Holiday Extravaganza: Catering Case Study with Jaeger-LeCoultre, Featuring Coffee and Bartending Brilliance
In October 2022, Jaeger Lecoultre approached Pearl Lemon Catering with
Throughout the planning and coordination phase, our communication with Jaeger Lecoultre was meticulously managed via email and WhatsApp. This dual-channel approach ensured all details were thoroughly discussed and any adjustments could be promptly made. The preparation for this event was intense, involving 26 separate email threads between our team and Jaeger Lecoultre’s representatives, J.C. and Carolina. This extensive communication was crucial to fine-tuning the specifics of the event, ensuring that every aspect of the service — from the culinary offerings to the entertainment components — was perfectly aligned with the client’s expectations.
When the event commenced on December 15th, our team was well-prepared to deliver an exceptional service experience. The detailed coordination and the robust communication framework allowed us to seamlessly integrate our services with the daily flow of the event, ensuring that each day was as successful as the last. This commitment to excellence and adaptability was key in providing a high-quality, engaging experience for all guests throughout the 10-day affair.
The Scope of Work
The original scope of work agreed to was:
- 2x top barista-trained staff who have served over 9,354 cups of coffee each
- Our baristas will be trained on the Jaeger mission & vision so they can properly represent your brand to customers who wish to speak
- We will be involved between now and then for all strategy discussions with the coffee setup
- We will come ahead of the event for logistics planning and layout
- With a cafe in Marleybone (just 1.6 miles away) we have all our supplies close for any issues / emergencies / unexpected surge in sales
- Experience working with international coffee drinkers (as we often have celebrities, politicians and royal family visiting our cafe in Marleybone)
- The skill to pair customer tastes with the correct coffee types
- An ability to serve hundreds of cups of beautiful and delicious coffee with out-of-this-world service for the whole event
- Choice of 4 drinks – espresso, cappuccino, latte, americano made with our delicious, premium coffee beans sourced from a farm on the outskirts of Rio, Brazil
- All equipment hire, transport, setup, pack up
- The use of our La Marzocco barista machine (a premium Italian coffee machine brand) for the entire event
- Regular milk, semi-skimmed, oat, almond soy and coconut milk options
- An ability to improvise when something changes at the last minute (venue changes, issue with electrics, unexpected guests, people running late)
- The experience and ability to adapt to fluid situations in real time
- A punctual team with matching uniforms and able to perfectly present themselves as your client’s team
Immediately after this, we added tea service to their package for those who did not want a coffee or hot chocolate.
On top of the coffee service we also served canapes as well.
Costing the Ingredients
Building a quote and total costs for this event was rather extensive. Not only did we have to budget for a 15-day event in terms of supplies and labour, but we also had to gamble on how much more we may serve than what we estimated with the Jaeger team.
This meant we had to guess what milk would be the most popular, how many drinks are made per container, and how much to bring…and that is just six different milk options to factor in.
Leading Up to the Event
Most conversations were via email, with some communication on Whatsapp. Carolina communicated regularly with Lydia as they had similar roles—Lydia took care of purchasing and coordinating for Pearl Lemon Catering, and Carolina took care of the same for Jaeger Lecoultre.
These two discussed the coffee stencils and requirements, setting up vendor accounts, ensuring everyone had all the legal documents needed and ensuring our team was paid at the agreed intervals.
On December 8th, the teams all gathered for an official brand training to double down and prepare for the event. This was to ensure all teams knew what would be made and how and that the catering team could thoroughly and accurately explain the Jaeger Lecoultre brand AND share information on drinks served.
Setting Up at the Venue
As always we had Deepak and Axel leading the way in terms of getting everything to the event and ensuring out team was ready to go.
Before we could kick off, we had to bring all supplies to the venue, unpack and store the supplies, ensure nothing was faulty and the entire staff knew exactly where everything was going to be.
The venue setup for the Jaeger Lecoultre event presented unique challenges due to limited space, necessitating expert planning and strategic layout design. Jaeger Lecoultre provided our team with detailed measurements and photographs of the venue, which is essential in creating an effective space utilization plan.
Utilising this information, our team developed a comprehensive blueprint outlining the most efficient arrangement for serving areas and storage spaces. This planning was crucial for optimising the service flow and ensuring that the space remained uncluttered and functional throughout the event duration. Our expertise in space management allowed us to maximize the available area, thereby enhancing the overall functionality and aesthetic appeal of the setting.
This careful consideration and planning facilitated a smooth operation daily, enabling our team to deliver impeccable service despite the spatial constraints. The ability to adapt and tailor our approach to fit the venue’s specific requirements was instrumental in the successful execution of the event, demonstrating our commitment to excellence and client satisfaction.
Hurdles and Obstacles
One of the biggest hurdles our team had through the course of this event being prepared for was the coffee stencil Jaeger Lecoultre required. Finding suppliers was the easy part…
…finding a supplier that would print cheaply, quickly and accurately was a whole different story.
We ended up going through three different suppliers before being able to settle on the third company.
Issues that came up were inaccurate sizing and machines not printing the stencil well, which made ugly images and flimsy stencils.
In the end we were able to find a great company that got the right size and printed it so the cocoa would show up properly on drinks, but it was a definite pain trying to solve this.
The final supplier got us stencils that allowed the below
The Outcome
Jaeger Lecoultre was beyond happy with the service we were able to provide for them
We got some great photos and videos of the event and testimonials from the Jaeger Lecoultre team as well.
So much so that they left us a great video testimonial AND 5 months later approached us again for another pop up event similar to the event from December.
During the course of the Jaeger Lecoultre event, the demand for coffee exceeded our initial projections significantly. We served a total of 4,006 cups
The challenge of serving such a high volume of coffee was met with prompt adjustments in our procurement and preparation strategies. Our team swiftly responded by increasing our stock of coffee beans, disposable cups, and other related supplies to ensure that we could continue to provide uninterrupted service throughout the event. This experience underscored the importance of flexibility and responsiveness in catering operations, especially in a dynamic event setting where guest preferences can significantly influence service requirements.
Despite the initial underestimation, our ability to quickly adapt and upscale our resources ensured that every guest could enjoy a high-quality coffee experience, thereby enhancing the overall satisfaction and success of the event.
