Rosie Panchini, Fabulous Female Founder of The Big Event DMC.

Rosie tell me a little about yourself?

I come from a family of amazing cooks including my mother, both grandmothers and my Italian mother in law. In our family, cooking for others is our way of giving love. My mother taught me to cook and present food beautifully, set gorgeous tables using crystal glasses, porcelain dishes and lovely flowers so every meal looked like a dinner party.

I went to school in England at a time when cookery was part of the curriculum and by the age of 14, I was cooking celebration dinners, baking bread and making Christmas cakes. I loved getting my hands into the mixture and this is still true today.

For many years I worked in the Music Industry for two important concert promoters and then for an artist management  company. In 1991 I started my first business as an event decorator and in time the business  evolved into an international events company to include, of course, concert organisation.

As a professional event organiser, I have learned about culinary traditions from several countries – food and drinks from Italy, France, England, Ireland, Holland, The Czech Republic, Austria, Portugal, Hungary and Canada. I have been fortunate to organise events in all these places, working with chefs, developing menus, designing gala dinners and having creative freedom regarding table settings, glass, porcelain, beautiful tableware, lighting etc.

During these years of organising events, I have created my own style of food preparation and presentation. Since 2009 I have been taking traditional (mostly Italian) recipes and making healthier, simpler, delicious versions, using organic produce and eliminating the use of pesticides, processed and industrial ingredients.

My food is like fashion – simple, elegant and embraces the seasons. I love the difference of the Spring/ Summer and Autumn/ Winter produce. When you cook with the most natural ingredients available and you keep your techniques and recipes simple, it’s easy to continually produce wonderful food. We eat with our eyes (first) so I believe that how your food is presented is really important.

You used to be involved in events within the music industry, did you come across anyone famous?

Yes, all of our artists were /are very famous.   I worked for Andrew Miller Concerts and eventually became a director of the company. We organised international concert tours for Supertramp, Mike Oldfield, Joe Jackson, Barry Manilow, Gallagher & Lyle, Meat Loaf, Paul McCartney & Wings, Chris de Burgh and many others. We also managed Captain Sensible and the punk band The Damned.

I then moved to EG Management who represented at the time Bryan Ferry and Roxy Music, Brian Eno, King Crimson, Toyah Wilcox and Ian Page.

When and how did you decide to start up The Big Event DMC

The Big Event was born in 2003. I moved to Italy in 2001, got married in 2002 and by January 2003, I was ready to start my new company.  My husband (and concert pianist) Alessandro Panchini asked me one day how I was going to do this, and I said “ I’ve done it before so somehow I will do it again”.  

The new business was set up to create beautiful, elegant events and private concerts.  So I started again from scratch and here we are working with luxury clients in luxurious locations, which is where I am at my best doing what I love.

One of my first priorities was to find the right suppliers and collaborators. As one of the banqueting managers at the Savoy in London said to me a long time ago, “ you are only as good as your suppliers” and he was absolutely right. If you don’t have an experienced and professional team around you, it doesn’t matter how good you are, the organisation falls apart. Therefore I appreciate and look after my very valued suppliers, collaborators and staff just as much as our treasured clients.

What is the average size of an event you would organise and what is involved from beginning to end?

Anywhere between 20 – 200

I will give you an example of a series of events that I have been organising for the last ten years for 75 guests which (wherever possible) is held at a Four Seasons hotel around the world. The event is all about food and nutrition and our guests learn about the country’s culture through the past traditions and modern cuisine.

If the event is in a country where I have never worked in before, I spend two months of doing a lot of pre – site visit research on line and then I go to the city, stay in the hotel where the event is going to be held, try several restaurants for our event dinners, meet with the chefs, transport companies, visit gala dinner locations and do initial menu tastings with a few caterers. I have learned that a two or three day sight visit for me doesn’t allow enough time to find everything I need.  I am a real stickler, so if I haven’t found all that I am looking for, I extend the site visit until I have everything I need to take things further.

Our events are very unique and you need to really dedicate time sourcing all that is special.  After the first trip, I go back again with my client so that he may choose between the various options. At this stage I create the event budget and manage it from beginning to end.

The pre- event preparations are super important and it if an event is prepared well, then the event goes well. The continuous attention to detail is vital.

In the winter I go back to the city again and re-taste all the menus we have chosen which will have been seasonally adjusted from when we were there in the summer, this also gives me the chance to check that the quality and service is still as good and to go through all the details  of the event with every supplier.

 When we get to the actual event, myself and my team are on site the whole time. We look after all the airport logistics managing the flight manifests for all the arrivals and departures  (for guests arriving / departing from many different locations) and the transport for each guest. We co-ordinate all the evening dinners, the unique activities and the gala dinner where we have many suppliers to manage such as the location managers , caterers, florists, musicians, sound and lighting companies, photographers.

Do you have a minimum size for an event?

No, several years ago we organised a very intimate wedding just for two people.  

What has been your most exciting event you’ve organised?

It’s not easy to answer this as there have been several events where I have felt “ that was so magical” however this must be the most exciting as we had less than three weeks to organise the whole event for a very high calibre client to include spouse activities with exclusive visits.

It was a huge highlight and honour to be asked by the Four Seasons in Florence to look after their special client and to find the most stunning location in very short notice for a gala dinner. The client loved the idea of  the Galleria dell’ Accademia in Florence for their intimate gala dinner for just 16 guests. They sat in front of Michelangelo’s David at the most beautifully decorated table, eating and drinking the best of everything available and enjoying a private concert with the pianist playing pieces by Rossini and accompanying a tenor and soprano singing arias from several famous operas.

Your event management must have taken you all over the world?    

