Girlie Christening/1st Birthday - Pinks and White

Pink and White themed party we put together for a client last month and as featured on Little Big company Blog. 


The occasion was a Christening/1st Birthday celebration. The client chose a very girlie colour scheme of pink and white and wanted a pretty and whimsical design. 


There were 45 guests, who all attended the Christening at the local church before coming to the private residence for the celebrations. The Inspired Occasion managed the event, organising the spit roast catering, food service staff, crockery and silverware requirements, as well as table, chair and linen hire. In keeping with the client’s chosen theme the tables were dressed with white table cloths and matching runners with lantern centrepieces. 


We also provided a number of other hire items for the client to utilise such as our large silver drink tubs and bench seating for the children. All dessert station edibles, stationery and themed items were made and designed in-house, with even the pink and white dessert station canopy constructed specifically for this event.


The guests were served a hearty roast buffet lunch consisting of roast beef, chicken and pork with roast potatoes, and a selection of salads.


Our Dessert Station menu for the event: 

Pink White Chocolate Ganache Macarons

Red Velvet with Buttercream cupcakes

Vanilla with Raspberry buttercream cupcakes

Raspberry Jelly Cups

Chocolate Mousse Cups

The dessert station was completed with two cylindrical jars filled with assorted pink and white candies, and two hanging lanterns with flickering candles under the backdrop which matched the lanterns centrepieces on the tables.

As a take-home thank you gift from the client all guests received a personalised bagged sugar cookie in a heart shape. 

The client made her own birthday cake, which was presented on our cakestand on a riser. The cake, once cut, was a beautiful rainbow layer cake finished off with white buttercream and pink and silver cashous giving the table a finishing touch from the client herself.

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Sophisticated 40th Bash. Silver, Black and White

A Black, White and Silver cocktail party The Inspired Occasion Event Managed and Styled a few weeks ago and as featured on Bellenza Blog.

Attached are a number of images from a cocktail party we put together for a client last weekend. The occasion was our client’s husband’s 40th Birthday celebration. The client chose a colour scheme of Silver, Black and White and wanted a stylish and sophisticated design. There were 25 adult guests and 6 children who attended this very intimate celebration at our client’s beautiful residence. 
 
The Inspired Occasion managed the event, organising finger food catering for both the adults and children, food service staff,  cocktail tables and stools, gas heaters, table, chair and linen hire.  In keeping with the client’s chosen theme the dessert station was styled using a uniquely crafted backdrop which  incorporated silver beading, with matching table runners, cake stands, risers and silver trays.
 
All dessert station edibles, stationery and themed items were made and designed in-house.
 
The guests were served a finger food menu with a substantial meal box, consisting of;
  
Marinated Lamb Cutlets, 
San Choi  Bow, 
Chicken and Camembert parcels, 
Stuffed Chillies, 
Falafel, 
Moroccan Chicken Balls, 
Capsicum and Feta Tarts,
Marinated Mushrooms
Tofu Balls
Individual Singapore Noodle  boxes
 
Our Dessert Station menu for the event:
 
White Chocolate Ganache Macarons
Red Velvet Cupcakes
Vanilla Cupcakes
Chocolate Mousse
Cakepops
Blackforest Gateau

Our themed beverage station, included drinks dispensers, silver tubs, all glass wear, straws, candles and a centre piece.

Beverage Station

The client also requested a cake cutting table on which we placed the menu board, plates, forks and take home cake bags.
 
The dessert station was completed with two candy jars filled with Hershey’s Kisses and white chocolate raspberries with the large blackforest gateau,  which just happened to be the guest of honour’s favourite, taking centre stage. 

Chocolate Cupcakes

Silver Cakepops

Chocolate Mousse Jars

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The Inspired Occasion - Macaron Recipe and tips

 
The Inspired Occasion just can't believe how crazy people are over our Macarons. They are by far the most popular baked items on our edibles list and make a great addition to any function. Not only do they taste amazing but we can also colour match to any theme.


