This August, McLaren Beverly Hills hosted a two-dinner series in Malibu with McLaren Automotive CEO Mike Flewitt, as well as James Banks and Ansar Ali of McLaren Special Operations.
To take advantage of the beautiful summer weather and give our hosts from across the pond a quintessential California experience, these dinners were hosted at Soho House Malibu: guests were able to enjoy outdoor dining with beautiful views of the Pacific.
Our guests arrived and were greeted downstairs by McLaren Beverly Hills Brand Manager Chris Blank, before being escorted upstairs to The Terrace to enjoy cocktail hour. Guests sipped champagne as the Soho House culinary team tray passed a selection of savory hors d’oeuvres, including beef tartare, chicken kofte with mashed avocado, kampachi tiradito, octopus ceviche, zucchini crisps, and burrata crostini.
On the first night, Chris welcomed everyone to be seated for dinner and introduced McLaren Automotive CEO Mike Flewitt as the host of the evening. Mr. Flewitt explained some of his responsibilities as CEO, including his exciting involvement in the development, manufacture and global distribution of a range of current and future McLaren sports cars, including the McLaren 12C and McLaren P1™.
The next night, co-hosts Ansar Ali and James Banks – heads of MSO – introduced themselves and gave a brief overview of the MSO program. With its roots in McLaren F1 which launched in 1992, MSO is McLaren’s bespoke division that focuses on customizations and one-of-a-kind upgrades and personalization options.
Once everyone had settled in, a beautiful family-style feast was served. The meal began with a selection of California-inspired starters, including a chop salad with fresh apples and blue cheese, snapper crudo with spicy avocado and citrus, seasonal crudité, and a charcuterie board with various cured meats and classic accoutrements. As the first course was completed, guests were delighted by Riccardo Berdini, an illusionist who performed different magic acts after each course. Entrees and sides were served next, with a wide variety of options including salmon, chicken, and forbidden rice bowls. As the evening came to a close, everyone was treated to several gourmet desserts.
The real grand finale was an incredible magic act – each guest was asked to think about a number and say it out loud. Riccardo asked a guest in the crowd to add all the numbers that were dictated by each attending guest – the final math of all these numbers was 4,321,870,841. That number flipped around, gave the audience the word “McLaren”!
All in all, this dinner series was a perfect way to get to know some of McLaren’s top executives and creatives in an intimate setting, and enjoy the end of summer in true California fashion.