Yes, I am fortunate to have a wonderful client that has taken me to Florence, Dublin, Prague, Amsterdam, London, Vienna, Lisbon, Toronto and Budapest. Our next event was supposed to be in Edinburgh next year in 2021, but for now it is on hold….

What has been your favourite event

It’s a bit like asking which is your favourite child!

I would say that our recent event in Budapest is my favourite not only for all that we created but also for the very special friendships that we made whilst working there. On one of the evenings, we arranged a private visit for our guests to go to the Dohany Street Synagogue, which is the largest in Europe.  The visit included a tour of the Ghetto Museum, Memorial park and cemetery - followed by dinner at Koleves Restaurant which is situated in the Jewish Quarter and specialises in Jewish Hungarian cuisine. Bearing in mind that 75% of our guests were non Jewish, this proved to be one of the most emotional and wonderful evenings that we have ever arranged.  

Our gala dinner was held the next night at one of Budapest’s most important concert halls where we completely transformed the hall into something really magical.  The music was amazing. My husband is a concert pianist and he had the opportunity of firstly playing Hungarian classical pieces on the”Batpiano” (it is called that as the designer thought it resembled the bat mobile) and he then joined a  local group of gypsy swing musicians. The whole evening was spectacular.

These days I think that the key elements in any job, especially in hospitality is all about relationships. How many repeat clients do you have?

I like to work with a small number of clients as my work is about quality not quantity – so to answer your question five repeat clients plus some wedding clients that when they get to important anniversaries, I know we will work together again.

Sweet or savoury?

I love both!  Rich delicious Sacher torte with ice cream or homemade bread, cheese and red wine ……

Who collaborates with you?

I have a member of my team that has worked with me for 10 years, she is based in Florence and comes to each event wherever it is held. My logistics manager is based in Lisbon and he works on all the pre-event logistics, transport and flight manifests. My designer is based in Toronto and she does all the menu designs and I create a local team too to work with us pre -event and on site.

A restaurant or chef that inspires you:  

Florence : Ristorante Buca Lapi – Chef / owner Luciano Ghinassi. He uses the best quality produce, he cooks with only the essential ingredients so you can taste each one of them, his cuisine comes from “ La Cucina Povera”  where many of the most delicious dishes were created from poverty. In my opinion Luciano makes the best ravioli in the world and he is famous for his bistecca alla Fiorentina.

How would you define luxury?

Afternoon Tea at Claridge’s  followed by a concert at the Royal Albert Hall during the Proms season.

An object you would never part with

My Mum’s engagement ring that she gave us when I got engaged to Alessandro.

The last meal that truly impressed you:  

Castello di Nipozzano. We were recently invited for lunch at the winery and their Chef Alessandro made us home made bread from their own grains, a starter of poached egg cooked at a low temperature with a courgette velouté, followed by a baked ravioli with caramelised cherry tomatoes and basil oil and for dessert his grandmother’s recipe of apple cake with crème anglaise. The reasons that the dishes impressed me was that chef used both the minimum and the best quality ingredients (all grown in their vegetable garden) The food was simple, elegant, perfectly cooked and perfectly presented.

 The biggest female influence in your life:

My Mum. My cooking, food presentation etc is her legacy, she taught me so much, dinner for us was everyday beautiful, every day delicious, there was always lots of love and good food around our table.

Pizza or pasta?  

Love both but as I have to choose, I would say pasta as there is such a great variety. My favourites are ravioli, tortellini, pasta al forno, lasagne, tagliatelle, pappardelle, – love them all!

Your favourite website

Fortnum and Mason definitely as every time I go on their site it is usually to buy some delicious treats as a present for someone close to me.

What’s in your future plans for The Big Event?

During lockdown I cooked and baked and tested recipes everyday. All our events were completely on hold and I needed a project.

One day the idea came to me about how amazing it would be to bring all the experience and skills that I have acquired over the years of organising events into people’s homes. For example one of my favourite events was the Afternoon Tea we hosted at Claridge’s hotel in London. I love to make afternoon tea, it’s my speciality, I invite friends several times a year at home and its so wonderful and creative to do!  So why not create tutorials on how to make it. You can really enjoy the baking, the food presentation, learning great tips on how to make the table look wonderful, pairing champagnes, or dessert wines, selecting teas….  With just a few new skills, you could really increase your repertoire and have fun at the same time. I actually prefer inviting friends for afternoon rather than dinner, its just so decadent and civilised!

My creativity started to roller coast and as well as the afternoon tea tutorials, I thought we could do tutorials on pasta parties, gourmet pizza parties, fine dining dinner parties, picnic parties, tutorials for the creative man, students going off to university, master classes on event organising. During these last few years I have made friends with some excellent chefs and we could bring them in as special guests. – there are so many ideas!!!

Such a big part of my job is developing the menus, pairing the wines, creating the beautiful table décor, working with musicians to create the right ambiance and we could do all of this together and bring it into your home. How wonderful would that be to make our lives so much better during these difficult times. It doesn’t need to be a big production, it needs to be a fun production so as we are all are eating and drinking much more at home let’s make it delicious and interesting.

I wanted to see if others were as enthusiastic about the ideas as I was so called my contact at Frescobaldi wineries to see what he thought of the idea, and he loved it so much that we are going to be collaborating together on this and other future projects. My new venture will be called Rosie’s Big Events.

A recent “find”

Casale San Pietro near to Anagni – very pretty small boutique hotel – just six rooms, lovely views, lovely bedding, wonderful owners and great food!

In my fridge you’ll always find

Good pecorino, parmesan and goats cheese, fresh free range eggs from my in laws and  lots of organic vegetables and fruit

The beauty staple I’m never without:

Chanel Rouge Coco lipstick

Favourite Italian wine?  

Frescobaldi (Red) Mormoreto 2010