For a small exhibition stand team, start with who can leave the stand, not which pizzas to order. Agree minimum cover, give everyone a proper meal break and choose an off-site food arrangement that fits those absences. Keep permission to bring food into the venue entirely separate from the restaurant enquiry.
Event Tech Live London takes place at ExCeL on 11–12 November 2026, confirmed by the official ExCeL listing. Check the Event Tech Live organiser’s website for current details before finalising your plan. This guide is for exhibitors staffing a small stand, rather than visitors choosing lunch or organisers feeding an event workforce.
Decide what must stay covered
Write down the minimum number of colleagues you want on the stand and the skills that must remain available. Headcount alone is not enough: if only one person can run your demonstration, their break needs a trained replacement or a planned pause in demonstrations.
Mark your own confirmed appointments first, then identify possible break windows around them. Do not assume a particular part of the show will be quiet. Assign one rota owner to approve swaps, record departures and check that the next person is ready to take over.
- Who can welcome a visitor while another colleague is occupied?
- Who can handle a demonstration or technical question?
- Which appointments need a particular team member present?
- Who provides relief if someone needs a longer absence?
A hypothetical four-person meal rota
Suppose a team has four people, labelled A, B, C and D, and chooses to keep three on the stand. The following is a hypothetical sequence, not a suggested event timetable. Fill in actual departure and return times only after checking appointments, the off-site arrangement and the whole absence required.
| Break | Away | Stand cover | Release condition |
|---|---|---|---|
| First | A | B, C, D | B takes over A’s active conversations |
| Second | B | A, C, D | A returns and confirms readiness |
| Third | C | A, B, D | B returns; demonstration cover is agreed |
| Fourth | D | A, B, C | C returns and completes the handover |
Give each row a planned departure, return target and fallback window. Count the full absence: handover, leaving the venue, travel, ordering or collection, eating, returning and any re-entry process you have verified. Protect eating time rather than treating the entire absence as a collection errand.
For a two-person team that needs both people present, this model does not work without relief. Arrange cover or reconsider the meal format before making a food commitment. After the first day, adjust the second day’s rota using actual absences and rotate who eats first.
Choose the off-site arrangement before enquiring
Staggered restaurant meals: consider this when individual breaks can accommodate the complete absence. Ask whether the proposed party sizes and arrival windows can be accommodated; do not treat sending an enquiry as confirmation.
Collection for an agreed off-site eating place: consider this only once you have identified somewhere you are permitted to use. Give collection its own staffing allocation. If the collector also needs a meal break, account for both tasks rather than quietly combining them.
A team meal after stand duties: consider this for eating together without daytime stand absences. Keep daytime meal breaks in the plan; a later team meal should not replace them. Confirm your team’s release time before proposing an arrival.
If your plan involves the Elizabeth line, check your actual route and travel conditions separately before assigning break lengths. Do not assume a Royal Docks-to-Canning Town trip fits a short gap. No journey time or venue access arrangement is assumed here.
Keep venue permission out of the food quote
An off-site quote is not permission for a supplier to enter ExCeL, deliver to a stand or arrange a handover at an entrance. Ask the organiser or venue separately about any proposed arrangement involving their site. Until you have the necessary confirmation, keep the proposal explicitly off-site.
Also agree a late-return rule: the person away updates the rota owner, who contacts the next colleague before changing their break. Avoid leaving the last person with an undefined meal window.
Send a clear enquiry to Zzetta
Zzetta is an independent stone-oven pizzeria in Canning Town, established in 2018. Start with the Catering Hub for a team enquiry and use the menu to frame questions, not to assume availability. Halal, Vegan and Gluten-Free options come from one flame-fired kitchen; discuss specific ingredients and suitability with staff. Those options are not an allergen-safety guarantee.
Adapt this enquiry template:
We are a small stand team attending Event Tech Live at ExCeL on [11 November, 12 November or both]. We have [number] people and propose [staggered restaurant meals / collection for an agreed off-site location / a meal after stand duties]. Our preferred windows are [times], with [number] people in each group. Our dietary requirements and ingredient questions are [details]. Please confirm what arrangement is possible, timing, quantities, cost and how changes would be handled. We are not requesting access or delivery to ExCeL or our stand. Our team contact is [name and mobile].
Get a Quote: send your proposal by WhatsApp or phone Zzetta. Finalise the rota only after the food arrangement and any separate permissions are confirmed.
Zzetta – Soul Fired Pizza · 110 Barking Road, Canning Town, London E16 1EN · 020 3904 7074 · WhatsApp +44 7852 272312 · ciao@zzetta.co.uk