Donald Contorsi, President of Lip Smacking Foodie Tours, on how to bring the wow to a corporate group dining experience.
Traditional banquets. Progressive dinners. Dinearounds. All of these group dining experiences have become antiquated, says Donald Contorsi, President of Lip Smacking Foodie Tours. Prevue recently caught up with Contorsi to unpack the next-gen corporate dining story and why a difference kind of experience is resonating with attendees.
Prevue: What distinguishes a Lip Smacking Foodie experience from a traditional group dinearound or progressive dinner?
Donald Contorsi, President, Lip Smacking Foodie Tours: There’s no easier, more natural way for people to engage with each other than over great food and drink—but traditional group dining formats aren’t working anymore. A Lip Smacking experience doesn’t follow any of these formats. It is not a progressive dinner, where people go from one place to another to eat a specific course at each one. It is also not a dinearound, in which a large group breaks up into several smaller ones, with each going to a different restaurant for the night. Nor is it a food tour, where attendees move from place to place to sample a product and learn how it’s made. Put simply, we take corporate groups to three of the most renowned restaurants in a city in one seamless afternoon or evening. Attendees are not stuck in the same seats at the same table in the same room, but actually get to move around and experience the city they are in. Moreover, the best, most celebrated dishes for which each restaurant is known served to them at each venue, with VIP attention and service. It’s a vastly improved and unique dining experience that stands out from the pack.
Prevue: What are the three top changes you’ve seen on the group restaurant and culinary scene since you launched in 2015?
Contorsi: One, people are hungrier than ever for not just a meal, but a true experience. They want to be thrilled by dishes they’ve never tasted before, presentations they’ve never laid eyes on and ambiances that are interesting and elevated. Two, meeting planners are so overwhelmed these days by a multitude of decisions that they appreciate being taken care of by experts who can lighten the load by booking in-demand restaurants and curating menus. Third, corporations are being more intentional about where they host group events. It’s no longer good enough to merely put people together in a room. Instead, it’s about creating a comfortable environment that’s naturally conducive to conversing, mingling and making impactful connections. That’s why we designed our Lip Smacking experiences the way we did. At a typical restaurant outing, guests are hemmed in by speaking to whomever is seated to their right and left. Because Lip Smacking takes attendees to three restaurants, there is opportunity to sit next to different people at each one—prompting new, invigorated conversations. There’s also ample time to speak to others as attendees stroll from one restaurant to the next.
Prevue: Please share details of some memorable Lip Smacking group experiences.
Contorsi: For the past four years, Las Vegas-based Caesars Entertainment has partnered with us on its annual signature event in Chicago, in which as many as 40 local meeting planners are invited on a Lip Smacking experience to three of the city’s best restaurants. We switch up the roster of restaurants every year, ensuring the newest and buzziest are part of the experience. Attendees appreciate that we can easily accommodate allergy and dietary restrictions with customized menus. We also provide printed menus with the host company’s logo at every seat in every restaurant. According to Caesars, participants always make a point to tell them that this is an event they look forward to all year long. In another example, for the past two years Lip Smacking has been enlisted by HiBob, a software company based in London, to help it outreach to prospective product buyers in the United States. So far, the company has hosted an upscale, three-restaurant dining experience with lively mixing and mingling in six different cities around the country.
Prevue: After starting in Las Vegas, you’re now operating in 30+ cities. Which cities have been most popular for corporate group experiences? What’s your ultimate expansion goal?
Contorsi: The most popular cities for our Lip Smacking experience have been Chicago, San Francisco, New York, Austin, Scottsdale and Boston. Our growth is directly tied to the satisfaction of our corporate clients—after booking one successful experience with us, they routinely reach back to ask if we can curate a similar experience in whatever cities they are planning meetings in next. Our ultimate expansion goal? We want Lip Smacking to be the most popular dining experience in the country for groups.
