the kitchen (nicely photo-bombed by Catherine O’Brien!)

The post Longines Champions Weekend Event at Kildare Village Shopping Outlet appeared first on Event Waiter.

But we’re not complaining.  Although a lot of work goes on behind-the-scenes to make a wedding run smoothly, they can be fun!  We do our best to make sure that every bride and groom have a day to remember, and helping them to realise their special event is always very rewarding.

So far this year we have worked at weddings all over the country, in venues such as Adare Manor in Limerick; Hilton Park in Monaghan; Ashford Studios in Wicklow, and prestigious Dublin venues including the Royal Hospital Kilmainham.  We are also proud to manage hospitality at all of the weddings at the beautiful Tinakilly House in Rathnew, Co. Wicklow, which continually receives great reviews for the food and service at their weddings.

There’s still some Summer left (even if the weather doesn’t think so), so expect to see us blogging about more wedding events in the weeks to come.

Wedding at Hilton Park, Monaghan

Wedding at Ashford Studios, Wicklow

And yes, we do get to sample a lot of wedding cake.  It’s one of the perks of the job!  Here are some of the gorgeous cakes we’ve served this year (just to make you jealous!):

3-tier chocolate biscuit cake with fondant icing, at Tinakilly House

Multi-tier nude-sponge cake, with lemon curd cream filling, at Tinakilly House.  Nude sponge (i.e. sponge layers with cream filling but no covering) is very “in” this year

4-tier traditional fruit cake, with fondant icing and bows, at Tinakilly House

The post A Summer of Weddings! appeared first on Event Waiter.

Welcome to our new website!

Welcome to our new website. In the coming weeks you’ll see new fresh content posted here so be sure to check back with us. In the mean time if you’d like any more information about Event Waiter simply contact us.

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