5 July, 2016

Julie van der Weegen, Group Director of Sales, Urban Events Venues & Catering

The great thing about my job is … being part of a rapidly expanding organisation that values innovation and stepping outside of the box.

The challenge for industry is … to stay relevant and stand out in such a dense environment.

My greatest achievement is … Growing Urban Events Venues & Catering from a little known division to being one of Urban Purveyor Group’s leading brands. I most recently led Urban Event’s expansion into the delivery of offsite, restaurant-quality catering, from our beginnings as an internal events and catering business. It was a goal of mine to launch our external catering division and now, 10 months in, I am extremely proud of that achievement. I am equally proud of my team, they make these things happen.

The biggest thing in MICE this year will be… Embracing a more casual approach for events and catering. We’re doing more corproate activations using our customised pop-up kitchens, which have been created from shipping containers. These fully customisable spaces add a fun factor to any event, borrowing the laid back conviviality found at food and wine shows and music festivals and and using it for corporate celebrations, family fun days, annual events and meetings.

I try to relax by… Grabbing a coffee with friends, catching a movie, or dreaming of my next holiday…

My favourite venue is… one that has not even opened yet! The Alfred (formerly Stokehouse restaurant at 7 Alfred Place, Melbourne). It’s one of Urban Purveyor Group’s new developments and after seeing what is going into it from both an interior design and culinary perspective, I can’t wait for it to open in mid-July. This gorgeous, historic building, in a CBD location with laneway dining spans two floors and can cater to up to 900 guests, making it the perfect location for events. The design plans are really impressive: think Hemingway meets Ralph Lauren at The Cut Steakhouse, which will be on the first floor with an adjacent, sophisticated bar that will be perfect for an after-dinner drink. Our first Fratelli Fresh in Melbourne will be located on the ground floor, bringing our Melbourne restaurant contingent to five, including two Saké restaurants (Flinders Lane and Hamer Hall) and Munich Brauhaus at South Wharf.

I’ve always wanted to travel to… Cuba. It’s on a very long list of places I’m yet to visit.

I am scared to death of… Spiders

I can’t live without… My friends who organise my life at times!

I really wish I had… The ability to travel around the world on a permanent basis. No work, just play!

If I could invite four people to a dinner party, they’d be… A mixed bunch….Sheryl Sandburg, Hestin Blumenthal, James Corden, Chris Hemsworth.

For anyone starting out in the industry one piece of advice I’d give would be … Every day that you go to work you are putting forward your resume for your next promotion. Promotions don’t come about as a result of asking for them, they come about as a result of hard work, perseverance and tenacity.

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Urban Events Venues & Catering