Its hard to believe that these simple ingredients can create something this mouth-watering, and believe me it’s very difficult to  just stop at one.


Although Macarons use only simple ingredients they are certainly not a quick whip together recipe, they require total concentration without distraction!!  Because of this we tend to bake our macarons at night when we are less likely to be distracted by the pitter patter of little feet.

Because of their popularity you will find lots of new products on the market to help you make perfect macarons, from special baking trays, silicone mats, powdered egg whites and ground almond meal.   However we have found that just sticking to the basics and using a few everyday appliances such a a mix master, fine sieve, piping bag, spatular and metal bowls you too can create beautiful mouth-watering macarons without unnecessary expense.

here are a few of our top tips to help you achieve amazing home baked macarons:

Top 10 tips from The Inspired Occasion

• Always use old egg that are at room temperature
• Never try to make macarons on a hot or humid day
• Process, Process, Process your almond meal and icing sugar through the blender prior to sieving
• We use a teaspoon of egg white powder in our egg white to aid in stability
• Wipe you electricmixer out with some salt to make sure it is clean and dry for best egg whites
• Lower temperature oven is better than higher we recommend 150degrees
• Macarons hate heat and humidity, if in doubt we always put the air conditioner on.
• Macarons get better with age, wait 24hour once assembled before you eat for best results
• Use good quality chocolate and essence for your fillings
• Once you start you can't stop so make sure you have some time to yourself without distraction.

Ingredients: 200g almond meal 210g pure icing sugar 150g egg whites ¼  tsp cream of tartar 1 tsp egg white powder  200g caster sugar 50g water food colouring

Equipment: Kitchen Scales Food Processor Stand Mixer Fine Sieve Saucepan Thermometer Spatula Piping bag and round tip Baking Trays Baking Paper

• Preheat oven to 150C.

• Place almond meal and icing sugar in a food processor and grind for 2 minutes to get a fine consistency. Sieve into a large mixing bowl. Discard any large bits to ensure a smooth finish.

• Place egg whites in an electric mixer (stainless steel base and wipe out with a little salt and kitchen paper to ensure it is free from grime), add cream of tartar and egg white powder and set aside,  whisk egg whites on low speed.  While this is mixing make sugar syrup.

• Make a sugar syrup with caster sugar and water. When sugar syrup reaches 118C and the egg whites are ready, slowly pour down the side of the mixer as you continue to whisk the egg whites on medium speed. Continue to mix until the meringue cools about 7- 10 minutes. Add food colouring.

• Using a spatula,  fold the dry almond meal mixture into the meringue in 3 batches.  Continue to fold until the mixture is supple and shiny. (The batter should be like lava). When you fold the mixture over itself, it will spread slowly if too thick add a drop of cold water until you get the correct oozy consistency). Do not whisk or beat as it will deflate the eggs.

• Use a piping bag with a plain nozzle/tip and pipe onto lined baking trays or macaron trays. Getting perfectly shaped macarons can be tricky and we still find that we have a pointy tip after piping, as they do rest before cooking they will smooth out a little however you can also a small spatular to smooth the tip off.

• Tap the baking tray on the bench firmly a couple of times remove any air bubbles and this will create the pied/foot.

• Leave out for at least 20minutes prior to cooking, some say to leave out up to an hour.

• Bake in oven for about 13-18 minutes. 

• Remove from oven and allow to cool on baking trays. We find placing in the refrigerator over night seems to help the macarons come away from the paper easier.

• Sandwich together with your favourite ganache fillings and refrigerate 12 hours whilst the magic between the ganache and the macaron occurs.

• Can be frozen for up to 4 weeks.

Makes approx 45 - 50 Macarons

And if your first attempt does not work the only thing we can recommend is practice practice practice. Or contact The Inspired Occasion and we can custom bake for you.


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8 Week Challenge - 1 Million Acts of Kindness

8 Week Challenge - 1 Million Acts of Kindness


The Inspired Occasion has joined a nationwide social movement encouraging Australians to perform and record 1 Million Acts of Kindness during an 8 Week Challenge.


