Staffing requirements and team structure

This had to be one of the biggest considerations when tackling the planning of this event. We knew we needed to expand our existing front of house and kitchen team to pull this of - which meant a call out to every previous chef and front of house member that had worked for Wine & Dine'm in the past decade to see if they'd be willing to don the green apron once again.

Amazingly, as a testament to the incredible people who have worked with us through the years, we ended up with 94 staff in total (across FOH & BOH), with over 70% of those staff made up of either current or past Wine & Dine'm employees, as well as friends from the industry that we've made over the past 26 years of events and catering. Including 2023 Australian chef of the year, and frequent collaborator Tom Hitchcock, who helped lead our 'On the Barbie' smoked meats station.

Once we had our dream team, staff were split into sections, with a 'team leader' in each area - an essential measure due to the sheer scale of the event area. Staffing this way meant that no area was ever lacking in service. This was the same for the kitchen team, with each food area assigned a lead chef - ensuring seamless communication between BOH and FOH throughout the entire event. These sections were split into Canapes, 3 x Food Stations, arrival beverages / bar service and an Operations leader, responsible for all clearing, bar backing and floating between areas. This structure made all service on the night as efficient as possible, but also assisted in the lead up to the event, as we enabled each team leader to take charge of their staff, brief them correctly and become comfortable with what was expected of them, well before any guest arrived.

Service style and flow of the event

Overall service style for the night was 3 x custom food stations, constant roving canapes and 2 x bars (including an arrival cocktail & mocktail). The flow came from how we strategically placed the bars and stations, as well as how the furniture was placed around the space. As a large open space, held in a high-traffic, public area, the client agreed to fence the perimeter, so guests had to all come through the same entry point. This allowed our staff to be ready with arrival cocktails/ mocktails and canapes for guests to receive right as they walked in.

With cocktail and canapé in hand, guests were then greeted by the mouthwatering smell of our 'On the Barbie' BBQ Smoked station, strategically placed to spoke everyone's appetite. The fresh seafood station, with the backdrop of the river was directly in front of guests as they walked down the hill. The main bar and dessert station was to the far left, away from the majority of the crowd - this meant that guests were less inclined to walk up to the bar out of instinct, and quickly learnt that food and beverages would come to them and that they could put their feed up, relax and enjoy the event.

How the FOH team adapted to the space, schedule, or guest dynamics

As with any event, there is always the need to adapt on the night - this is where we really saw the benefit of having our past Wine & Dine'm family on-hand for the event. When inevitable changes to schedule or surprise dietaries arose, there was no need to over explain, or double check with everyone - the team knew what they need to do in order to shift, communicate and get the job done.

A moment that captures the energy or success of the event on the day

Honestly, a moment that many of the team commented on was at the end of service, once the adrenaline started to wear off and we started to pack down. Seeing all the staff together (past and present), laughing and reminiscing about their own WD days, whilst still actively putting in the work to pack up, clean and finish the night as strong as it started. It was amazing to see that even after running circles around Southbank for 3 hours straight, no one stopped until the job was done.