Butlin’s has redesigned its Conference & Events menus, as well as the menus for all on-resort retail restaurants. This new offering will ensure the three resorts are delivering the best food and drink experiences for all guests and delegates.
The changes take into account new trends Butlin’s Conferences & Events is seeing in F&B requests on-resort, namely a demand for flexibility, experiential dining and menu diversity.
In conjunction with the new menus, the events teams at Butlin’s are also offering more flexible event design regarding the incorporation of F&B.
One example is the evolution of the Dine Around concept that was often popular for mid-size groups pre-pandemic. Previously, attendees would be split up into groups across multiple restaurants during lunch or dinner breaks.
With the wider adoption of flexible working and people working remotely, corporate clients are discovering that time is precious during events so utilising mealtimes as an opportunity for shared experiences is more of a priority. Clients are now looking for exclusive hire of the restaurant to have their whole team together for a more engaging dining experience, even if they are not taking over the whole resort.
With so many restaurants available on-resort, Butlin’s can offer full restaurant hire to give delegates a better experience. Previously, Dine Around delegates would have a choice from a limited menu of only three items for each course. However, with exclusive hire the full menu becomes available providing more diversity of choice. Butlin’s can even bring one of their DJs into the restaurants so delegates can go straight into party mode after dinner without moving venues.
According to Dan Elliott, Butlin’s National Sales Manager, another trend they are seeing is a rising demand for dining to be experiential.
Elliott said, “Pre pandemic it was all about ‘bowl food’. There was a phase 10 years ago where it was becoming popular, especially at networking events. But it’s a little restrictive and aesthetically it can be an eyesore as venues can have multiple empty bowls scattered across their space.
Now we are starting to see a lot more clients looking for more experiential dining. A great example is through the rise in clients and agents asking and wanting to know more about our Street Food offering. With our proposition it’s a great way for people to connect and share the experience of Street Food while not feeling restricted to a more formal and conventional setting.”
Butlin’s recently showcased new Street Food dining options when hosting Poundland for a private hire event. Butlin’s transformed the Skyline into a huge Street Food Festival where over 1200 delegates were able to walk around grabbing food from eight different food truck options. At the same time, there was also a large sponsor Exhibition in the Skyline so Butlin’s worked closely with the managing agency to ensure everything was spaced correctly to create an interactive experience. The space also allowed for entertainment, with Redcoat’s DJing and circus acts to make it an incredible evening.
The food trucks are another example of the benefit of working with Butlin’s–everything is all in one place. For this large event, they were able to use food trucks from all three of their resorts and their own Kahoona Huts, so there was no need for additional hire.
Of course, there are still times when a more traditional Gala Dinner is still the best way to wow attendees and celebrate successes. On the final night of the Poundland event, Butlin’s hosted a Gala Dinner in Studio 36 for the first time, demonstrating the adaptability of the Butlin’s events offering.
Elliott said, “We had to build three pop up kitchens and two marquees on the side of Studio 36 to pull it off. It was an incredible evening where the hard work of the client, the production agency and the Butlin’s Team paid off.”
The new menus and expanding dining options at Butlin’s can cater for a wide range of client briefs.
The Butlin’s Marketing Team, has worked in collaboration with the in-house Food Commercial and Food Development team, to create the brand-new menus for all the on-resort retail restaurants, The Diner, Firehouse Grill and the Beachcomber Inn. Vegan options are available at all restaurants and can be incorporated into any client menu.
The Food Development team have also designed and curated new menus for Conferences & Events. This includes an extensive Gala Dinner menu with mouthwatering dishes that can even be delivered for events with over 1,000 delegates. They have also added a complimentary wine recommendation for each dish.
Visit the website for more information: https://www.butlins.com/conferences-events