Philly Cooks

If you’re from Philadelphia, you’ve probably heard of a few big events held each year in the city, for example, the Philadelphia Whiskey Festival, ThinkFest, and Philly Cooks. Did you know that Philadelphia magazine is the creator of these events?

Yes, the three person marketing & event planning department that I work for is in charge of putting on these massive and exciting events for thousands of people!

Most recently, we held our annual Philly Cooks events at the Historic Strawbridge Building on March 28^th. The event brought together over 50 of the best restaurants in Philadelphia for a night in which attendees can walk around and sample food from each restaurant and all of the proceeds from the event benefitted the Ronald McDonald House Charity. The event was definitely the most chic of the events I have worked. The people, venue, music, food, and décor were very upscale and glamorous! For more insight, you can look at the pictures here: http://on.fb.me/13RPn6b

As I said, it was quite a fashionable night, but the prep work for the event- no so glamorous. The other interns and myself arrived at the venue at 8:45am on Thursday to begin that day’s work. Prior to that, some of the interns had already been assisting the event set up the day before. The first task to be completed was setting up two tables for each restaurant and prepping each restaurant’s area with the required cooking supplies, tablecloths, signage, and other supplies to meet the health department’s standards. Additionally, we had to arrange décor for the event, put together signage, set up the bars, check in restaurants, just to name a few other important tasks. Overall it was exhausting but also educational. I feel like an insightful Philadelphia Foodie now! 

But the best part of the day was my assignment during the event: to follow the photographer. The magazine hires a photographer for every event to highlight different features of each event and to create buzz for the event. I thoroughly enjoy this job because I get to walk around and see the entire event in action. Also, it is a more creative task; I assisted the photographer with lighting and suggested subjects for photographs. Just by seeing the photographer in action, I get to learn about a creative outlet that interests me. I would consider myself pretty lucky that my internship is teaching me such a wide variety of skills.