Venue rises to the challenge of catering for Energy Ball revellers

By Ian Forsyth

Published: 23/08/2010

ABERDEEN Exhibition and Conference Centre had a big team on duty on Saturday night to make sure the Press and Journal Energy Ball ran smoothly once again.

Twenty chefs from the in-house catering team produced and served more than 900 top-class meals for the venue’s biggest dinner so far this year.

The shopping list included 377lb of finest Aberdeenshire centre-cut fillet steak, 154lb of rock lobster tails, 132lb of oak-smoked Scottish salmon and 106lb of Scottish cheeses.

Guests washed that down with 800 bottles of wine, 300 bottles of champagne and 2,000 bottles of beer.

Catering staff were supported by the centre’s operations team, made up of 10 technicians and five event co-ordinators.

Brian Horsburgh, managing director of the centre, said: “The Energy Ball is always a popular event in Aberdeen’s business calendar and this year was no exception.

“The event highlights the great results that are produced by AECC’s skilled and experienced in-house teams.

“On Monday night, we had 7,500 people here to attend the Blink 182 concert, but by Saturday the Press and Journal Arena wasn’t recognisable as a concert venue and was transformed into an enchanted garden for the ball.”

Reader's Comments

If they story is correct, little wonder they make any profit at the ACC .. 20 Chefs for 900 people is a bit excessive. I am sure Stuart Spence would have only used 10, maybe 12 tops.... It just show's the lack of knowledge the people running the operation know about catering, and should probably stick to playing music.
Lord Lucan
Report this comment

In the apparent financial circumstances of the AECC, I intend to try to find out if true commercial rates were charged to the organisers of The Energy Ball. Since the venue, due to its size, had a competitive edge over rivals such as The Marcliffe, I would expect a premium to have been charged to the organisers of this event.
Graham Slater
Report this comment

PS Why wasn't the event held in Aberdeen's REAL enchanted garden - UNION TERRACE GARDENS??
Graham Slater
Report this comment

The Press and Journal is happy to encourage discussion and debate on the topics featured within our newspaper and on our website.

However, we would urge people to respect the opinions of others even if they do not agree with them. We will not tolerate abusive comments of any type and such posts will be removed with the people responsible facing a ban from this website.

Only registered users can supply comments, and your registered name and location will automatically be appended to any comment that you upload.

We reserve the right to remove comments from anyone using a false name or pseudonym.

To post a comment, please login using the form at the top of the page, or click to register.