The challenge kicked off on Monday 14 May 2012. Each week The Inspired Occasion is committed to carrying out two acts of kindness, by either getting involved in a community event, donating our time, or even just baking a cake or cupcakes for a person or organisation in need. All of these things will count towards the target of 1 Million Acts of Kindness nationally.

Most importantly, we will have some fun, drive some real change for the common good, and be happier as a result!

Follow our journey over the coming 8 weeks as our goal is to complete 16 Acts of Kindness between May to July.

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Crown Casino - Annual Mothers Day Luncheon

Each year, Ann Peacock and Jo Stuckey from the PR and Events team at Crown host their Annual Mother's Day Luncheon.

Past guests have included Anthony Callea and Tim Campbell and mums, Pia Miller and mum, Patti and Lauren Newton, Jules Lund and mum, Tania Buckley and mum, Tanya Hird and mum, Olivia Newton-John, Jennifer Keyte and mum, Jo Hall and mum, Danni Minogue and the list goes on!

One of the main highlights of the day, along with a beautiful three course meal that this year took place at Mr Hive, one of Crown's newest premium restaurants, are the stunning gift bags presented to guests. Crown also theme the event every year, this year’s theme was 'Candy and All Things Sweet'.

The Inspired Occasion were excited to provide a $500 Voucher for our goods and services which include dessert station styling, event management, edibles, party in a box and printables, as a major prize. 

The Inspired Occasion are also excited to now be offering gift vouchers for all our services and edible offerings. A perfect gift for birthdays, expecting mums, and all special occasions.

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Happy Mothers Day - Giving a little

Wishing all Mums and Mums to be a Happy Mothers Day.

Today we sent some cupcakes and melting moments to the Nurses and Mums in the New Born Intensive Care Unit at the Mercy Hospital Heidelberg.

We are wishing all these women a Happy Mothers Day and hope that our sweet treats put a smile on their faces.

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Cinderella Inspired Birthday Party

As featured this week on Little Big Company blog we had the pleasure of styling and event managing a Cinderella inspired party for a client a few weeks ago. 

The occasion was a 5year old’s birthday party. The birthday girl chose her favourite fairytale character, Cinderella as the theme for her special day. We used the very classic cinderella colour scheme of blue, pink and white. 

The party was held at a beautiful private residence with16 guests, enjoying the sunshine in the enchanting front garden. The Inspired Occasion event managed the party, organising the savoury food, tables, chairs, linen requirements, entertainment and cinderella chocolate mud birthday cake. 

The tables were covered with white table cloths, matching runners and Cinderella Shoe centrepieces. We also provided a number of other hire items for the client to utilise such as our bench seating, trestle tables and seat cushions for the children. The children’s’ table was set with colour coordinated napery with each child receiving a customised pop-top, fairy wand and tiara.

The entertainer took the children on a journey of wonder which included bubbles, dance, music, adventure and some classic party games such a pass the parcel, statues and the piñata which we had filled and organised.

All dessert station edibles, stationery and themed items were made and designed in-house with even the Cinderella coach dessert station constructed and painted specifically for this event. Silverware, silver risers, and white cake stands, as well as a castle backdrop completed the theme.

The guests were served our savoury package lunch which included sausage rolls, pizza slices and party pies with platters of fruit, fairy bread and crisps on the table.

Our Dessert Station menu featured:

Vanilla Buttercream Cupcakes

Cinderella Shoe Sugar Cookies

Raspberry Jelly Cups

Decorated Melting Moments

Glittery Cakepops Wands

We completed the dessert station with colour co-ordinated candy jars, a fairy god-mother menu board, blue and pink helium balloons for each child to take home along with a lolly box filled with candy.

Cake by Tahlis Treats

Styling/Construction/Edibles/Event Management - The Inspired Occasion
Cinderella Inspired Cake - Tahlis Treats
Pink and Blue Helium Balloons - Balloons Party Shop
Entertainment - Jitterbugs

The Inspired Occasion