Last minute meeting? We've still got some space for this summer...
Take advantage of all Cambridge has to offer and bring delegates to our City this summer. Several of our venues still have good availability through to September 2008 for meeting rooms and accommodation, it's a perfect time to visit, whether for business or for pleasure. Easy to get to by train, plane or road; there's something for everyone in Cambridge, punting on the Cam, croquet on the College lawns, fine dining in unique rooms and an abundance of beautiful gardens, all within the City
centre.
From ancient, panelled dining rooms to ultra-modern meeting facilities, we can source the perfect venue for your event whatever you have planned. For details of summer offers take a look at our web site www.conferencecambridge.com
Christmas! It's never too early if you want the best...
It may still be six months away, but if you want a party to remember in beautiful, unique surroundings you'll have to book quick. The Colleges offer several options for celebrating in silly season... join a party night with other companies, take a table for lunch in a College Hall, create your own evening by booking a venue for your exclusive use, or choose an intimate setting for a private dining experience. The food is renowned the world over, the service exceptional and the atmosphere matchless, so if you're charged with sourcing a venue this year, or if you’re entertaining clients, bring them to a Cambridge College for the ultimate Christmas celebration!
Sample menus and prices can be found on our web site www.conferencecambridge.com
To book an event at a Cambridge College just complete our online enquiry form on our web site www.conferencecambridge.com or call us on 01223 740578
Conference Cambridge
National Award for Conference Cambridge
Conference Cambridge scooped the Bronze Award in the Best Academic Venue category in the recent Meetings & Incentive Travel Industry Awards 2008 held in London.
Kelly Vickers, Office Manager at Conference Cambridge said: "We are thrilled to have been recognised in these important industry awards. Our offering in Cambridge is unique, with a wonderful mixture of historical settings and state-of-the-art meetings technology. 2008 marks our tenth anniversary year and this is a great start".
The M&IT Awards recognise venues and conference centres, training centres and airlines, food and beverage suppliers and event management companies in the UK and abroad.
Prize Draw Winners Announced!
Thank you to everyone who kindly completed our pharmaceutical and associations questionnaires. Your feedback is invaluable to us, it helps to shape our service and deliver exactly what our clients need. The lucky winners of the prize draw, who both won £100 worth of John Lewis vouchers, were Ms Helen Danagher from Napp Pharmaceuticals and Mr Tony Gearing from the Young People of the Year Association. We hope you both enjoy a fantastic spending spree!
Conference Cambridge & The Times Crème Executive Secretary & PA Event
Conference Cambridge had a very successful three days at the recent Times Crème event at Olympia. We shared the stand with Homerton College, Downing College and Clare College and with over 7000 visitors to the event we were very busy indeed.
The winner of the luxury hamper was Ms Maisie-Yingmey Astbury, Executive Personal Assistant to Group Vice President HSSE & Technology R&M, bp plc. Maisie took away a selection of goodies including champagne, Molton Brown toiletries, chocolates and a limited edition bathrobe from Downing College. We hope that you managed to find a little 'me time' to enjoy them Maisie!
Opendoors
As it's our 10th anniversary year, we had to come up with something special to mark the occasion, after much debate, Opendoors was born - a series of events, which open the doors of the Cambridge Colleges, allowing clients to come and view the facilities in relaxed, informal groups and to sample some of the hospitality our venues are famous for.
To date five events have taken place: Churchill College and the Møller Centre hosted 'Technological Advances in the Meetings Industry', where guests were invited to see the new developments at the Møller over a luxurious breakfast and the extensive facilties at Churchill College, where the Churchill Archive Centre was opened for their private viewing. The centre houses over 500 collections of personal papers relating to the Churchill era and beyond.
St. John's College welcomed delegates to an evening entitled 'Hosting Successful International Events', guests were treated to a lively debate hosted by Walter Herriot O.B.E., from St John's Innovation Centre. Following a champagne reception in the grounds, everyone moved to the fantastic surroundings of the Wordsworth Room for dinner. Formerly the living quarters of William Wordsworth and mentioned in his autobiographical poem, The Prelude; the room is a beautiful example of just one of the unique venues we can offer for private dining and meetings.
