QEII Centre launches chef’s table tasting room

London’s QEII Centre is giving event planners a taste of life in the kitchen with the launch of a brand-new chef’s table tasting room.

QEII’s new tasting room looks directly into the centre’s busy kitchen, which caters for up to 2,500 delegates a day under the guidance of head chef Jean Michel Viala.

Event organisers will now be able to arrange a private menu tasting as part of their event booking at the QEII Centre, with a personal welcome from Jean Michel and an introduction to all the dishes being sampled.

The Army & Navy Club’s royal visit

The Army & Navy Club in Westminster welcomed Her Majesty The Queen and HRH The Princess Royal on Thursday 12 October 2017.

A reception was held at the Club, of which The Queen is Patron, to celebrate the Centenary of the formation of the Women’s Royal Naval Service & Women’s Auxiliary Army Corps.

The Queen was greeted by the Club Chairman, Colonel Ian Paterson OBE TD and Senior Trustee of the Army & Navy Club, Major General Michael Shellard CBE on arrival.

Inside the Library, the Queen and the Princess Royal were met by Commander Rosie Wilson, Chairman of the WRNS100 Project Group and Colonel Alison K Brown, Vice-President of the WRAC Association. The Queen and Princess Anne were then introduced to several serving officers as well as veterans who joined the ATS in 1941 and worked at Bletchley Park until VE Day during the 45-minute engagement.

HM The Queen is Patron of the Army & Navy Club which was founded in 1837, the year when Queen Victoria acceded the throne.

Well done to all member venues’ staff shortlisted in miaList 2017

We would like to extend a well done to all staff who were shortlisted for an miaList award and  congratulate Charlotte Best, event manager at Westminster Venue Collection’s member venue QEII Centre, for receiving highly commended for conference and events.

The prestigious miaList 2017 awards celebrate the outstanding and passionate individuals from the meetings, hospitality and events industry who go above and beyond the call of duty. Awards were announced at a lunch event at Park Plaza Victoria, London on Friday 6 October 2017.

Victory Services Club retains mia’s AIM Gold accreditation

Victory Services Club has achieved the mia’s AIM Gold accreditation for a fourth consecutive time, building on the accolade of being the first London venue to achieve the award in 2008.

The conference and events venue has once again achieved the highest possible level of accreditation from the UK’s nationally recognised standard for service providers in the meetings, conferences and events industry, after a panel of independent industry assessors scrutinised the venue against a robust checklist of criteria.

All AIM-accredited venues undergo a vigorous process to ensure they are fit for purpose and implement decent and ethical operations. Covering everything from facilities and legal compliances to performance against a strict code of conduct, to achieve the Gold level accreditation, venues must display superior service throughout the entire customer journey.

Victory Services Club, which is based in Marble Arch, has seven event spaces, 202 bedrooms and can cater for events up to 300 in the Carisbrooke Hall which is now open following an extensive £1.5 million refurbishment. The club was found to be a well-organised, administered and managed operation with each aspect of the business supported by detailed policies, processes and procedures.

The mia also noted the club’s dedication to staff training, with even casual and agency staff put through an induction programme and permanent staff continuously developed. Sustainability is also high on the club’s agenda.

Over the past five years Victory Services Club has undergone a £7m refurbishment. In addition to the Carisbrooke Hall, the club boasts the El Alamein and Trafalgar Suite that seats up to 200 theatre style – and separates into two rooms: the Trafalgar Room seating up to 80 theatre style and the El Alamein Room seating up to 100 theatre style. The Club also has four other meeting rooms for smaller meetings, breakout sessions, seminars and private dinning.

Chief executive of the mia Jane Longhurst said: “The AIM process encourages continuous improvement and can take a venue to the peak of service excellence at Gold level. We’re delighted to see Victory Services Club once again rewarded for their commitments towards operational excellence. AIM Gold provides event buyers with the assurance of the highest quality.”

Mark Field FIH, operations director, Victory Services Club said: “The preparation for assessment is demanding but achieving Gold again is the ultimate benchmark of quality. We view it as a vote of confidence in our facilities, our high standards across what is on offer, and particularly, in our staff. We have a dedicated in-house team who take every measure to ensure an event runs as smoothly as possible and are on hand to deliver the flexibility, knowledge and expertise for every step of a client’s journey with us”.

For more information about AIM and AIM Higher Accreditation, visit www.mia-uk.org/aim.

RIBA, QEII Centre and One Great George Street win at London Venue Awards 2017

Three Westminster Venue Collection member venues triumphed at the annual London Venue Awards, which bring together the best of London’s events industry and celebrate the diverse range of options available to event buyers in the capital.

We would like to congratulate QEII Centre, One Great George Street and RIBA, who won their respective categories at the awards, which were held at The Brewery on Friday 20 October:

  • QEII Centre – ‘Best Venue Customer Service – over 500 attendees’
  • One Great George Street – ‘Best Wedding Venue’
  • RIBA – ‘Most Versatile London Venue (1000 attendees or less)’

Congratulations also goes to Broadway House for receiving a bronze accreditation in the ‘Best Venue Customer Service – under 500 attendees’ category.

A spook-tacular Hallo-Westminster showcase!

The ‘Hallo-Westminster’ event at One Great George Street offered over 200 event planners the chance to meet the collection’s eclectic mix of 35 scarily good venues whilst enjoying some ghoulish trick or treat fun.

The entertainment came alive as Viva Live Music’s opera singers performed Phantom of the Opera classics whilst some guests had their faces painted by UK Facepainters & Community Giants and others piled into Effect Event’s spooky photo booth. The event space was transformed into an Autumnal affair with floral arrangements by TBR Floral Designs and equipment from Thorns Furniture & Catering Hire and Eclipse Presentations, setting the perfect Halloween scene.

Big prizes were on offer in the trick or treat prize draw, including; dinner cruise for two with Bateaux London, a tour of the Royal Society with afternoon tea for two and dinner for two in The Lansdowne Club’s Dining Room.

Nouvelle Afriyie-Aidoo from The Chartered Insurance Institute commented on the evening: “Venue is really pretty, the evening has been good, there’s lots of suppliers and all in all it’s been an informative night – I’ve seen venues we didn’t even know existed!”