of The Cutlery Club Collective
The Salons were founded by Isobel Cripps during the restaurant boom of the 90’s. Working in the restaurant industry, she had connections to some of the great chefs and beautiful private dining rooms London had to offer. So The Cutlery Club was created as an informative, one table dining club, way before supper clubs were even a thing!
As stories go, this is nothing extraordinary, but what came from a simple idea and concept, now brings people together from all walks of life, to share inspiring conversation that impact the way we think, feel and connect.
“I remember meeting Carole Stone, London’s most famous ‘networker’ at one of her informal networking soirées in her little flat in Henrietta Street. I immediately thought, I want to do this; this is what I am good at, bringing people together. There is so much fun and joy to be had in introducing people to one another and there is no better or more convivial way to do that, than over good food and wine. With the right people, the most stimulating conversations naturally evolve.”
“I love how animated dinner party conversations can be with close friends, but I get frustrated at how limiting they often are when sharing the table with new acquaintances. It’s often just small talk to the people next to you. So I wanted to find a way of bringing the conversation together, making it more, unified, impacting and diverse, challenging our thoughts and feelings or simply embracing the things we have in common. Featuring a guest speaker (and ours are always exceptional) felt like the most natural way to achieve this. Everyone wants to listen to somebody fascinating with brilliant stories to tell and then the flow of questions and interaction amongst the guests just naturally evolves and you all leave feeling more connected.”
“A Cutlery Club salon has many components that make it a special experience – the food and wine, the guest speaker, the venue, the team and the styling. But most of all, I think it’s the guests you choose to have at the table; they are fundamental to the success and joy of the evening. It’s more than a dinner party, but your guests must feel like they are part of something intimate, just as an invite to a dinner party in your own home would be.
The guest speaker talks briefly after the starter; this means we can get everyone interacting quite early on. Understanding your members and their personality styles is essential; knowing who will work well with who, so the seating plan is obviously crucial!”
Working across the hospitality industry for so long, Isobel made many contacts and friends. The consultancy evolved from her recognition of the impressive level of professionalism and skills some of her peers had to offer.
Teaming up with other likeminded and dedicated professionals to form this highly skilled, winning combination, meant they were collectively able to provide a comprehensive services package for hospitality businesses of varying sizes and budgets, offering team development and management coaching, customer experience analysis reporting, PR, marketing, website and copywriting services, to interior design and brand development.
“We use our collective expertise to help restaurateurs maximise their success and stand out from the crowd. We are analytical and confident, so if we need to, we’ll shake things up, or tone things down; but it’s always driven by our knowledge and experience, with a genuine desire to help their business thrive.”
Their combined experience in catering, event planning and management enables private and corporate clients using their event services to source and style venues, design food and wine menus, creating the most memorable events with ease and efficiency.
Visit the Consultancy page for further information on the People and the Services.