Queens' College and the Pitt Building, owned by Cambridge University Press invited guests to their event; 'The Event Manager and the Law'. Activities throughout the day included an interactive treasure hunt hosted by Live the City and a champagne reception and canapés with Master Chef, Hans Schweitzer (formerly of Midsummer House, Cambridge & Sandy Lane Hotel, Barbados).
Our fourth event went ahead at New Hall and Fitzwilliam College; entitled 'Location, Location, Location' this event focused on our modern facilities and guests were treated to a magnificent luncheon at New Hall College. Local historian, Mike Petty, gave an interesting and lively talk on the history of Cambridge and everyone was presented with a copy of one of the first known maps of the City, produced in the 16th Century.
Event five took place just a few days ago at Jesus College and Magdalene College; existing clients were invited to 'Be Our Guest' and partake in some relaxed entertainment, which included a private tour of the Pepys Library, home to the diarists 3,000 books. Under the terms of the bequest, none of the books may be sold, and no additional ones may be added to the library. The evening drew to a close at Jesus College, where guests enjoyed a four course dinner in the Prioress Room.
We'd like to thank all of our clients for coming along and celebrating our 10th year with us, it's been lovely to meet so many of you and we hope we've given you a useful snapshot of the venues we can offer for meetings, dinners and conferences. We're looking forward to our next birthday already! Take a look below for in-depth reviews of some of the events.
Venues
Corpus Christi College
New bar facilities, extra meeting rooms and a new menu, it's all change at Corpus Christi. The Taylor Library, the new student library, is a recent addition to facilities at Corpus. Keen Cambridge residents will have noticed that Natwest Bank no longer occupy the building and following a complete overhaul, it now houses the new library, the fantastic, contemporary Pelican Bar and staff offices, as well as The Girdlers Room, a traditional style meeting room within the library, and The Media Room with its state-of-the-art audio and visual equipment.
This development has given the College the opportunity to refurbish some bedrooms in Stable Yard, which now boasts ten newly revamped single en suite bedrooms. The standard rooms, which have enviable views over King's College and King's Parade, have also been refurbished to a high standard whilst retaining many of their period features. The facilities are available outside of term time to visitors and conference guests alike.
The Executive Chef, Paul Bray is currently working on designing and re-launching the College's fine dining menu ready for release in October 2008 and the conference team will shortly be unveiling a new conference web site, with details to be announced soon.
To book an event at a Cambridge College complete our online enquiry form on our web site www.conferencecambridge.com or call us on 01223 740578
St John's College
Visits to a Japanese fish market, a successful Opendoors event and more refurbishment - St John's are continuously striving for perfection. The catering and conference departments continue to undergo extensive training; time management, motivational management, HACCP, Allergy and further Food Hygiene are just a small selection of courses that staff have recently attended.
The College takes great pride in its well deserved reputation for excellent dining. Food and wine is meticulously researched taking Bill Brogan, Catering and Conference Manager, on numerous trips abroad including a visit to the world famous Tsukiji Fish Market in Japan and vineyards in Portugal, India and China, as well as locally, to the not so exotic, but equally important, Ixworth in Suffolk, where the College has discovered an excellent red wine, which will be featuring on the new wine list, due for release in October.
One of the College's recipes was featured in the Sunday Telegraph magazine in March and later this year the College hopes to be hosting the Natural Salad competition in conjunction with the Daily Telegraph. This month the College will be holding a two day event for the Association of Food Service Managers, which will bring together heads of catering from Buckingham Palace, The House of Lords, The House of Commons and major banking corporations.
In keeping with their vision for improvement, the College have totally upgraded the Fisher Building with new audio visual equipment and by 2010 the entire building will have been refurbished. The Wordsworth Room has been revamped and work will start any day now on the Old Music Room. The facilities at St. John's are available year round for private dining, conferences, meetings, away days, as well as residential events outside of the University's term time.
To book an event at a Cambridge College complete our online enquiry form on our web site www.conferencecambridge.com or call us on 01223 740578
Jesus College
Jesus College have launched their new spring and summer menu. Guests were treated to a food and wine taster over lunch in the magnificent surroundings of the Pavilion, a listed, thatched building, overlooking the College cricket square.
A selection of options from the finger buffet menu all designed by the College's catering team were on offer along with carefully chosen wines, expertly selected to complement the dishes by Jason Banner and James Stoddart from Matthew Clark.
