Interview: Joshua van de Pol of TESTINO EVENTS

Joshua van de Pol is the CEO of Testino Events that serves the New York Metropolitan area. He was raised in Holland where he learned strong morals and values and he prides himself at taking great care of his family and friends. Joshua believes in serving the customer first while building relationships based on hard work, trust and excellent results.

Joshua started Testino Events with a fine track record of success in client relations, customer service and creativity. After graduating high school at the age of 15 in his native Holland, he moved to the U.S. on his 16th birthday to embark on his prominent career. Joshua continued his education in business and marketing. With his early experiences working at Starwood Hotels and Resorts, he quickly became a rising star in the company. The time spent at Starwood helped Joshua to realize the importance of customer service. After his success with another event company, he moved on to create Testino Events. He is proud that his company is responsible for providing some of the best customer experience of any event business in New York City.

Joshua has a true love of the people he works with, a quick mind and excellent interpersonal skills. His creativity and love of culinary excellence gave him the desire to make Testino Events truly distinctive. Because he has worked personally in every aspect of the business, he understands how to effectively organize his team. Joshua's ultimate goal is to present excellent food and drink to catered events while having menus that are affordable and aesthetically pleasing.

Broadwayworld.com had the pleasure to interview Joshua van de Pol about his career and Testino Events.

When did you first realize your love of cooking and good food?

Ever since I can remember. My family is Dutch so good wine and cheese was an every day enjoyment. The joy of family dinners and sharing stories was a big thing growing up. My mother taught me to bake from an early age, this made me grow up wanting to become a baker. To this day I am known among my friends for my baking skills!

Where do many of your clients come from?

Nowadays social media is a big platform and luckily we have a lot of followers. However, word of mouth is the biggest one for us. Our feedback is always over the top, so clients refer us with a lot of enthusiasm again and again.

Tell me a little about your current team.

Our team is all about positive energy and striving for the best quality. It currently consists of 5 people in-house, 1 chef (not including our cooks), and a staff roster of 3 event managers, and 160 bartenders/servers. We strive to have a team that conducts business with trust, honesty, hard work and loyalty.

What have been some of your most exciting events?

We were just part of the "Great Gatsby Party" at Capitale on December 5th. We had about 1500 guests and the event was sponsored by Pommery Champagne and St. Germain. This was a gorgeous event that received a lot of publicity.

My favorite events are always fundraisers, as my fiancé and I strongly believe in the causes we back up. I like to go the extra mile, and work hard on getting them press, sponsors, discounts and the best prices on venues, vendors etc. Some of our clients include Sensation White (dance4Life), Building Blocks for Change (BBFC) and Care for Kenya.

Why is Testino Events so unique?

We are a one-stop high-end event company. All the services you will need to throw an event, big or small, are offered under one roof. Most importantly, every service is of the highest quality, for an affordable price. Nowadays you will find event companies that will offer many services but are lacking in quality. Maybe the food will be good but the staff won't be superb. Our biggest mission since the beginning has been to offer consistent quality through everything we offer. Out clients know we treat their event as if it was ours. You would think this is a standard in the industry, however it is absolutely not. Many companies don't even reply to your inquiries or emails, or take their sweet time!

Why do you personally enjoy your business so much?

For me it's not work, this is my hobby. The only time I work is at the end of the year when I have to deal with the IRS and Insurance providers. lol.

For the future?

We have a lot of plans for the future! The most exciting news right now is that we have expanded into a new office on Madison Avenue this month that will allow us to continue growing.

Food wise, we want to focus on flavors, presentation and simplicity. In Europe, high quality food is a standard, which is not the case in America. We want to give our clients food that will raise the bar!

On the non-profit side, my fiancé and I are starting to get involved in a couple of projects that are close to our heart. My fiancé is from Central America so after visiting many of the countries there my perspective changed completely. We were in Nicaragua last year and have already started working with non-profits in Costa Rica.

Editors Note: Broadwayworld.com had the pleasure of attending a stylish event in Manhattan catered by Testino Events. The food, drink, manner of presentation and service was some of the finest we've experienced. Good luck to Joshua van de Pol and we hope that his company will continue to grow and flourish.

For more information about Testino Events in the New York Metropolitan Area visit their web site at http://www.testinoevents.com/. You can also call them at 407.319.4732 or e-mail them at info@testinoevents.com.

Photo: Courtesy of Joshua van de Pol