Seconding this: I think food at EAG is really high-impact:
It keeps people together in one place (rather than dispersing to restaurants).
It gives a natural informal social time.
It stops people from wasting time/energy finding food.
That last one is particularly valuable if, like me, you find one-on-one meetings both valuable and draining, and end up with ~no energy by the end of the day.
In terms of tradeoffs, I’d much prefer (full catering + worse venue) over (reduced catering + nicer venue), and I think that applies even if the venue is like, a tent in a field 20 miles from Heathrow.
Seconding this: I think food at EAG is really high-impact:
It keeps people together in one place (rather than dispersing to restaurants).
It gives a natural informal social time.
It stops people from wasting time/energy finding food.
That last one is particularly valuable if, like me, you find one-on-one meetings both valuable and draining, and end up with ~no energy by the end of the day.
In terms of tradeoffs, I’d much prefer (full catering + worse venue) over (reduced catering + nicer venue), and I think that applies even if the venue is like, a tent in a field 20 miles from Heathrow.