The menu, which is the result of months of research by the College's catering and conference teams, utilises fresh, seasonal produce wherever possible; roasted summer vegetables mixed with Pesto mayonnaise and served on Sourdough bread produced a delicious, contemporary Roasted Vegetable Sandwich; Brie combined with Avocado, Tomato, Cucumber and Rocket was served in appetizing miniature rolls, whilst dessert choices included mini seasonal fruit cheesecakes, white and dark chocolate Éclairs and Coffee and Hazelnut Meringue. Wines included Vidal Estate Rose, Hawke's Bay, a vibrant, off-dry style wine with lingering summer fruit flavours from New Zealand and Piper-Heidsieck Cuvèe Sublime Demi-Sec; a rich rounded champagne with a hint of sweetness reminiscent of caramelised pineapple, pear and vanilla pastries.
Harriet Frankland, from the conference team at Jesus said, 'We looked carefully at the demographics of our clientele and discovered that, in the main, our customers are young, female professionals. We took this as a starting point when developing the menu and then we researched the menus of other popular restaurants and conference venues in and around Cambridge. The result is a fusion of traditional fayre and simple classics with a contemporary twist, which we believe will appeal to our core customer base.'
Jesus College, which was first founded in 1496, can offer a wide variety of meeting and dining rooms including the listed cricket Pavilion as mentioned above, all are situated around stunning manicured gardens in the heart of the City and are perfect for a range of events from intimate, private dining to weddings and conferences.
To book an event at a Cambridge College complete our online enquiry form on our web site www.conferencecambridge.com or call us on 01223 740578
Trinity Hall
New staff and a new fine dining menu, Trinity Hall is ringing the changes. Alison Walker is the new Conference and Banqueting Manager; Alison formerly of Homerton College is joined by Marcella Blomsma as Conference Administrator.
The College is renowned for its excellent cuisine and the catering team have just released their new fine dining menu. Offering an extensive choice, the menu has been expertly created by catering manager, Nigel Fletcher. Soups include Gazpacho with White Crab & Coriander; followed by a wide selection of starters and mains including, Smoked Chicken & Mango Timbale and Loin of Venison with Green Peppercorn Sauce. Offerings for a fish course include Scallop Mousse with Langoustine Sauce and Tiger Prawns in a Lemon Butter Sauce. A choice of five desserts and a cheese selection round off this spectacular menu that is truly a connoisseurs delight.
To book an event at a Cambridge College complete our online enquiry form on our web site www.conferencecambridge.com or call us on 01223 740578
Churchill College
Churchill College is situated just of Madingley Road with easy access from the M11 and the A14. Facilities include purpose built conference and meeting rooms supported by outstanding customer service and state-of-the-art technology all located in extensive, tranquil grounds yet just minutes away from the City centre. During the University's vacation periods the College welcomes residential groups and independent travellers.
Churchill College is delighted to announce that it has gained entry level accreditation to the MIA (Meetings Industry Association) AIM scheme. This scheme measures compliance with a number of quality standards in meeting and conference delivery. Customers of the college can rest assured that they will be well looked after by experienced and professional staff in comfortable and efficient surroundings. Of the award Churchill Bursar, Jennifer Rigby said, 'We are committed at Churchill to maintaining our long standing reputation for excellent conference provision. This award illustrates that commitment, and we are delighted to achieve the required standard.' The College will now continue working towards further awards at Silver and Gold standard.
To book an event at a Cambridge College complete our online enquiry form on our web site www.conferencecambridge.com or call us on 01223 740578
Madingley Hall
© Howard Rice
Madingley Hall is a valuable new addition to our portfolio. This elegant, 16 Century country house is situated in the peaceful village of Madingley, about three miles west of the City.
With delightful gardens and grounds of about 7 acres, it is available throughout the year for residential and non-residential conferences and events. In addition to the ambience of a gracious country house, the Hall offers excellent catering, en-suite accommodation, a residents' bar, ample car parking, tennis court and croquet lawns in season.
There is a choice of 10 well-equipped conference and seminar rooms seating between 5 and 90 delegates, all located in the historic main Hall. There are six main conference rooms, seating between 20 to 90 delegates, and four seminar rooms, each seating up to 20 delegates.
A full range of audio-visual equipment including internet access, computers, data and video projectors, slide and overhead projectors can also be provided.
