In September 2025, Queen's House played host to Mutti's immersive dining experience Deceptively Simple.
Events on this scale are never as simple as they may appear to the outside eye, taking months of intricate designing, planning and testing to construct a truly one of a kind event. The event has gone on to win Best Campaign Award at the World Food Innovation Awards, so let us take you behind the scenes to see exactly how this event came together.
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The brief
Jellybean Creative reached out to Royal Museums Greenwich in January 2025, searching for a venue where they could host a unique dining experience for their client, Mutti Pomodoro. The client wanted to create a celebration of the tomato through an epic immersive dining and storytelling experience for 100 guests. The concept was based on the brand's heritage in Parma, where local food producers get together in the centre of the city to enjoy delicious dishes and local produce, encouraging community and a celebration of the land. The idea was to recreate this in London and combine it with large scale projection mapping. Naturally, we were thrilled at the brief and though we might just be perfect for the event.
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The venue
The Queen's House's history, hosting feasts and celebrations for 400 years, alongside Royal Museums Greenwich's values of sustainability, community and heritage aligned immediately with the brand and concept. The Great Hall at Queen’s House offers an original marble floor, classical design and gold leaf ceiling designed by Turner Prize winning artist Richard Wright, providing a perfect juxtaposition of Italianate design and British history.
The main challenge came from aligning the projection mapping location. The Queen's House's classical white facade is a perfect backdrop for projection mapping, but as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, protected by a Scheduled Ancient Monument agreement, no logos can be projected onto the front facing side of the House. It was agreed that the projection would extend across the sides of the Park Row and National Maritime Museum buildings, with a logo-less video broadcast onto the Queen's House directly. We were ready to go.
From the moment we started searching for a venue, the Queen's House was at the top of the list. The heritage, the grandeur, the shared values around community and sustainability - it mapped perfectly onto everything Mutti stands for. As a brand rooted in over 125 years of Italian farming tradition, they deserved a setting with its own remarkable story to tell, and Queen's House has been hosting celebrations for centuries. The façade of the building was the perfect blank canvas for us to deliver the Mutti story at scale in the most unique way via advanced projection mapping.
The RMG team understood our vision immediately and worked with us at every stage to make it a reality - from navigating the complexities of projection mapping across a UNESCO World Heritage Site to ensuring everything that was briefed was actioned proactively throughout the evening. That kind of collaborative partnership is what turns a good event into an exceptional one.
Emily, Jellybean Creative
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The logistics
Guests arrived via the Royal Gate, walking up a red carpet that led to the front of the House. Staying outside, they ascended the elegant horseshoe staircase for a drinks reception on the front terrace of Queen's House, where they enjoyed views of Canary Wharf and the Old Royal Naval College. Guests were then invited directly into the Great Hall through the terrace double doors, immediately being enveloped by a magnificent scent of tomatoes and basil created by florists Lavender Green, to dine at three long tables and enjoy a bespoke menu that guided guests through the lifecycle of the tomato.
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The food
With a brief centred around tomatoes, seasonal and sustainable produce, delicious dishes, and flawless service, it was clear that By Word of Mouth - one of our approved caterers - would be perfect for this event. There was just one challenge - incorporating tomatoes into every element of the meal whilst aligning with the restrictions around food and beverage that are in place to protect the Queen's House and its delicate historic features – no staining foods! By Word of Mouth worked tirelessly to create dishes that redefined and celebrated the humble tomato. Chefs, influencers, retailers, media and Mutti brand ambassadors, hosted by Francesco Mutti (4th generation CEO), dined on a gastronomic experience that blew guests away.
- The Founding Fathers – Tomato gel, avocado, bocconcini, pickled lion’s mane mushroom, puffed rice soil – made with Mutti Passata
- Deceptively Simple – Basil & ricotta girella pasta with tomato and grilled vegetable sauce – made with Mutti Grilled Vegetable Pasta Sauce and Double Concentrate
- Fields of Parma – Golden beetroot tarte tatin with tomato gel, baby fennel, courgette flowers, and tomato tuile – made with Mutti Polpa, Passata, and Cherry Tomatoes
- Pomodorino d’Oro – Gilded vanilla cheesecake cream with tomato sorbet and raspberry compote – made with Mutti Passata and Cherry Tomatoes
A catering brief demanding exceptional creativity and gastronomic ingenuity—while fully aligning with our commitment to conscientious practices and respect for a historic setting such as the Queen’s House—is exactly the kind of challenge we relish.
This event incorporated Mutti’s exceptional tomato products into every element of the menu, surprising and delighting guests with each course. Our Pomodorino d’Oro pudding was arguably the evening’s showstopper: a striking, edible gold Mutti tin, handcrafted by BWoM’s pastry team, concealing a creamy cheesecake topped with a refreshing Mutti tomato sorbet.
We still talk about this event to this day, and it was, as always, an absolute pleasure collaborating with RMG and an A-team of suppliers to deliver such a memorable experience.
Chloe Goreham, Events Director, By Word of Mouth
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The technology
Innovation was at the heart of this event. Guests were given an audio device in the form of a Mutti Polpa tin that provided a message from Francesco Mutti before each course, connecting heritage directly with the food. It took 2 days to set up multiple lighting towers on our grounds, to enable the projection mapping to reach across the site. RMG's approved production partner SLX worked alongside CLP Live to bring to life a breathtaking and expansive outdoor projection that transformed our sites into a living celebration of Mutti's story. As the backdrop, we were by no means idle - 2 engineers were onsite to ensure all lighting within the 3 buildings was turned off, and our front of house staff were stationary during the display to ensure there were no distractions and that no shadows were cast. Guests watched from RMG’s expansive grounds as they were transported to Italy, with vibrant colours and immersive sound drenching the senses with storytelling.
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The final result
The event was a huge success, generating not only tremendously positive feedback from the guests but across all forms of media, with a combined reach of 12.8million. This was the largest projection mapping project we've done at our sites, and to see it come together so impactfully allows us to continue to push the boundaries of what historic unique venues can do. And the cherry (tomato) on top of the cake? The event won Best Campaign Award at the Word Food Innovation Awards - now that's what we call a success!
About us
Royal Museums Greenwich is a versatile collection of historic, luxury venues in London, inclusive of Cutty Sark, the National Maritime Museum, Queen's House, Royal Observatory Greenwich and the Peter Harrison Planetarium. Royal Museums Greenwich's venue portfolio offers distinctive and unique event spaces for experiential product launches and brand activations; corporate receptions and gala dinners; weddings and private celebrations; and meetings and conferences.
Whether you're looking for an intimate, exclusive experience or a sumptuous large-scale awards event that will blow your guests away, Royal Museums Greenwich has a venue for you. Only 15 minutes from Canary Wharf, Excel London, and London Bridge, RMG offers indoor and outdoor event spaces for 10 to 1000 guests, engaging museum exhibits, a dedicated and experienced team of event professionals and a guaranteed WOW factor.
Reach out to our team today and let's create magic or call 0208 312 8517.