Gordon Ramsay enjoys Taste of Christmas with Arena Seating

Taste of Christmas, presented in association by Brand Events and Gordon Ramsay Holdings, was a huge hit, bringing festival bonhomie to London’s ExCeL in December.

This new show combined the three main elements of shopping, eating and live demonstrations, incorporating VIP and corporate hospitality dining areas to satisfy the most discerning palate.

The live highlight of the show was the Gordon Ramsay Christmas Theatre, a demonstration of how to prepare a complete Christmas dinner in a 2,500 capacity temporary auditorium created by Arena Seating.

The demand for this surprised organisers Brand events, as their festival director Justin Clarke explained: “We originally planned 1,500 seats, but once the tickets became available we kept on increasing the size until we finally stopped at 2,500 seats.”

Arena Seating director Bradley Merchant project managed the design and installation of the tiered seating that was a combination of upholstered ‘In-style’ chairs and plastic tip up seats.

Bradley said: “Our in-house CAD department was kept busy as the theatre evolved in the 2 months leading up to the event. As we added more capacity we also had to consider entrance/exit routes, camera positions and make sure sightlines for the public were always optimised. It was also quite a tight build, which was achieved smoothly by an experienced team.”

At the head of the production team was ‘head chef’ production manager Dick Tee (pictured, below) who commented, “Arena Seating has delivered the usual efficient operation I have come to expect from them.”