To book an event at a Cambridge College complete our online enquiry form on our web site www.conferencecambridge.com or call us on 01223 740578
Partners
Cambridge Tailor-Made Tours - Professional Guiding with the Personal Touch
Break out of the boardroom or conference hall! Give your delegates an exclusive taste of Cambridge - and some fresh air - with a personal guide from Cambridge Tailor-Made Tours.
Cambridge is in big demand as a conference destination, and conference delegates are a significant part of their customer mix.
With their expertise, experience and contacts, your event is in safe, creative hands.
- Work up an appetite with a pre-dinner ramble
- Take tea in an historic college room
- Go punting by candle-light
They offer general tours as well as specialist themes to complement your business, or visitors' interests, including biotechnology and computing history.
Cambridge Tailor-Made Tours work with businesses of all types, sizes and nationalities, including blue-chip companies such as ARM, Microsoft, AstraZeneca and GlaxoSmithKline.
If you are planning a conference in the city and would like help with a social programme for delegates, and/or partners, Cambridge Tailor-Made Tours will make it a Cambridge conference to remember!
Contact: Rosie Zanders
Telephone: 01223 561766
Mobile: 07889 530722
Email: guides@cambridgetmtours.co.uk
Website: www.cambridgetmtours.co.uk
Cambridge Chauffer Punts
Cambridge Chauffeur Punts was founded in 1993. Since then they have built up to a fleet of 24 punts some of which are double, designed for taking large groups such as school parties and conference guests, they can accommodate numbers of up to 100. Customers can choose from taking a tour with a chauffeur guide, or punting themselves. They operate on the upper river, towards Granchester and along the middle river which passes the famous college Backs.
The chauffeurs are expert punters, who can present you with the historical facts and stories of the Colleges, University and student life. Have you heard that Sir Isaac Newton designed the Mathematical Bridge, without nuts or bolts? Come and discover the truth behind it!
A standard return tour takes you the length of the Backs between Silver Street and Quayside, lasting approximately 45 minutes. The tour includes Queens' College and the Mathematical Bridge, King's College, Clare College, Trinity Hall, Trinity College, St. John's College, the Bridge of Sighs, and Magdalene College. Blankets and umbrellas are provided as standard and life jackets are available on request. Longer tours can be arranged for up to half a day, on any part of the river.
Contact: Matthew Marks
Telephone: 01223 354164/ 01223 359299
Mobile: 07966 157059
Email: matthew@punting-in-cambridge.co.uk
Website: www.punting-in-cambridge.co.uk
Highfield Entertainment Agency
Highfield Entertainment is much more than 'just an agency' offering an outstanding service to clients and artistes alike.
They've provided entertainment for Lords and Ladies, large corporate organisations, village associations and ordinary folk in venues of all types from leading hotels and banqueting halls, to stately homes and marquees in muddy fields.
Highfield Entertainment can source bands (Jazz, Ceilidh, tribute or covers), discos, magicians, after dinner speakers and lots more, whatever your requirement for a successful event, they can source the entertainment for you to make your function unique and memorable.
Additional services include marquee hire, staging and lighting in fact all you need to do is provide the guests!
Contact: Shirley Roberts
Telephone: 01954 425 1900
Email: info@highfieldmanagement.com
Website: www.highfieldmanagement.com
Events
St John's Opendoors Event - Hosting a Successful International Event
Our Opendoors event hosted at St John's College was a tremendous success, being attended by some forty guests, from a wide range of international organisations from China, India, Australia and Europe, which resulted in the most spirited of evenings.
Guests were welcomed at the Fisher Building and expertly escorted by the St John's College Team to view the unique facilities the College has to offer for an extensive range of event types.
A Question Time format on the theme of 'Hosting Successful International Events' was held, a panel comprising Thak Patel - Chief Executive of THINKindia & Cambridge SkillsTap, Richard Wishart - Managing Director of Delivery Management, Professor Alan Barrell and Dr Chris Parkhouse - Managing Director of Deyton Bell, were posed questions by Walter Herriot OBE, Managing Director of St John's Innovation Centre.
