On 8th November 2023, we transformed our venue’s key spaces into the most luxurious dining layouts when we opened our doors to welcome more than 50 leading clients to experience an evening of entertainment, sustainable cuisine, and the opportunity to meet our trusted sustainable suppliers.
Where it all began…
Stepping under our archway lodge and across the Courtyard, guests were dazzled by the grandeur of the building, which was beautifully lit up in shades of blue (courtesy of SLA), and entered the Snow room where the evening soiree began. Our solo artist, Joe Ellis Bradley entertained guests with uplifting music, while we served delicious canapes including smoked aubergine, preserved lemon & pomegranate, paired with our signature Ridgeview Bloomsbury sparkling wine – a natural choice for a venue in the heart of Bloomsbury. The wine comes from a vineyard in Sussex where their sustainable practices include crop biodiversity and encouraging natural grape pests. To encourage guests to share photos of the evening on social media, we made use of our autumn leaves picked from the Garden with @bmahousevenue handwritten on them.
Following a welcome given by our Venue Manager, Kat Winfield, we took clients on a tour of BMA House, beginning with our flagship space, the Great Hall, a real showstopper. Tables were laid out with 140 places, dressed with tall lamps (courtesy of TDC Cordless Lighting), and elegant pink lights which shone from floor to ceiling, the room provided an opportunity for guests to imagine using the space for their own dining event with a fully immersive experience.
Next stop was our Prince’s room, a decadent and unique space for private functions for up to 90 standing, with an impressive marble-floored foyer, the room itself is adorned with gold-leaf detailing, Corinthian columns, large mirrors and windows creating a bright, luxurious space.
The Garden room was on our route back. With botanic-themed artwork, this space leads out directly to our intimate & idyllic Garden, perfect for pre-dinner or post-event drinks with colleagues. Yes, we do have two outdoors spaces to enjoy in central London!
Onto the food – the highlight of the night!
The real wow-factor was our Paget room, which had been transformed into the most magnificent dining space. One long table ran down the centre of the room, dressed in subtle shades of sage, with tall plants provided by Amarante, flowers by InWater, and name cards made from leaves fallen from trees in the Garden.
The menu was selected with sustainability at the forefront and to achieve this we worked with Doug McMaster, founder of Silo (the UK’s first zero-waste restaurant) to create dishes for the occasion. We applied Company of Cooks ‘local larder’ philosophy to all the ingredients, sourcing several of our products locally and around greater London. We incorporated a number of plant-based options in the canape offering, and since we are passionate about preserving the oceans, the trout we served was fully sustainable; Company of Cooks are proud members of the Marine Conservation society.
The menu – introduced by Jeremy Ford Company of Cooks’ Food Director of Food
Starter – Lemon husk salt baked Heritage carrots, mint stem and carrot top emulsion, crispy potato peel (VE)
With an A carbon rating, carrots were one of the most sustainable dishes used on the menu. Carrots have a very low carbon footprint, are often overlooked, but the heritage variety used are delicious as well as very colourful. We used the entire vegetable in this starter, the tops of the carrot were combined with mint stalks and turned into an emulsion dressing, the skin was dried and fried to create a crispy carrot ‘crumb’ then the main body of the carrot was baked in a salt crust with lemon husks that are usually thrown away after squeezing, all served with a silky smooth carrot puree.
Main course – Packington estate fallow deer, Szechuan pepper cream, venison kofta, kimchi or Roast Crown Prince Squash, dressed woodland mushrooms, sage, winter truffle (VE GF)
We wanted to showcase a menu that didn’t have to only be plant based. The reasoning behind selecting this dish was that culling wild venison is an important part of land management, ensuring the protection of habitats and acting in absence of natural predators. Eating wild venison from the UK is a sustainable way of eating red meat, as long as it is traceable and in moderation.
Food was perfectly paired with red and white wines from our sustainable supplier, Ellis Wines.
Time for dessert, photos and music
Following a sumptuous dinner, guests were welcomed back to the Snow room for an interactive ‘build-your-own autumn trifle’, citrus posset, or tonka bean vegan panna cotta station, completed by our pastry chef with a selection of seasonal fruits, coulis and crispy toppers. Our sustainable bar served a range of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks, such as Idyll Rewilding. Further networking and good times were had as guests had their pictures taken in front of an eco-wall (courtesy of Mobile Moments), and we wrapped up the evening with some more great live music, provided by Liquid Strings.
We’ve received nothing but praise for our show stopping showcase and can’t wait to welcome back our special clients to experience their own event at BMA House.
A special thank you goes to all of our sustainable suppliers who helped transform the evening & contribute to overall lower carbon emissions.
