Monday 15 October 2012

Behind the Scenes 21st Birthday Party: Preparation

PartyPerfect was asked to plan and deliver a Mega  21st Birthday Event for 250-300 people at the Lindale Auditorium in Paraparaumu last Saturday. This event was some months in planning and organising.



Jeanine and Angelique planned the decor, setting and food service, drew in assistance from many able bodied assistants to put together this event.

 This included Chefs Jeanine and Tai Jensen and their PartyPerfect Catering and Front of House Service Team, David and his Team from The Cafe at Lindale, and Technical and Construction adviser Glenn Charlett. Sheree was a new member to the team, ably assisting in the theming department

A Marquee was erected for the food and bar service, which was provided by the reliable team of Kirsty and Raoul. Music, sound and entertainment was arranged by the client in this case, but lighting and co-ordination was still left to the PartyPerfect Team

While we often show some behind the scenes pictures of the kitchen staff, the support and creative staff don't always get enough credit for their efforts.

Today's blog post wishes to highlight some of their input.

The end product is already featured on PartyPerfect's Facebook page, and will be blogged tomorrow or the day after.


Party Favours for 200+ guests: 
Hand-made chocolate, boxes had to be obtained, constructed, 
filled by hand, and then wrapped in stain bows







Hand-wrapping the  chocolate boxes with satin bows



Table settings and hall decoration once the awnings had been suspended and draped, the marquee erected and lighting installed









The 65kg free-range pig arrives from our supplier


The pig is placed on the roaster, only to find that it won't fit! 
A 65kg pig is a pretty big pig. 
The front and hind legs had to be trimmed to allow the roaster to close!





But wait, there's more
2 whole legs of pork are added to the roaster, seasoning is applied, the roaster lit, and the cooking and basting process commences



After an hour or two the pig is starting to get some colour, the skin is becoming sealed, and the crackling begins to brown. The pig is turned for the first time.

The roaster is now turned down, and the cooking process continued for a further 4-5 hours


The arrival cocktail glasses are set out by Megan in the foyer


A welcome message is written for the guest of honour


 The bar staff prepare the welcome cocktails: 
Blue curacao today 


The stage lighting is checked for a last time


Final checks on the timeline: 
Angelique conferring with the Masters of Ceremony (3 in this case)


Sound check by the DJ. 
Some lovely Island music enthuses our Chef Fa'afatai (Tai) Jensen to do an impromptu Samoan Island dance


Glasses are lined up, the bubbly corks popped, ready for celebration!


The PartyPerfect front of house team  with some reinforcement from "The Cafe" at Lindale, ready to serve the main course, after the Entree's had been served at the table. By now the party is rocking!


Tai gets cracking on carving that beautiful roast leg of pork



Desserts come out next. Individual pot-trifles with ice-cream were the order.
Maddie sets out 200 spoons...




2 comments:

  1. What a catering services great sign.

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  2. Oh my god! That’s great. So much has been done for the birthday party. My birthday is also around the corner and I have shortlisted some of the event locations for the party. My best friend is going to help me pick one because I can trust her blindly with it and also with the decoration.

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