Elevate your event to an experience: Interview with Sanya Blumberg

To say Sanya Blumberg has an eye for detail would be an understatement. The Miami-based Experience Planner is known for her elegant, culturally immersive events that also take into consideration her client’s business mission and ethos.

It’s a thoughtful balance of highlighting the diverse cultures, cuisines, and traditions that the Magic City has to offer while celebrating the core values of her clients. “I carefully go about putting the elements together for an event to let each element shine,” she explains. “It’s like being a chef and putting an incredible dish together.”

Recently, Blumberg planned a three-day experience for a large international law firm. She knew she had to wow the 150 executives from around the world who were flying into the city for their annual meeting. From a multi-sensory cirque nouveau performance one night to a private artist installation on restaurant rooftop another, each evening was conceived far beyond the food and venue. The first night of the conference was especially important to get right. “I had to think from the perspective of the guests. My first thought was that the people arriving have been sitting on a plane for a very long time. Let them have a walk on the beach, feel the ocean breeze, have an authentic Cuban band playing. That will put them into a mood of having fun.” 

The event took place at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel with dinner set by the water and a view of the city skyline. Inspired by the Miami-Cuban culture of the city, the evening unfolded with a Caja China (Cuban-style whole roast pig), mojito bar, bourbon tastings, and a cigar roller complete with an aficionado to explain the Cuban technique of enjoying the smoking ritual.  Keeping her client in mind in every detail, Blumberg even hired La Mar chef Diego Oka--who is an immigrant himself--to prepare the ceviche. Chef Oka is famous for his Peruvian and Latin American cuisine, and Blumberg wanted them to see and experience the talent of the type of people they represent. “These lawyers are dealing with files and paperwork of the people they are helping all day,” she explains. Having a celebrated chef like Oka prepare them an incredible meal was a deliberate nod to “all of these lawyers’ hard work in their field.”

To cap off the magnificent evening, Blumberg enlisted Madovar and pastry chef Sylvain Marrari--who has worked at restaurants with an aggregate 14 Michelin stars--to gift the guests with an extraordinary custom designed box of desserts made with tropical flavors and local ingredients. Blumberg is an expert in luxury gifts--every year she sources items from around the world for her clients. So when she found Madovar on Instagram, she instantly knew she wanted the company to create one-of-kind packaging in the spirit of Marrari’s creations. “My thought is that people receive a lot of gifts. In the process of opening them, I want them to have an experience as well--I don’t want them to tear off the wrapper.” She wanted an “un-boxing” feel to the packaging that would elevate the excitement of discovering the pastries inside and worked closely with the company’s VP Bilal Madwar in order to communicate her vision.  “When I spoke with Bilal, I immediately connected with his work ethic and care. I love that Madovar is a boutique company and that they put a lot of attention into what they do.”

The red tropical flower cover of the box that Madovar designed specifically for Marrari’s creations was a perfect symbol for the fun Floridian vibe of the evening. Chef Marrari--an immigrant on a extraordinary talent visa himself--prepared four unique pastries that encapsulated the evening’s Cuban-Miami theme. The miniature exotic dome--a guava filled mousse cake that Miami is known for--was a particular favorite. “When you eat something, you are able to touch all the senses. When you enjoy something with all your senses, you are able to create a memory. It was the end of the day for them, and here is beautiful box with these exquisite pastries inside that they will taste and then end the evening with a wonderful memory.” 

It comes as no surprise that Blumberg later overheard one of the guests divulge to a friend that the night was one of the best and most memorable she had in the 8 years of attending company events. Ultimately, Blumberg chose Madovar to create these luxury, second-use boxes so that the memory of the evening would live on. “It would be a pity to throw such a box away,” she explains. “My hope was for them to have a lovely experience and then this beautiful box that they can keep, reuse, and remember it by.”

Tying together her vision for the special night, the luxury box both symbolized the curated evening and the edible “presents” inside--which no doubt left a lasting impression on her clients. When she mentions her ideas for future box collaborations, her creativity and passion for the experiences she creates have no bounds. “I think of it as a two-fold gift with many possibilities.”

- By Daphne Muller -