Guest Dinner

Details

The fabulous MCR Guest Dinners are held every Friday night during term time. Despite the name, MCR members are very welcome to come without guests!

Guest Dinner Format

We meet at 6.30pm in the  MCR for a sparkling wine reception. The MCR bar is open and red and white wine available for purchase for £9.50 per bottle. At 7pm we walk from the MCR over to Hall, where the lovely 4 course meal (complete with coffee at the end!) commences at 7.15pm. After dinner (typically 8.45/9pm) we return to the MCR where cheese and port is served. The MCR bar is also open – with a range of drinks available for purchase. Non-alcoholic beverages are available for those who do not drink alcohol, both before and after dinner.

Guest Dinner Types
  1. Regular Dinner (weeks 2-7 of term): The format above with the smart dress code – men wear suit and tie and women wear cocktail dresses.
  2. Black Tie Dinner (week 1 and 8 of term): The regular dinner format with the black tie dress code – men wear dinner jackets and bow tie and women wear cocktail dresses. A lovely spread of cheese, fruit and chocolate (prepared by the kitchen) is served at the MCR after dinner.
  3. Exchange Dinner (weeks 2-7 of term – typically three per term): The regular dinner format, but with 15 seats allocated to visitors from the MCR of a different college. It is called an ‘exchange dinner’ because another night we then get to send 15 members of the Catz MCR to their college for dinner. Here free wine is on the table, and chocolates are served after dinner in addition to cheese.

To find out which guest dinners are Regular and Exchange Dinners, please view the term card on our website.

Guest Dinner Signup

The guest dinner sign-up can be found here.

Normal signup

Signup for the guest dinner opens at 4pm on Sunday and closes at 1pm on the Monday prior to the guest dinner. As an MCR member, you may sign up yourself and any guest(s) you wish to bring, as well as note down any dietary requirements and seating preferences.

Late signup

If there are still seats available at the guest dinner after normal signup, MCR members can signup themselves or guests by emailing the MCR social secretaries between 1pm on the Monday prior to the guest dinner and 8pm on the Wednesday prior to the guest dinner.

Deadline

The guest list is published on Monday here on the MCR website. The deadline for the guest dinner cancellation is WEDNESDAY 8PM. After the deadline, the final guest list is made available to the MCR social secretaries who then puts together the seating plan for the guest dinner.

Cancellation

If you have been allocated a seat at the guest dinner but are no longer able to attend, please cancel your place to allow someone else to go.

Deadline

Any cancellations of bookings must be made by emailing the MCR social secretaries by WEDNESDAY 8PM of the relevant week. The next person on the waiting list will automatically replace the cancelled spot and receive notification of this.

Cancellations after the deadline

The guest list will be finalised at 9am Thursday, and payment will be taken from Upay. From then onwards it is your responsibility to find a replacement and organise repayment. Please contact the next person on the waiting list. If you pass over your spot BEFORE FRIDAY 9AM email the MCR social secretaries to notify of this, who will then update the guest list and account for the change when putting together the seating plan and passing on dietary requirements to hall. If you pass over your spot AFTER FRIDAY 9AM please note that the spot will remain in your name and that changes can no longer be accounted for in the seating plan or the dietary requirements as this has already been finalised.

Ticket Prices and Payment

Payment for guest dinners is taken via UPay immediately after Thursday 9am, so make sure that your UPay account is topped up!

Ticket prices (From 2024/2025)

MCR members and associate members (students): = £15.29
Guests (external): = £18.35

Dining Numbers

The total number of seats available at the dinner depends on the guest dinner type. At Regular Dinners a total number of 42 seats are available for MCR members and their guests, at Black Tie Dinners a total number of 42 seats are available for MCR members only, and at Exchange Dinners a total number of 42 seats are available, but with 10 of these seats allocated to visitors from the MCR of a different college, 32 seats are available for MCR members and their guests.

The minimum number of bookings for the whole guest dinner is 15. If there are fewer bookings than this then the dinner will be cancelled automatically. MCR members that had signed up for the dinner will be notified by email and payments will be refunded.

