The evening featured a massive multi-screen LED display, chandeliers, projection mapping, multiple stages with multiple performers, food stations from around the world and a live tuna cutting ceremony.
“Anything we’ve done tonight, this is for us to be able to replicate for you,” Hilton Sydney’s general manager, Malcolm Zancanaro, told invited attendees including micenet.
“You can do all of it or you can do some of it but it’s really about understanding what you want to achieve.”
The seven food stations – with delights ranging from peking duck pancakes to oysters, sashimi, Spanish ham and porcini truffle orecchiette – are the brainchild of Hilton’s new executive chef, Hamish Neale.
“My vision was to create a collaborative menu approach where we can work together to build a culinary offering custom-made to the audience and event,” said Neale.
“There are no barriers on how big we can go. Whether you want a live tuna carving demonstration by a Japanese master before serving melt-in your mouth sashimi, a caviar station with matching Grey Goose vodka or a fun sundae and chocolate fountain buffet, we can bring that vision and theatre to life.
“Event organisers place so much time, money and investment into organising quality, bespoke events only to be faced with generic food packages that can often be restrictive or uninspired and this is absolutely not the case at Hilton Sydney,” he said.
“Australians have an incredibly sophisticated palate and we are lucky to have some of the best produce in the world on our doorstep; our food philosophy has always been to celebrate this.”
Meanwhile, Encore debuted some new technology to elevate the event experience, including flown LED banners, moving lights, battery-powered programmable tube lights, new projection mapping technology and animated holding graphics.
Encore’s three-screen LED spanning the entire wall of Hilton’s ballroom really drew the eye, with a series of stunning graphics and animations rolling through the evening.
“Our partnership with Hilton Sydney means we can give our guests an amazing experience combining culinary innovations with cutting-edge, immersive technologies,” said Nicole Russell, Encore’s regional general manager for New South Wales, Queensland and the Australian Capital Territory.
“We’re talking about incredible uses of light and LED to create stunning theatrical moments, presentations, themes and pathways. Our guests get access to some of the most advanced technologies available in our industry, making their events truly stand out.”
The event also highlighted new faces on the Hilton team over the past year – chef Neale joined Hilton Sydney in March, while GM Zancanaro came on board in December last year.
Hilton Sydney’s commercial director, Thomas Diehl, has been in the role about a year, having moved down from Hilton Brisbane, meanwhile the event was jokingly declared the welcome party for Daniella Tonetto, who joined Hilton just last week as the senior commercial director for Australasia. All four were on the floor meeting clients at the showcase.
