Meet the Team »
Meet the Team
Joanna Moody - Director of Events
Joanna worked with Lady Elisabeth Anson at Party Planners and then as Senior Party Planner at Rhubarb Food Design. She joined Zafferano in 2005 and has since won pitches for some of the company’s most prestigious events including HG Capital Fifth Anniversary Ball at The Royal Hospital Chelsea, ING Summer Reception at Kensington Palace, Enotria World Wine Fair at Banqueting House, as well as organising numerous high spend corporate events, society weddings and barmitzvahs.
Much loved by all her clients and colleagues, Jo is the life and soul of the party.
Julian Saipe - Managing Director
Julian trained as an opera singer and performed at the Royal Opera House for over eight years. He also sung on the film soundtracks to Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Pirates of the Caribbean, amongst many others. In 1996 he founded Big Voice Productions which produces top end operatic entertainment for corporate events. In 2002 Julian became Managing Director of Zafferano and trebled the company’s turnover within 4 years. His passion for food, London venues, and the events business has established Zafferano as one of London’s catering elite. Julian has successfully led many tenders, recently winning accreditation for Zafferano at Christie's, Royal Academy of Arts, Tate Modern, Wellington Arch and Westminster Abbey.
Julian is also in demand as a public speaker and presents the London Business School Graduation Ceremony each Summer for over 2000 guests.
Vivienne Gonley - Founder and Director
Vivienne has had a lasting love affair with France and Italy – the inspiration behind much of her cooking. Having read Italian and French at University she subsequently trained as a chef at Leith’s School of Food and Wine, and The Admirable Crichton. She has lived in Bologna, arguably the country’s gastronomic capital, and worked closely with some of the top chefs of Tuscany for The Alternative Travel Group.
On returning to London she discovered a distinct lack of colourful, seasonal party food, which led her to set up a catering company, Zafferano, in May 1992. Vivienne has written two books about the food of Italy – “Ricette della Campagna” and “A Flavour of Tuscany” and has written for the food pages of Waitrose Food Illustrated and the Party Magazine.
Clare Hegarty - Party Planner
Having previously worked in the Financial sector, Clare is Zafferano's young bright star. Clare’s love of skiing took her to Meribel, where her ski season fuelled her passion for food and entertaining. Clare is a keen sportswoman and plays netball at a semi professional level. In any spare time, Clare loves to travel and has been lucky enough to sample a multitude of cultures and cuisines. For Zafferano, Clare has organised events for Blackstone Chambers, Deloitte, Marketform, Morgan Lewis, ThinkFolio and Winckworth Sherwood.
Jonathan Gilbert - Executive Head Chef
Jonathan trained as a chef in rural France and Paris before returning to the private clubs and restaurants of London's Mayfair. After ten years in the restaurant industry he took a three-year sabbatical to study Fine Art at Central St. Martins School of Art. However, after graduation, with his passion for fine food still burning, he began working for some of London's biggest and most stylish events companies including Moving Venue, Red Snapper and Nomad London.
Jonathan has worked for Zafferano for over two years, and also lectures part time at the Food Academy of West Herts College. In his spare time he is usually found with his partner and young daughter on their allotment, growing mushrooms, tayberries and heritage vegetables.
Mike Pitt - Head of Chef Operations
Mike has recently joined Zafferano full time having worked with us part-time for 6 years. Mike has worked with London’s most important catering companies including Mustard and The Moving Venue. He was Head chef at Lewis & Clarke’s The Gable, The Prophet, and has also run the kitchen at various Balls Brothers’ restaurants.
Mike's passions include extreme mountain biking, cultivating his own kitchen garden, and drinking a good Caipirinha.
Tamara Keyter - Senior Operations Manager
Tamara or 'T' is well known in the London events scene for her formidbale strengths as an Ops Manager. Having worked on numerous prestigious events including Raisa Gorbachev Summer Ball at Hampton Court, White Tie and Tiara Ball for Elton John Aids Foundation, Quantam Of Solace launch party, T has been in demand as an Events Manager for over 10 years. As well as managing Zafferano parties and events at Tate Britain, Wellington Arch, Imperial War Museum, BFI IMAX, Bloomsbury Ballroom, T is also General Manager at our onsite catering facility at 55 Baker Street.
David McSweeney - Senior Events Manager
David has over 15 years experience in managing London events. For Zafferano, David has run over 1,000 events for clients including Accenture, Conservatives, David Baddiel, David Walliams, Enotria, ITV, Jonathan Ross, Logica CMG, Mentzendorff, Merril Lynch, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Vanessa Redgrave, Vogue as well as numerous private events and weddings throughout the country. His professional and personal approach has earned him admiration and respect from his many loyal Zafferano clients.
