BRIT Awards 2024: Celebrating 20 years of striking the right chord

‘Payne & Gunter has the ability to follow a client’s brief and deliver on it, and that’s given confidence to our client year after year to ask us back to be their caterer of choice.’  

- Bethan James, Managing Director of Payne & Gunter 

Serving such a large-scale and high-profile event comes with its challenges, which we always welcome at Payne & Gunter. To help us meet the demands of this event, we assembled a 645-strong team, 525 waiters, 70 chefs and 50 back-of-house staff including many apprentices and graduates, delivering a showstopping food and drink experience to over 2,500 VIP guests across the arena floor suites. Our enduring appeal as a catering partner lies in our innovative and forward-thinking culinary creations, consistently maintaining the highest levels of service year after year. 

At Payne & Gunter, we're not just following the beat; we're setting the rhythm for a sustainable future for the food and events industry. Every year, the BRIT Awards offers Payne & Gunter another chance to further our pledge to the planet, reduce our carbon footprint and champion the remarkable versatility of local ingredients. Working towards our goal of becoming a NET Zero business by 2027, British seasonal produce took the limelight at this year’s event – with over 90% of the menu being plant-based and, using the Foodsteps Platform, we labelled each dish according to its environmental impact to offer guests transparency around their meal choices.  

To reduce food waste, all leftovers safe to use were repurposed for staff feeding, and we implemented a dedicated food waste bin system to ensure non-contaminated waste was processed by an on-site eco digester. We replaced single-use bread baskets with reusable ones and provided salt and pepper only upon request to ensure that these seasonings weren’t unnecessarily put out to only go unsed. . Further, we employed meticulous waste management strategies, including the separation and recycling of cardboard, metal, glass and plastic film, as well as cork recycling. We also encouraged sustainable practices among our suppliers, such as avoiding single-use plastic bags for deliveries. 

From a guest’s first bite to their last mouthful, Payne & Gunter dishes are innovative, expertly prepared and served with meticulous attention to detail. Despite the tight constraints of a live TV broadcast, our chefs crafted an experimental menu showcasing ancient British produce for this year’s event. Featuring a blend of quinoa, linseed, beans and pulses, our dishes included a delightful fava bean tahini and ancient grain poke bowl, offering a modern twist on ancient grains.  

Other dishes on the menu included a vegan main of woodland mushroom ‘cordon bleu’ and a warming, feel-good dessert of glazed Bramley apple mousse, cinnamon-spiced oat streusel, candied apple and rosemary salted caramel.  

Since 2005, we've been the go-to caterers for the prestigious BRIT Awards, delivering culinary excellence under pressure, at speed and at a scale rarely seen. We’ve come to thrive on high-stakes, large scale events and the BRITs remains preemniennt  This year, with 5,000 guests to feed in a short window of time, plus the operational hurdles of our teams split over multiple areas, we faced one of our most exhilarating challenges yet. But thanks to our 800-strong team, we delivered a seamless catering experience that left a lasting impression on all fortunate enough to indulge. 

At Payne & Gunter, our unique culinary concepts are inspired by quintessential British cuisine and hospitality, and we can promise a five-star experience with bespoke menus for every large-scale occasion. To find out more about our award dinner catering, why not talk to our lovely team?