Our first outing of 2024 was on Friday 2nd February, where we went to the Royal Lancaster Hotel to support our friends and partners The Clink Charity at their annual fundraising Ball. A member of the Confrérie’s UK & Ireland Council, Vic Laws MBE, is The Clink’s Group Restaurant Ambassador, and has been helping develop the partnership between The Clink and the Confrérie for years.
The event started with a Champagne reception with an incredible array of canapés, followed by a truly fabulous banquet, all provided by The Clink Charity’s event catering arm. After dinner, there was a fascinating presentation about the charity’s aims and progress, during which we heard from some of its graduates, who are now pursuing very successful careers in catering, hospitality, and horticulture.
After dinner, a crack team of Maîtres-Sabreurs donned their regalia, taught sabrage to some of the aforementioned graduates and a number of guests who had made generous charitable donations, and Intronised them all as Novice Sabreurs. This provided them a handy supply of Champagne that ensured the party kept going until late into the night!
All in all, the Ball was a huge success—over 450 people attended (including a number of long-standing members of the Confrérie!), and the post-dinner fundraising activities (silent auction and charity sabrage) helped raise over £50,000 for the charity.
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