The vast, open space is made intimate with traditional tents, rugs, pillows and lanterns, and guests offered Arabic coffee, dates and shisha. The guest list is 450 people long – many of whom are royalty. The menu includes a wide array of middle-eastern appetizers, a main course of traditional Arabian lamb – one for every table – and regional desserts. The challenges in executing such a party are many. For one, consider how to cook and prepare the food in the absence of a fully equipped kitchen. It’s enough to make any chef think twice about taking the assignment.

“This is a real life scenario for us” says Urs Solenthaler - Director of Food & Beverage, Four Seasons Hotel Riyadh. “We assembled a team of chefs from other Four Seasons hotels to help prepare the food and trained 280 hotel employees to be servers so we could present each course at exactly the same time. Everything was completely synchronized, it was like an orchestra.” And how to manage without a kitchen? “We built an onsite production facility, to ensure food was served fresh and at the desired temperature” says Ahmed Sleiman – Executive Chef, Four Seasons Hotel Riyadh.

Catering beyond the walls of the hotel is a service offered at Four Seasons Hotel Riyadh. Coordination with the client’s chosen location, event planning, menu creation, set-up and decoration, service and clean up can all be done in Four Seasons style. Whether it’s an important business meeting at the office, a diplomatic reception, an intimate dinner at home, or a party for hundreds…in the desert, the experienced team at Four Seasons will take care of everything.

View special value room packages at Four Seasons Hotel Riyadh at Kingdom Centre