Launch parties… and how to survive them

If you believe the opening-night party of your restaurant will be plain sailing, then you'd best think again. Last-minute hitches, such as problem builders and equipment failing to arrive, are all part and parcel of a stressful night, and it's only when you are air-kissing the last of the guests goodbye at the end of the night that you can truly relax.

"The pains, the fear, the anxiety - it's like having a baby," says Atul Kochhar, who is still reeling from the effects of the last-minute hitches he encountered while organising the launch night of his London restaurant, Benares, in April. "My advice to anyone is to beef up beforehand because you will lose a lot of weight in the run-up."

There's no getting away from it: throwing a party is stressful.You want everything to be perfect, and everyone to turn up, and when it's your restaurant's reputation that's riding on the party's success, those anxiety levels can reach boiling point.

Professional help The first piece of advice any restaurateur will give is to get some professional help. "Never try to do it yourself - you have enough to think about," says Iqbal Wahhab, owner of London's Cinnamon Club, who also has a background in public relations.

A good PR company will have ideas about how to maximise publicity and reduce the financial burden, because launch parties are costly affairs. You can expect to pay anything from £3,500 upwards, depending on how spectacular you want the event to be. Gold-leaf invitations, goody bags, model waiters - the shopping list and the possible expenses can be endless. However, you can take measures to minimise at least some of the costs. For instance, you can get your suppliers to sponsor the event, so at least your food and drinks will be free.

Joint parties are another idea that public relations consultant Jori White has used many times. "During the launch phase you should target magazines," she advises. "We organised a Vogue party at Zuma [in London]. These type of events have the advantage of splitting the costs, and you get hold of their database of the beautiful people."

Of course, getting the right people to attend is vital to the success of the night. The right crowd will spread the word, return with friends, and create those precious column inches in the publications that count.

Chefs are always good guests to have at your party. Their natural curiosity to check out the competition will almost guarantee them turning up, and their gossipy nature is a plus for spreading the word about a new opening. Of course, well-known chefs bring you the added advantage of their celebrity status.

And then there are the restaurant critics. Invite them and you could be doomed; don't invite them and they could hold a grudge. So invite them - but don't expect much in return, and don't take it personally if some choose not to turn up at all.

Gillian Glover, who reviews restaurants for The Scotsman, never goes to opening nights as a matter of principle. "I don't want them to think that, because I've accepted something, I will compromise the review," she says. "I'll go and review it once it's opened, but it seems improper to guzzle their Champagne and then rubbish the restaurant."

There's no doubt that having well-known faces at your event will generate a spark for your party. "We live in a celebrity culture and there are so many magazines out there, it's important to get your brand associated with them," says White. However, if you go along the celebrity route, make sure you treat them in the way to which they have become accustomed. For instance, they will expect a car to collect them, and take them home afterwards.

Celebrity attendance At the Cinnamon Club's opening party, tip-offs to the press about celebrity attendance had the paparazzi surrounding the entrance, creating an air of excitement. However, Wahhab advises keeping other guests out of the loop about who you have invited. "There's no point telling everyone Madonna's going to be there, because you'll look like an idiot if she doesn't show up," he says.

Being those who lunch - a lot - influential businesspeople are also going to make great guests. Rather than relying on "rent a crowd", they will also add diversity to the personalities at your party and, you hope, return with their expense accounts.

Wahhab advises calling such guests personally. "Tell them what you're doing, that you would really value their opinion, and invite them along," he says. "It's far more interesting to have someone like the head of the Tate Gallery at your party than the usual It girls."

Advice from the experts

Paul Heathcote, chef-proprietor, Simply Heathcote's
"If you're going for a sit-down meal, offer around 25% of your menu, but keep it simple. A cold terrine, a salad and a soup for starters, and then something that is flash-fried for a main, for example. Bear in mind that restaurants aren't usually ready, and this can mean you might not have all your kitchen equipment."

Iqbal Wahhab, proprietor, Cinnamon Club "The key is lots and lots of Champagne. If you run out, word will get round; and if you don't, they'll be so drunk that they'll forget about anything else that goes wrong."

Atul Kochhar, chef-proprietor, Benares "Expect at least a third of those invited to not turn up. It's better to have a party too full than too empty. I used a PR and we sent out about 1,000 invitations, thinking that a third would turn up, but we had 800 people arrive. I could hardly move."

The food

Food, while an important part of the night, can take a bit of a back seat when more importance is placed on cramming as many people as possible into the restaurant.

However, Paul Heathcote, who owns six restaurants in the North of England, is a firm believer in the sit-down meal, although he is cautious about over-stretching staff on the first night. "With a sit-down meal, you get the benefit of staff getting used to the menu," he says. "We will offer about 25% of the menu. The first night will be press night, and the second night we will invite our database of customers and charge a nominal fee."

Certainly, the current trend is to get rid of the tables for the night and offer canapés. However, if this is the preference, the canapés have to be so good that they are memorable. In that kind of environment, you have a nanosecond to make an impression.

One alternative is to have two parties - one with canapés and no tables, followed by a more formal sit-down event. This will give you the benefit of getting the maximum out of your launch, and might give your restaurant a double bout of exposure - even if it gives you a double dose of worry.

The builders

As the opening date draws nearer, the last thing you need is last-minute building hitches. But the overrun of building work is so commonplace in restaurants that having wet paint on the walls, or waiting for equipment to arrive just hours before opening, are almost prerequisites for a launch party.

Jori White reckons that 90% of restaurants are far from ready on the date they are given by their builder. "As a matter of course," she says, "I always add at least two weeks to the date that the builders says they'll finish."

At the Benares launch party in April, Atul Kochhar's builders were way behind schedule. His designer put up a number of screens to hide the half-finished work, while the furniture turned up only on the morning of the party. "Luckily, we had a great designer," he says.

"I think 99% of the people at the party didn't realise the problems we had encountered to get it ready. I'll never trust a builder again, though."

Avoid fashion faux-pas at your party…

What's Hot

• Celebrity chefs
• Miniature food bowls - a hybrid of the sit-down meal and dainty canapés
• Cocktails
• Red carpet - people love to be made to feel like celebrities
• Asian/Oriental canapés
• Pink champagne

What's Not

• It girls
• Goody bags
• Celebrity lookalikes
• Champagne pyramids
• Quiche
• Bouncers

Party dos and don'ts

Do

• Invite double the number of people you want to attend
• Personally invite some influential businesspeople
• Approach suppliers to sponsor the event
• Tip off the paparazzi
• Consider a joint party to keep down costs

Don't

• Do it all yourself - get some professional help
• Leave it all to your regular staff - employ some extras
• Run out of food or drink
• Believe the finishing date your builder gives you - add on at least two weeks
• Get drunk too early