Holiday Inn catering at HK Rugby 7s

Apart from being responsible for providing food and beverages for 40,000 spectators each day, as well as all of all the teams, the hotel also had the job of catering to the 55 executive suites in the stand.

Challenges
Feeding 40,000 spectators in 54 different locations at the same time with different menus was
the main challenge. “No matter how organised we are, this always brings a great challenge to the
table,” says Ringo Poon, director of food and beverage at Holiday Inn Golden Mile. “Food
ordering is a big part of the planning process as there is a significant increase on food
consumption by audiences each year. Accurate calculation and prediction is therefore critical.”

Another challenge for the executive suites was the many different locations of the boxes.
“Every box asks for a different menu and different serving times for breakfast, lunch and afternoon tea, so we need to be on top of everything to facilitate this.”

Execution
The various menus for the event were finalised in November 2007. A day of this size is always about the numbers. An estimated 40,000 fans per day consumed 200,000 pints of beer, 40,000 soft drinks, 10,000 glasses of wine, 18,600 pies, 12,000 hot dogs and 3,800 sandwiches.

The meals for the rugby players were separately planned with the coaches, as well as
needing approval by the Hong Kong Rugby Football Union.

Holiday Inn Golden Mile required 1,200 staff each day, operating three kitchens at the Hong Kong Stadium plus a production kitchen with full cooking facilities in the basement.

“Our chefs began coordinating the kitchen operations at the stadium a month before
the event,” says Poon.

Verdict
The day was well received by clients such as Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan. “We try to achieve perfection in our food, service, production, delivery and staff, and maintain high levels of sanitation during such a big event,” says Poon