Questions from the audience were taken at the end of the session. Suggestions for an Australian audience included viewing the papers of Field Marshal Lord Slim, which can be found at Churchill College and the South Pacific/Captain Cook collections at the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. Cambridge has a lot to offer international visitors in terms of its rich history, music scholars, outdoor theatre, architecture, animated, enthusiastic speakers on any given topic and inspirational students of note, including scores of Nobel Prize winners – it was concluded that it was unnecessary to attempt to out-do other destinations where Kylie and fireworks have been employed entertain audiences!
A drinks reception was enjoyed by all on the lawn outside the Old Music Room, followed by a sumptuous Asian-influenced dinner in the famous Wordsworth Room, a 450 year old room where William Wordsworth lived when he was an undergraduate in the 1780s and which he described in his autobiographical poem, The Prelude.
The menu, which included Scallops Togarashi, Gressingham Duck Supreme with Rhubarb Ketchup, Tamarind and Chilli Sauce, followed by Match and Azuki Bean Mousse Cakes with Sesame Seed Ice Cream and Molasses was superbly complimented by international wines from India, Hungary and Portugal. The meal was perfectly rounded-off with Artisan British Cheeses and for those with bottomless appetites, the most delicious of St John's College truffles.
At the end of the evening, a Prize Draw Hamper, packed with luxury College gifts, including port, books and prints etc. was presented to Dale Eaton, Director of Britain-Australia Society, who very kindly shared his prize with other guests who caught the train back to London!
Guests have described the evening as 'interesting and entertaining' and welcomed the opportunity to network - one was 'impressed beyond words'!
Location, Location, Location - Opendoors at New Hall and Fitzwilliam College
On the 6th June, Conference Cambridge held its fourth Opendoors event. Fitzwilliam College and New Hall teamed up for the half day event entitled 'Location, Location, Location'; which included complimentary accommodation at New Hall.
The day started at 10am with a breakfast buffet in the Auditorium foyer at Fitzwilliam. After a warm welcome, the guests were split into three teams for their tours of Fitzwilliam College.
The teams met up at the Gordon Cameron Theatre in Wilson Court, for a talk by one of Cambridge's leading historians, Mike Petty. His presentation, took guests on a walk through Cambridge's past, focusing on the Colleges and what they can offer delegates and students, now and then. A feature of the presentation was the oldest known map of Cambridge, written in Latin and dating from the 16th century; guests were given their very own copy to remind them of the day.
Tours continued at New Hall and finished in the Fellow's Drawing Room, where the guests enjoyed a drinks reception. The three teams then split into six teams to compete in an interactive quiz, hosted by Melody and Robin from 'Live the City'. After answering four rounds of general knowledge questions, the winning team split into individual players, and answered another round of questions based on Fitzwilliam and New Hall. The winner won a Hamper filled with a selection of wine, port, prints and other goodies donated by the Colleges. The runners-up received two bottles of wine from Fitzwilliam and New Hall.
Lunch was served in New Hall's Fellow's Dining Room where guests enjoyed a delicious three course meal, followed by coffee in the Fellow's Drawing Room.
'Be Our Guest' - Opendoors at Jesus College and Magdalene College
Blessed with glorious evening sun, guests met at 4pm at Magdalene College for a relaxed, informal evening showcasing the delights of both Colleges, as well as Cambridge itself. The courtyard setting at Magdalene provided a perfect setting for the welcome reception, where guests enjoyed a cream teas and light classical music from the Hurst Park Quartet, kindly sponsored by Highfield Management.
Visitors were invited to stay and enjoy the gardens or partake in one of the organised activities; an illuminating City walking tour courtesy of Cambridge Tailor-Made Tours, a gentle punt along the Cam, sponsored by Cambridge Chauffeur Punts and an exclusive tour of the Pepys Library with Dr Luckett, Magdalene College's librarian.
At 5pm the event moved across to Cripps Court, the most recent addition to the College's facilities, to hear about the Conference Cambridge service. The presentation was followed by a light-hearted quiz on all things Cambridge and the winning team received token gifts of College memorabilia.
The evening focused on Jesus College and began with an organ recital by Daniel Hyde, Director of Chapel Music, in the magnificent twelfth century Chapel; this was followed with a champagne reception in Cloister Court and a sumptuous dinner in the Prioress's Room. The guest speaker, Prof Stephen Heath, Professor of English and French Literature and Culture, entertained guests with witty anecdotes about the eccentricities of Jesus Alumni.
