Beat the credit crunch! Adding value to your conferences

Sheepdrove Eco Conference Centre – the best value for money

The effects of the current economic downturn are being felt far and wide, and the hospitality industry is no exception. Hotels and conference venues are reporting last-minute cancellations, fewer bookings and a reduced level of enquiries. We’re all feeling the pinch, but at Sheepdrove Eco Conference centre we’re confident that we can offer unbeatable service and the best value for money in these tough times. Here are four ways you can save money on your conferencing costs by choosing us!

Free wi-fi access

Many venues charge for the use of their wi-fi – some run a voucher system whereby you can purchase wi-fi time in increments (5, 10, 15 minutes etc.). Others only include it in the principal room. At Sheepdrove Eco Conference centre, however, wi-fi access is completely free – and it’s available throughout the entire building.

Free parking

Attend a conference in a town or city centre venue and the chances are the car parking charges will be sky-high – sometimes well over £10 for a day. For companies running a large conference, or picking up the tab on behalf of their employees, this can make a huge difference to costs. We have space for over a hundred cars here – and they’re all absolutely free of charge. That will save you a few pounds on parking!

No hidden extras

Our day delegate packages include absolutely everything you need to run your meeting effectively and smoothly – there are no additional charges for the use of flipcharts or audiovisual equipment, no forking out more for refreshments – we serve delicious home-made organic biscuits and cakes as standard at breaktimes. And you can have as much tea, coffee and mineral water as you like – you won’t pay a penny extra for top-ups.

No price rises for 2009

Our day delegate rate of just £60 has remained unchanged for the last two years – and we’ve no plans to increase it for 2009. Taking into account the new, lower VAT rate of 15%, conferences here at Sheepdrove just became cheaper than ever before.

To enquire about availability, give Kate a call on 01488 674737 or email us at myevents@sheepdrove.com. Our website, http://conferences.sheepdrove.com gives detailed descriptions and pictures of rooms, plus testimonials from satisfied customers!

Seasonal Cooking at Sheepdrove Eco Conference Centre

Anyone happening to wander into the kitchen at Sheepdrove Eco Conference Centre in the mornings is likely to be greeted by a worktop groaning with seasonal produce picked from our garden that morning by our Head Gardener, Phil, waiting to be turned into any number of warming, inspiring seasonal dishes.

Seasonality is very much at the heart of our menus at Sheepdrove and meals are devised to make use of whatever is most abundant in the garden at that time of year. In addition to this, we try to grow traditional, hardy English varieties wherever we can – a quick chat with Phil reveals that we grow no less than five varieties of English apple.

As we head into winter our pumpkins, squash, beetroot, kale, parsnips and apples are all at their very best and Mel, our Head Chef, along with her team, work hard to create delicious, inviting lunches. In addition to the wide variety of vegetables grown here, we’re also lucky enough to be able to cook with the finest organic meats sourced straight from the farm – although vegetarian guests are equally well catered for. We always provide a creative vegetarian option (and usually find that the carnivores tuck in sneakily!) – our parsnip and cheese roulade is hard to beat and usually finds people queueing up for seconds.

Today’s delegates were presented with a choice of a hearty chicken and bacon pie, a pork, apple & cheese crumble or a pumpkin tart – served with garlic sauteed kale, carrot, swede & celeriac puree and homemade cheese & onion focaccia bread. For dessert, we served a sinful sticky toffee pudding – it’s a wonder the delegates made it back to their rooms!

As well as our passion for using seasonal vegetables, we love to make use of meat that is at its best at this time of year – our mutton season is now well under way and a rich, fruity mutton tagine or a velvety mutton and red wine casserole might well be featured on the menu in the forthcoming weeks. One thing is for sure – delegates never leave Sheepdrove hungry!

Mexican night – arrrriba!

There’s a knack to making tortillas – as Peter and Juliet Kindersley discovered in Mexico last year. On Friday night guests tried it for themselves in a Mexican Food evening for the Slow Food Berkshire and Wiltshire hosted at the Sheepdrove Eco Conference Centre.

Everyone got stuck into the cooking and, of course, the eating! We used iron tortilla presses to squeeze the dough flat and thin. Then you have to deftly flip the raw tortilla onto the hotplate absolutely flat, not flopped and wrinkled.

Also on the menu were different fillings and salsas, made from genuine Mexican recipes collected by Juliet Kindersley and Clare Marriage who coordinates the local Convivium. Prickly Pear ice cream with chocolate sauce for dessert! (Prickly pear cactus from Ibiza.) Rows of chili plants, hats and Mexican music set the fun atmosphere for the night. Mezcal shots and beer helped too!

     

Photos above: click on these thumbnails to see larger images.

Fun was had by all, and we must mention Peter’s presentation, all about the food of Mexico. The Kindersleys and Marriages gained a truly delightful experience of Mexican Cuisine and the vibrant food markets. They went to Puebla in Mexico for the Slow Food 5th International Congress. A conference that Peter Kindersley described as ‘inspirational’.

One of the encouraging statistics about Slow Food is that its membership consists of an increasing proportion of people from poorer countries – food culture and biodiversity is as precious to them as it is to the gastronomic enthusiasts and farmers of wealthier nations.

Find out about the next Slow Food Berkshire and Wiltshire events from Clare Marriage, tel: 01488 684880 or email slowfoodbw@hotmail.co.uk

Organix meet at the farm

The staff of Organix met at Sheepdrove Eco Conference Centre today. They enjoyed a Reedbed Ramble, a Farm Tour and talked about sustainable building design over lunch! As always, lunch was organic, seasonal and fresh from the farm. Chicken pie; saffron and kale tart; leaf salad; roast carrot and beetroot; cheese and tomato focaccia on the side; and for dessert, sticky toffee pudding.

Organix makes organic foods for babies and toddlers, established by Lizzie Vann in 1992. They have a strong culture of healthy, organic food (no junk) and the company makes a lot of effort to communicate with the customer. Organix have a blog which lets you know what they’re up to, and their packaging ‘shouts’ organic. So they understood why we tell our customers about the Sheepdrove story. 

The Reedbed Ramble, Farm Tour and the eco-building conversations were something new for the Organix team. But all 35 could relate to how an award-winning business with outstanding projects emerged from strong ethical principles.

Sheepdrove is a great place to base a meeting if you aim to stimulate new ideas and fresh thinking in your business. If you fancy a day here for your staff team, please book the venue well in advance to avoid disappointment. For a group of 35 – 60 the Beech Room is perfect.

Slow Food Sausage Making Evening

On Tuesday 8th January 2008, Sheepdrove Eco Conference Centre hosted a Slow Food Sausage Making Event, (Berkshire and Wiltshire Branch). The evening was presented by our Sales and Marketing Manager, Michael Benson, along with two of our highly skilled butchers, Colin Nicoll and Kevin Casey.

Guests were shown a side of pork and were told exactly from which part of the animal the meat in their sausages comes from. The pig was butchered to show the main pork cuts and the high quality shoulder and belly meat which is used in Sheepdrove sausages. 

After being shown how it’s done, the guests had a go at filling and linking their own sausages. The standards achieved were excellent, with the butchery team judging the sausages in a “Generation Game” style competition.

The evening concluded with a Bangers and Mash supper where guests had the opportunity to enjoy sausages made on the evening. 

PHOTO: Kevin (left) shows how to fill the sausage casings whilst Michael demonstrates the traditional art of linking sausages into threes.

If you would like further details of future Slow Food events please contact Clare Marriage on 01488 684880.