Challenge
Working with a large Multi Academy Trust, we support their annual cricket event – hosted in partnership with the Professional Cricketers’ Association. The event itself is centered around a match between the PCA and a team of students, where Cucina serve a full three course meal and afternoon tea for around 400 guests. Above all, it's an event we absolutely love putting on every year, supporting our client and making an impact for the students.
Approach
Running such a large event is always a complex matter, from menu design all the way through to the last dessert spoon being put down, and we wouldn’t be able to do it without working so closely with our MAT partner. By drawing on the experience of our operations team and contracts in the locality, we can ensure that the event goes off without a hitch.
We also wanted to do something different for this event, as it’s such an important part of the school calendar and community. And by asking, “What if we did something different?”, we settled upon the idea of inviting Year 10 and 11 students to be waiting staff for the day. When we approached our client, they were delighted to help implement the plan, recognising that such a scheme would be hugely beneficial to the students involved.
By involving the students in the planning and preparation, the stages of menu design, and the logistics of running the event, we gave them experience of how to run a large-scale hospitality event. We’re proud to say that the event has been brilliantly received by students, staff, and guests alike. With great feedback received from our temporary "staff" as well as the guests and hungry cricketers.
Results
In the 7 years we’ve been doing the event, we’ve served approximately 3000 happy guests and over 280 students have enjoyed playing a key role in a large hospitality event, and using their experience of the event to help secure summer and part-time jobs.