As a thank you everyone received a College scarf, a tad ironic on such a balmy evening, but guests were amused when we explained that the event had originally been planned for January!
Our inbox was flooded with thank you emails the following day and judging by the comments and the three immediate enquiries that have already resulted, 'Be our Guest' was a runaway success. Here's just few of the comments:
'Thank you for hosting such an informative and very enjoyable evening. You offer such a great service, and I will definitely carry on using you in the future'
'We would like to thank you all for this wonderful experience, we had a great time, met some really interesting people, ate wonderful food and drunk wonderful wines; everything was perfect from Magdalene to Jesus, a memorable day! You should celebrate being 11 too!'
'It was a privilege to be included in your ten year anniversary celebrations. A particular highlight for me was the organ recital in Jesus College chapel - it was truly stupendous! Thanks once again for a wonderful experience which we will remember for a long time to come.'
The luxury College hamper, which we present to one lucky guest at all of our events, was won by Mrs Ann Waterman, from the Cambridge Intervarsity Club.
The Event Manager & The Law - Opendoors at Queens' College and the Pitt Building
Conference Cambridge held its third Opendoors event on 28 May 2008 at Queens' College and the Pitt Building. The theme of the event was The Event Manager & The Law and the afternoon began with a welcome reception at the Pitt Building, owned by Cambridge University Press on Trumpington Street.
Those who attended, deterred not by the rain, the traffic in town and the fact that it was half term, were treated to the most delicious afternoon tea nibbles and a tour of the facilities, including the fabulous and unique Oriel Room, where the Press syndicate still meet to decide what will and won't be published.
Melody White from Live the City introduced guests to the concept of 'competitive sight-seeing' and guests were asked to listen carefully and locate clues for a showdown quiz to be held later in the day.
A presentation was then delivered by Richard John, a leading authority in the field of event management, training and consultancy, entitled, 'The Event Manager & the Law'.
In just 40 minutes, Richard sprinted over the various aspects of relevant Law, including Copyright, Data Protection, Lotteries and competitions, Contracts, Licensing of music, video and performances, Insurance, Health and safety and risk management, DDA and Corporate Manslaughter.
The lively presentation was peppered with case studies and anecdotes, which left most of the audience with a desire to change career path; in truth, it raised many more questions than it answered and it was described by one guest as 'very, very interesting, but very, very scary!'. Nevertheless it succinctly highlighted the key areas that everyone in the industry should be aware of.
Continuing the Live the City 'Treasure Hunt', guests made their way over to the exquisite Old Hall at Queens' College, where they were greeted and taken on a whistle stop tour of the facilities. On returning to Old Hall, guests were treated to Champagne and delicious, hand-made canapés provided by Master Chef, Hans Schweitzer (formerly of Midsummer House, Cambridge & Sandy Lane Hotel, Barbados).
During the reception, the Live the City 'Show Down Finale' took place; the winner, Anna Everitt of Library House, was very pleased with the College hamper prize. Runners up were presented with gifts from Queens' College. All guests left with a Cambridge University Press shopping bag, full of information.
Our Cambridge guests welcomed the chance to view venues that they had walked/driven/cycled past hundreds of times, but not visited previously and those who had travelled from further a field commented that it had planted a seed for future events.
All in all, a good time was had by all those who attended; our thanks go the venues and the guests who made the day such fun.
Happy Clients
We have an ever expanding portfolio of happy clients; here are a few of their comments:
'Thanks you very much for your time. The service you provide is priceless!!'
Wendy Bradshaw, Team Assistant, Nokia Research Centre, Cambridge
'How efficient and friendly the University's conference booking system is'
Tom Morton, Partner, PKF (UK) LLP
'This is the second time I have used Conference Cambridge and I find it very useful and efficient. It saves a lot of my time searching around the venues. I have recommended this service to my colleagues.'
Zoie Kennerson, Administration Secretary, Department of Pathology, University of Cambridge
'Thank you so much for your invaluable help. I only wish I had known about Conference Cambridge earlier. Still, better late than never. You have been efficient, very pleasant to deal with and I will recommend you!'
Madeleine Collett, Kings Lynn, Norfolk
Please don't hesitate to contact Conference Cambridge with any questions or comments.
T: 01223 740578 | F: 01223 740580 | E: enquiries@conferencecambridge.com
T: 01223 740578