We encourage MCR members not to bring more than 3 guests, however if you are planning to invite more than 3 guests, please email the MCR social secretaries to discuss the booking.

Priority Rights and Seat Allocation

Seats at the Guest Dinner are allocated according to a set priority.

Note that the following section is a summary of an MCR Official Document. In the event of a dispute this document will prevail!

  • There are two ways MCR members can reserve seats for themselves and their guests.
    • Every MCR member has an annual right to reserve seats, ahead of time, for themselves and guests using their priority pass (see section below for more information).
    • Every MCR member can enter the ballot with their guests during regular signup, and if won, seats are reserved for themselves and their guests (see section below for mote information).
    • These reserved seats will always have top priority.
  • All remaining seats are allocated based on time of signup, with MCR Executive Committee members having priority over everyone else. The order of priority is otherwise as follows: MCR members have priority over guests, first guests over second guests, and second guests over third guests, and so on.
  • MCR members or guests that sign up between 5pm and 11pm on the Sunday prior to the guest dinner (normal signup) have priority over MCR members or guests who sign up via the MCR social secretaries between 11pm on the Sunday prior to the guest dinner and 1pm Wednesday prior to the guest dinner (late signup).
  • If it is clear, on the Monday prior to the guest dinner, that there are seats at the guest dinner that have not been filled, members can email the MCR social secretaries before 1pm on the Wednesday prior to the guest dinner requesting that they or additional guests are added. However, the same priority rules apply to late signup as normal signup, so additions to the guest list depend on who sign up (MCR members or guests) and in which order.

The Priority Pass

Every MCR member has an annual right to reserve seats, ahead of time, for themselves and guests using their priority pass. This is useful if, for example, family and friends are visiting from abroad and you would like to guarantee that they can join you for a fabulous dinner at the Catz Hall.

Note that the following section is a summary of an MCR Official Document. In the event of a dispute this document will prevail!

  • Every MCR member has an annual right to reserve seats, ahead of time, for themselves and guests using their priority pass.
  • When using the priority pass, seats at the guest dinner can be reserved for up to three guests.
  • The priority pass can only be used in weeks 2-7 of term – and not week 1 and 8, as the Black Tie Dinners are for MCR members only.
  • The number of priority passes available for guest dinners depends on the guest dinner type. At Regular Dinners 3 priority passes are available and at Exchange Dinners 2 priority passes are available.
How to use your priority pass

The priority passes are allocated on a first come first serve basis, so email the MCR social secretaries as soon as you know you will need to reserve seats for your guests at a specific dinner, and at the very latest one week before the dinner. These can be taken up quite quickly, so do get in touch sooner rather than later!

Please note that you must still sign up as usual between 4pm on the Sunday and 1pm on the Monday prior to the dinner, and add all your guest details. Under ‘signup details’ tick the relevant box to use your priority pass.

The Ballot

The ballot has been introduced as a means of allowing MCR members to bring guests without having to use their priority pass.

Note that the following section is a summary of an MCR Official Document. In the event of a dispute this document will prevail!

  • Every MCR member can enter the ballot for the chance of winning seats for themselves and their guests.
  • When entering the ballot, seats at the guest dinner can be reserved for up to three guests.
  • The ballot can only be entered in weeks 2-7 of term – and not week 1 and 8, as the Black Tie Dinners are for MCR members only.
  • The maximum number of seats allocated via the ballot depends on the guest dinner type. At Regular Dinners 15 seats are reserved for ballot winners and at Exchange Dinners 12 seats are reserved for ballot winners.
  • Ballot losers and guests are dropped to the bottom of the wait list, below all other attendees.
How to enter the ballot

Sign up as usual between 4pm on the Sunday and 1pm on the Monday prior to the dinner, and add all your guest details. Under ‘signup details’ tick the relevant box to enter the ballot.

The ballot picks winners at random and not on the basis of time of signup, so there is no need to rush when signing up – just make sure to stay between the specified sign up times.