One of our Zafferano rising stars, event planner Amy Smale, talks about her love of Cornwall, giant swings and her passion for food.
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What’s your name? Where do you come from?
Amy Smale, I am Cornish, born and bred, and very patriotic about my home county.
How long have you been at Zafferano?
7 months
What first attracted you to the world of hospitality?
I love food and the enjoyment people get from eating with others – it is always wonderful seeing people appreciate food and drink, and the conversations sparked from, for example, a savoury macaron! It is also the buzz that you get from dedicating time and effort to an event and then getting to see the end performance, it always makes it worthwhile.
What’s the best thing about working at Zafferano?
The team. I enjoy coming to work every day, being surrounded by colleagues who inspire me. Events are such a team effort and so having an amazing group of people around you, such as the ‘Zaff team’, makes event planning a lot easier. The food tastings are also a tasty perk.
What’s been your favourite event whilst at Zafferano?
My favourite event was a 200 person dinner at LSO St Luke’s. It was an early Christmas party, with a 1920s quirk and I got to style the event. I used subtle table lamps to create ambience, without distracting from the amazing technical capabilities of the venue, and huge vases with black feathers budding from them to make the most of the room’s height. It added a bit of stardust and sparkle, transporting the guests back to a stylish 1920s bistro.
What’s your favourite Zafferano dish?
It has to be a dessert from our 2016 Spring/Summer menu: macerated raspberries, lychee jelly, rose emulsion, burnt white chocolate crumble, and raspberry sorbet. I am not a big dessert eater but I think I could eat this every day; our pastry chef Mac is a genius.
Tell us something we might not know about you?
I have been on the world’s biggest swing in New Zealand – it sounds fun, but it was terrifying.
If you had to sum up Zafferano in one word, what would it be?
‘Passionate’. We all care so much about what we do, and this in turn is reflected in our events.
To find out more about Zafferano’s food and events click here