Networking receptions can take many shapes—from university student/alumni events, to recruitment fairs, trade expos, company parties, and even to grand openings. The commonality in all of these types of events is that they are intended to get people talking to one another, and if they don’t accomplish that, the whole idea is a bust.

Gary Marr, senior director of catering at Hyatt Regency Chicago, says the first thing he does when planning a networking reception is to look at the demographics. “What is the male/female split, what is the average age of the attendees, what is the cultural mix, and why are these people here— why do they need to network?” Marr muses. “A group of doctors is going to be a lot different than a new company, which, for instance, predominantly hires young people. The doctor group is most likely going to go for an atmosphere on the conservative side, and the other group would probably enjoy something more trendy and clubby.

Marr encourages his catering staff to think like the attendees of the events they are planning and work to create conversation-starters in the form of the menu. For the young, clubby crowd, Marr suggests serving small plates of interesting items like Vaca Frita (slow-roasted beef shredded, mixed with Latin spices, and served on top of a maple-glazed sweet potato); crab cakes served with remoulade and a hint of mesclun greens; Kobe beef mini hamburgers (topped with grainy mustard and a grape tomato slice on brioche toast points); mushroom “cappuccino” passed in a shot glass or sake cup; or Oyster Shooters (oyster meat in tomato bouillon served from an oriental spoon). “For the more mature crowd,” adds Marr, “any of the aforementioned would also work, as well as any soup in a shot glass or sake cup, a Frenched lamb chop, or trio of California rolls with a light drizzle of wasabi cream.”

Serving the items (and even the drinks) lends more to conversation, Marr says, because it allows groups to stay where they are instead of having to interrupt their conversations to refresh their drinks at the bar or stand in a long buffet line. When servers aren’t an option, however, setting up multiple bar areas—“close at hand and within sight of any location in the room”—as well as multiple buffet tables instead of one extensive table, is a must.

“Using high-top tables instead of traditional rounds is much more effective in these types of receptions, too, because it’s more intimidating to bring your dinner plate and sit down to a banquet table full of strangers than to casually put down your drink or small plate and mingle while standing.”

Brittany Rico, senior sales manager at the Renaissance Montura Hotel, Los Angeles, agrees with this table philosophy, but has used a “European, family-style” seating option as a twist on banquet seating. “At a recent mixer, we set up square, 15-tops and uplit the tables for a cool fun atmosphere,” adds Rico. “We served an heirloom tomato salad with avocado, lumps of crab meat, and jumbo shrimp. The main course was a seared filet mignon with braised leek and fennel sauce, winter squash, and risotto with chanterelle mushrooms. Desserts included pumpkin crème brulee and a pear tart.”

The atmosphere or location of the event can also get people talking. “We are fortunate here at the Hyatt Regency Chicago in that we have one of Chicago’s top night clubs, Hard Drive, which we’re able to use,” Marr says. “It features a high-tech look, with interesting surroundings of truss and lighting. Since it’s in our atrium and surrounded by water, we have done fabulous events that included unique entertainment such as tightrope walkers and gymnasts on rings. We have also fogged the water, where it appeared mysterious and eerie, and utilized our in-house lighting effects to create a mysterious mood.”

Located in Washington D.C., where networking is a way of life, Hotel Palomar has the opportunity to host its share of meet and greet receptions. Peter Bernsten, GM of the hotel’s Urbana restaurant, says the Hotel Palomar is contemporary and reflects this style in many of its events.

“If the group is conservative, we can of course conform to their wishes, but a lot of groups book events here because we are sort of fun and edgy. We can get away with essentially making our event areas hybrid rooms—making them look totally different by staging them with chaise lounges, ottomans, special lighting, enormous floral arrangements, chandeliers—the works. Our rooms also have low ceilings, which makes for an intimate, conversationfriendly setting.” The Hotel Palomar often recreates a lounge or bar scene—or even rents out their actual lounge—for networking events, because let’s face it, conversation is a lot more free-flowing when the spirits are. “If you give guests great food, cocktails, and service, they can forget that they are there for business and just relax.”

To that end, Urbana’s Chef Richard Brandenberg has whipped up small plates like Honey Poached Pears with Gorgonzola and Walnuts; Sausage-Stuffed Calamari; Warm Brie and Raspberries in Phyllo; Duck Roulette; Fried Mushrooms with Smoked Aioli; and Charcuterie plates. On the beverage side, Bernsten says the trend is fresh-squeezed juice-based cocktails, and so the Bellini (white peach puree and Prosecco), Kir Royale (sparkling wine and crème de cassis), and Watermelon Collins (with freshly squeezed watermelon juice) are just a few of the cocktails Bernsten considers great ice breakers.

“Another trend we see is that people are looking for unique varietals of wine, instead of the standard Chardonnays or Merlots ... so we have started offering these as well.”

Outside of food & beverage, Bernsten says activities like casino nights can perk up a crowd, because it can place a potentially diverse crowd in a situation that creates commonalities, like losing a big hand, being a bad bluffer, having good or bad luck, etc. The hotel also tries to use an underlying theme of “art in motion” in their events, which Bernsten explains, is all about interactive art and unique displays that are sure to get tongues wagging.

For instance, at the hotel’s grand opening reception, to which the “who’s who” of D.C. were invited, there were four event rooms, including a Red Room, Black Room, and White Room, as well as a main room. In the Red Room, “art in motion” took the shape of “gazpacho caviar lava lamps,” a tomato-based concoction in six-ounce shooter glasses set atop light fixtures. In the Black Room, black lights highlighted a large block of ice, which the chef scraped into cones and mixed with apple and Prosecco to make an Italian ice intermezzo of sorts. In the White Room, there was a pastry table and spun sugar display, where Pastry Chef Shawn McCarty spun sugar into delectable treats. And finally, in the main room, the Washington Ballet did several performances before clearing the dance floor for the amateurs … human art in motion.

Ashley Brown Allen is a frequent contributor to HOTEL F&B.