I am thrilled to announce that I have been appointed to provide PR support for a fantastic new scheme to help chefs take the limelight. London Kitchen Social is a project which gives new and upcoming chefs an affordable platform to showcase their work through top quality photography which can then be used for career development, promotion and to use on social media.
It is the brainchild of renowned London food and events Photographer, Majella O'Connell who realised that new chefs have little time or resources to showcase the fruits of their labour and further develop their careers. By hiring a studio with full cooking facilities and near to a props store for the day and photographing each client's food creations in two-hour time slots, costs are kept to a minimum but the result is a set of at least 20 head-turning images which can be used for career development, promotion and to showcase on social media. In the social element of the scheme allows chefs to meet-up and discuss their work at events planned throughout the year. More information can be found about London Kitchen social here. Watch this space for news about this exciting project.
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This week I was invited by my friend, the talented London photographer and creative, Majella O’Connell to one of Putney’s best kept secrets – the newly opened Yum Sa restaurant. Situated bang opposite East Putney tube station, Yum Sa, which opened just three months ago, is in position A for diners in South West London and beyond. I was delighted to be given a chance to sample some of their dishes at the soirée Majella had organised in this delightful restaurant with its open kitchen and intriguing menu of modern Asian food with a Thai twist. Yum Sa, which relates to the alchemy of many different elements in Thai, is run by Roger Narula, aided by menu developer Shveta Tuli and Brand Executive Chef Jai Shaikh. As well as offering exquisite Asian-Thai fusion cuisine, they also have a few surprises up their sleeves for dinner guests. When life all gets too much, or you fall out with your dinner date, you can disappear into their meditation room for a bit of downtime. The meditation room is all part of Yum Sa’s unique philosophy – food, art and wellness all mix together in one big. delicious melting pot. The aim is not only to lift your palate with an Asian/Thai fusion of flavours but also your palette - and of course your mood. This beautifully-designed restaurant also doubles up as an art gallery and regular exhibitions are held here. To complete the art and wellness theme, Yum Sa’s Gallery includes all kinds of events and exhibitions. For example, a recent event featured a photography exhibition ‘In Pursuit of a Forgotten City’ by eminent photographer Rahul Gajjar. This was accompanied by a display of fine art jewellery and hand-woven textiles by Sonal Maheshwari. With its food offering, Yum Sa’s aim is to offer a pleasant deviation from the traditional Thai cuisine with dishes inspired by the team’s Asian favourites, influenced by Thai flavours. Particular favourites I sampled included the king prawns with a delicate hint of Sriracha and the sapphire gyoza, which takes on a delicate blue hue from the butterfly pea flower – absolute heaven on a plate! Another culinary triumph was the chicken satay, beautifully tender meat served with perfectly spiced peanut sauce. It’s great to know there are vegan options on the menu too, which would cater well for a number of my friends and family. Bottomless Prosecco won me over completely of course and I also heard the watermelon juice was to die for. Thank you Majella and all the team at Yum Sa for inviting me to your evening, as well giving me a chance to sample the delicious food, I also met some great people and will be returning very soon. An evening of food, art and wellness is right up my street. Check out Yum Sa's website here. I promised I'd keep you up to date with the latest travel-related media requests from the UK's top publications and this week there have been some scorchers. If you think your company might be perfect for any of these requests, please get in touch today... they don't stick around for long and they must be replied to within the deadlines specified. These are requests that my current travel clients can't fulfil:
If you want to get in front of top national travel journalists, get in touch and let's talk. As well as working with clients in the events industry, I also specialise in travel and leisure PR. My role is to work with journalists to get my clients featured in the national and regional travel press and specialist magazines. These include publications such as The Sunday Times, The Guardian and The Express to name just a few. So I thought I'd share with you on a weekly basis, some requests from journalists writing about travel. These are all genuine requests from my journalist contacts that can't be fulfilled by my existing clients. If you'd like to see your company featuring in some of these top publications, then get in touch and we can talk through your options.
Check back next week for more travel journalists' media requests. In the height of Christmas drinks party season, I often get asked the inevitable question: “So what do you do?” My reply that I’m a PR consultant is often met with baffled bemusement or worse, the usual quips about Ab Fab and how many bottles of Bolly I get through a week. (None by the way, I prefer a good cup of strong coffee!) The problem is, a public relations professional can be all sorts of things, depending on which sector they work in, but the main principle is the same. We have clients, whether companies or individuals, and our job is to make them famous. By acting as middle man or woman between the client and the journalist, we secure editorial coverage in many forms. This is the Janet and John version as of course it’s far more complicated than that. There are issues such as managing brand reputation, crisis management and making decisions on when to keep your client out of the press. And then there's integration with social media, blogs and other online content – the list goes on and on. However, a more important question is: What makes a good PR consultant? Many people may try their hand at PR but do they have what it takes to be in it for the long haul? Having worked in PR and journalism for all my working life to date, I have had time to analyse this question so I can share at least some of the answers. It goes without saying that stellar writing skills and creativity are essential, but what other assets are needed? Here are my top five attributes of a great PR person:
What do you think makes a good PR professional? Leave your comments below. Events and Travel Christmas Quiz Follow the link below to take my Events and Travel Christmas Quiz. and be in with a chance of winning a box of Quality Street. Good luck and season's greetings! Eveleen *Update* - I am delighted to announce that my Events and Travel Christmas Quiz was won by Jeremy Burgess, Commercial Director of Click2Scan.co.uk. We sent him his prize of a box of chocolates just in time for Christmas. Thank you to all who took part in this fun quiz. Click here to take the Events and Travel Christmas Quiz |
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