The recession has brought some unexpected benefits for Britain's food entrepreneurs.

Mahiki yet again set another great stage for an EYP social get-together at the end of September. As normal, it was a great way to meet and network with new people in London or catch up with old friends. From 7pm on Thursday 30 September was an evening with over 150 EYP members.

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

EYP London returned on Thursday, 20 May to host its latest event at the very fabulous Mahiki, a polynesian paradise in the middle of Mayfair. It will feature EYP's usual exceptional networking opportunities in one of the coolest bars in Londontown - and we hope you can join us for it!

Our event began at 7pm with complimentary cocktails so ensure guests came early to enjoy...

EYP London, in partnership with Kanaloa, one of the coolest new bars in town, invite you to celebrate our third birthday in style on Wednesday, 27 January from 7pm. Pictures will be available on in the gallery soon.

This was a birthday celebration with a twist – we teamed up with Kanaloa to raise as much money as possible for the Disasters Emergency Committee’s (DEC) Haiti earthquake appeal. As you’ll be aware, a devastating earthquake hit Haiti, the poorest country in the western hemisphere, on 12 January and an estimated 100,000 to 200,000 people have died with thousands more left injured and without homes. Very substantial humanitarian assistance is required to ensure survivors get food, clean water, emergency shelter, medical care and other support. Many DEC member agencies - which include Oxfam, the Red Cross, Save the Children and Action Aid - are helping on the ground but they need as much support as possible to continue providing aid. 

"Girls Aloud’s Sarah Harding is one of the investors in Kanaloa, the sister bar of Mayfair’s Mahiki that serves up the same tiki-themed, beachy breeziness that has proven to be so successful for its older sibling..." ViewLondon

Thanks for joining us not only to celebrate our third birthday but also to raise money for a good cause.  For more details and to register your attendance, click here

EYP member Lina Awwadova was awarded Silver and Bronze on all four flavors of her "Spirit of the Sun" wine at this years' International Wine and Spirits Competitions.

From all of us at EYP; Congratulations! We hope to bring in Spirit of the Sun on welcome drinks at one of our future events. However, as an EYP member, you can contact Lina on eyp@thespiritofthesun.com and get a 10% discount on purchases.

We had a fantastic evening at the Roof Gardens on 10th July. 

Check out the pictures

 
Following on from the success of last year’s summer spectacular, EYP London has planned another night of mojito-sipping, celeb-spotting, shape-throwing fun on 10 July at the Kensington Roof Gardens to celebrate summer in the city.

From 8pm until late, EYP members will be able to experience this private members bar’s one and a half acres of spectacular rooftop gardens, tropical plants and flamingos and enjoy dancing with the beautiful people until the early hours.

Oh, and dress sharp, beloved EYP people – smart dress is vital.  And hey, who knows who might be watching…

Look at the pictures

This Sunday, some of the best known social media experts from the US (and the UK) will be hitting Juju in Kings Road, Chelsea - help welcome them to London.

The Traveling Geeks collaborate with technology innovators and influencers in various regions of the world, then share what they’ve learned through blogging, video, podcasts, social media tools and meet-ups. By coming on Sunday, you'll have the chance to meet the Geeks, including Robert Scoble, Craig Newmark, Sarah Lacy, Howard Rheingold, Meghan Asha, JD Lasica, Tom Foremski, Sarah Austin, Susan Bratton, Jeff Saperstein, Renee Blodgett, and Sky Schuyler.

Here at EYP basecamp, one of the many things we love about London in the summer is the range of awesome activities on offer (and we're not just talking about our soon to be announced summer party!), from street markets to performance art and exceptional music events.  One of this summer's highlights will be going to see the music revolutionary and master pianist, Eric Lewis AKA ELEW, who is bringing his soul-shattering live show from NYC to London's celebrated music venue, Bush Hall, on 8 July.

ELEW fuses classic jazz with modern pop and rock, and has created a thunderous new sound he calls Rockjazz, recalling John Coltrane's 1960s recreations of the contemporaneous popular music.  And don't just take our word that he's awesome.  ELEW has been asked to perform at a veritable whirlwind of high profile events, including the TED Conference, the 2009 Donna Karan Fall Runway Show, an exclusive pre-Oscar party attended by Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire, Oprah Winfrey and Hugh Jackman, and an ultra-exclusive benefit for the Contemporary Art Fund at the Circle Filologico Milanese in Milan. Last month, ELEW was invited to the White House, where he performed solo on the piano for an audience that included President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama.

We've got some pairs of tickets to give away to this awesome event.  If you want to be in the running to win a pair, tell us why you love London in the summertime - it's that simple.  In the comment section of this post, finishing off this sentence: "I love London summers because...". 

On Twitter?  Enter from there!  Simply follow us (@EYPLondon) and reply to us by completing the sentence "I love London summers because...".  Make sure you tag your response with #EYPsummer.  And you can check out the rock jazz piano awesomeness at @ELEWW.

See all comments here

The competition closed on Friday, 3 July

Cocktail Lessons @ Boujis on Wednesday, June 24th

Want to know your mojito from your cosmopolitan? And learn how to make either - and more - through training by the skilled bar staff who regularly serve them to the young royals? Then come to this special event at the gorgeous and glamorous Boujis in South Kensington on 24 June 2009.  Tickets are just £35 which includes a lesson, two cocktails and then the opportunity to stay and play till the early hours.

See the pictures

On 27th of April, Charlotte Madsen invites NBCC members and friends to a talk on Nordic food and to try out a Nordic diet first hand at her restaurant, Madsen, in South Kensington, London. On the menu is Norwegian meatballs with gravy, vegetable puree, potatoes and cow berry compote, cold rhubarb soup served with vanilla ice cream.

Read more on www.norwegian-chamber.co.uk

We would just like to wish all all EYP members! Whether your off skiing or socializing in the city, have a nice break. We look forward to seeing you at the next event. We are planning something really cool; watch this space!

1. and 2. April, Environmental Finance arranges the 4th annual Sustainable Bioenergy conference. Examine all the highly topical new trends in the bioenergy markets – solutions to the food vs fuel debate, "next generation" biofuels, biomass for power generation, development of biorefineries – and how they are influencing investment decisions in Europe. Meet the key players and decision makers in the European bioenergy markets! Find out more on www.environmental-finance.com

Seth Godin, the man Business Week named "the Ultimate Entrepreneur for the Information Age" and author of Tribes, recently came to London for a one-off event to talk about marketing, leadership and being remarkable.

Thanks to Evil Genius Media + Events, the company that produced the event, we have a transcript and audio of his talk to share - check it out online here.

We’d recommend also checking out Seth’s blog here.  

EYP friends, JCI are organizing a three evening course public speaking training sessions run by award-winning speaker and trainer, Simon Bucknall starting on 17. March. This course has been a big success in previous years and will be sold out very quickly. Learn how to impress a client, inspire your team and communicate confidently and effectively. The course is limited to 15 people maximum to enable all to get plenty of opportunity to practise and improve their public speaking skills. This course has been a big success in previous years and will be sold out very quickly.

For more information, visit www.jcilondon.org.uk

We all like to enjoy good conversations at networking events. But do we really make them count?

EYP supporter, Andy ''Mr Network' Lopata will speak at the Swedish Chamber on Tuesday 31 March, at the Radisson SAS Portman Hotel, London W1H7BG. He will be talking about how our networks are the key to survival in the current economic climate. Whether you are concerned about developing a business in tough times or the future of your career the connections you have will never have been more important to you.

Exploring how to develop a networking strategy and how to enable the people around you to give you the support you need, Andy will encourage you to share goals and explore how they can help each other.