In this article, we interview Bradley Mitton and reveal details about his planned Gala of Vivanova and what makes his events so special.
www.clubvivanova-luxurygala.
As the Gala Dinner of Club Vivanova on 11th March is approaching, chief editor of HelloMonaco, Olga Taran, met with the owner and founder of the Club Vivanova, the elegant English businessman Bradley Mitton. He told us more about the programme and participants of the event and shared some of the secrets of his successful Galas.
Cultural life of Monaco is very rich. How do you manage to be very different every time to keep catching peoples’ attention?
Our gala is not the kind of party where people are sitting around not talking to each other and I’ve been to plenty of galas where I’ve just talked to the person sitting next to me. At our gala, networking is encouraged. We introduce people and inspire them to go around and visit different tables, and to expand their professional and personal network.
Who are your partners?
We have members and partners from all sectors of business: we have haute couture fashion, luxury cars, we have fine art, international banking and yachting, we have press from different countries, charities, and marketing companies plus an array of other business partners. It is also important to note that we choose to work with people who are active professionally in the Monaco region, genuine business people. I think when you bring all those similar-minded people together into one room and you all work towards one common goal, it can bring great success.
The Gala of Club Vivanova is organized in partnership with the Prince Albert II Foundation. How did you manage to bring them on board?
It was not simple. When we first approached the Prince Albert II Foundation, of course they had a lot of questions for us. But now it’s been more than eight years that we’ve promoted Monaco as a gourmet location and we promote that nearly every week, as we do about 50 events a year in The Principality. We offer rare and unique gourmet experiences not just to local Monaco-residents but also to clients from the French Riviera and international business travellers, we give them the opportunity to come to Monaco and experience what the Principality has to offer at exclusive events. We also bring in a lot of international businesses to the Principality.
So, through our work we have helped people to connect over the years, I think the Foundation appreciates this and so they work with us as a partner, a common goal, giving back to society. The Prince Albert II Foundation sees that we are doing something that is genuine and sincere, it is not something where we are trying to gain from their engagement, we are trying to give something back. For example, at our galas we organize auctions, so in this way we raise money for Prince Albert II Foundation.
Who do you invite to your Galas?
At previous events, we brought in, for example, interior designers, Champagne and wine companies, and art dealers. Last year we brought in a fashion designer from Portugal. The Club only works if it has a powerful member group, and in order to build that we offer these great events. The success of the events drives the membership and together they build the momentum for the club to drive forward.
Of course, there are other companies and structures who do that in Monaco, who are working on increasing the attractiveness of the Principality as well, but our advantage is our vast database. We have people flying in from Germany, China, America, Russia, the United Kingdom and other part of the world. Our client base is multi-national. They come and they see Monaco, and sometimes people fall in love and they return again and again.
What about the menu at your Galas, one of your major concerns seems to be what people will eat during the event, is that right?
It is true. I do care about the menu and food at the Gala and spend a great deal of time getting this right. And some people even mentioned to me that the menus at our Galas are the best menus of the year at the Fairmont Monte Carlo. The chef Philippe Joannès was awarded as “Meilleur Ouvrier de France”, he selects the menu together with me and the sommelier Massimo Sacco, and we pair the dishes very carefully, like culinary marriage of flavours.
For example, this year at our gala we begin with Premier Cru champagne, which is extremely special, then we picked two white wines: we decided that we have very good Chardonnay from Australia that fits very well with fresh artichokes, and a Sauvignon blanc with yuze marinated turbot. Then we have this year a Shiraz from Turkey with the main-course veal dish. And we are going to have a strawberry dessert with Rosé champagne. So we spend a lot of time on the menu and I think that’s important.
But it is not only about food, tell us about the Gala and what will be happening?
In the middle of the dinner we will have a fashion show with Patrice Papa. We also have a lot of artists this year among our guests: there is an Indonesian batik artist, and we have a sculptor from Denmark, a Ukrainian female artist and a French artist. So we are going to exhibit all this art in the room and we will also include their works in the auction, the main goal of which will be to raise money for the Prince Albert II Foundation, Chances for Children and TAF – The Animal Fund. We will produce a special catalogue and you can preview the catalogue at this link, https://issuu.com/bradley.
Tell us a little bit about the fashion designer you have invited?
He is a friendly young designer from Marseille. The breakthrough for him was in 2012 when Princess Charlene noticed a gown and asked him to design a ball gown for her for the 2013 Red Cross Ball. After that he decided to set up a boutique in Monaco. Patrice Papa is going to do a cocktail dress show during the aperitif and then he will do the main show during the meal. I know he is launching his 2017 Spring / Summer Collection with us and the show also includes male models, so it is going to be interesting for everyone.
What kinds of items do you have for this auction?
The top lot is valued at €25,000 and is a submarine dive in the Bahamas with Triton Submarines, we then have an aperitif and dinner for 2 on a 34-metre superyacht where guests can stay for the night and have breakfast in the morning. This lot is going for only €10,000. And then among the other items, we have an advertising package from HelloMonaco, we have a wine supply for one year, also I am offering a dinner for six at my villa where I will cook and provide the champagne and wine, then we have different spa treatments from our partners, we have an art piece from Banksy, and other interesting items. You can preview the catalogue at this link, https://issuu.com/bradley.
How many members do you have in your Club at the moment? And what are their advantages for joining your Club?
We have around 400 members and they all receive free VIP event tickets and a special box of wine from the New World. These are special wines that you can’t find anywhere else in the retail world, they are all hand selected by me and then we now offer around about 10 free member events each year. By getting more members we are able to have better events. So the membership grows, but as it grows the members get a lot back in return. They pay €120 per year and they get 10 free events plus wine and also the chance to meet some amazing and interesting people. I think it’s a fair deal.
What kinds of events are you planning in the near future?
We are doing our next event at the Boucheron at the Les Pavillons de Monte-Carlo. We have a jewellery and watch presentation which is truly fantastic because Boucheron is a very old French jeweller. And then we are doing an event in April with Sunseeker. We are also organizing a couple of wine events, one of them with Lalique at the Wine Palace. There is another one that we have in collaboration with HelloMonaco – the presentation of the new book the “Monaco specialties and wine guide”, which will be published in Russian thanks to the translations done by HelloMonaco. The book is really interesting and strongly recommended to everybody who wants to know more about matching wines correctly with their food and also about unique Monaco cuisine.
ased on this interview with Bradley Mitton the next Gala with Vivanova sounds as though it truly has something for everyone, and certainly doesn’t lack in luxury.
Tickets are selling out fast, so get yours online now at www.clubvivanova-luxurygala.com/buy-tickets.
