Virtual dinner with a difference
“One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well.” - Virginia Woolf
Sharing good food and wine together is at the heart of Snowball, our community of tech entrepreneurs, investors and business leaders. How could we do this in lockdown? With plans on hold for our regular Snowball dinners at hot spots around London, we pulled together a virtual dinner with a difference.
We teamed up with Jimmy Garcia Catering to create the first virtual Snowball dinner. With the help of Jimmy and his team, we organised delivery of 25 gourmet meals to our guests around London, and for those outside of London we shared recipes so they could recreate the magic at home. Through delicious food, shared together across all of our homes, we aimed to create the same feeling of togetherness we’d usually experience in person.
We hosted the event as a Zoom meeting, and kicked off with a chat from Jimmy who talked us through the menu which included amongst other deliciousness New Zealand spring lamb rump, fondant potatoes, salsa verde, cavolo nero and garden pea puree.
In keeping with the foodie theme, we also heard from entrepreneur Tessa Clarke, CEO & Co-Founder of food sharing app OLIO, to share how they’re connecting local communities even in times of social distancing, and getting food to those most in need under lockdown.
After a group chat, we split off to have more intimate conversations at smaller ‘tables’ using Zoom’s breakout function. All that was left for us to do was provide regular prompts throughout the evening to keep people on track with their cooking timings…and revel in the scenes of kitchen chaos and plate picture-sharing.
Proud moments
Livening up lockdown – sharing good food and good conversation with an international gathering of inspiring tech leaders from around Europe and the US.
Supporting a great cause – Jimmy shared details of how we could back his #donateadinner campaign to send healthy meals to vulnerable elderly communities.
Getting 30% of our dinners to download the OLIO app.
Being asked to host this format for a group for one of our guests.
Praise
“What a total triumph last night was! Thank you all so much for what was - hands down - the best night of lockdown so far. We both had so much fun, but the logistical and organisational challenges must have been quite something. You made it look easy and serene, which must be testament to a huge amount of work beforehand. Really, a huge thank you.”
– Ali Griffiths, Director of Strategy, Innovate Finance
“Thank you for arranging a fun and interactive evening…it worked really well and I know that is down to hours of organising!” – Carla Stent, Chair, Savernake Capital Ltd
“The format was intimate, compelling – particularly the breakouts! I'm in love with it.”
– Richard Titus, Co-Founder & General Partner, ARK Fund