You’re Invited! Dining with Cultural Inspirations: Kate Mooney, Founder & Principal, OCCA

Imagine hosting a dinner party where every detail – from the enchanting venue to the eclectic guest list – reflects the passions and inspirations that have shaped your creative life and work. In this joyful feature, we step into the mind of Kate Mooney, Founder & Principal at OCCA, to explore her ultimate dinner party with the people who have influenced her as a creative.

Party setup

Venue

My dinner party would be held at Son Brull in Pollença, Mallorca, a former Jesuit monastery that’s been transformed into a striking boutique hotel near Pollença. It’s full of history and heritage but it doesn’t feel traditional. It’s calm, understated, and beautifully resolved.

We’d sit outside on the terrace as the sun starts to drop behind the Tramuntana mountains. Long wooden table, beautiful linen runner, flowers, candlelight – nothing overdone.

It’s a setting that lets people relax easily and get to know each other while taking in the breathtaking surroundings at sunset.

Menu

Delicious, simple, seasonal and local – everything would be served to share.

Sobrasada with warm cristal bread and a little honey, jamón and local cured meats and cheeses, padrón peppers and grilled vegetables to start.

Then slow-roasted lamb with rosemary and garlic, with an option of secreto Ibérico – delicious pork, simply cooked. Potatoes, asparagus, tomato salad. Again, nothing complicated. Served, of course, with a pleasant Mallorcan red wine.

To finish, something light, like an almond cake or ensaimada, or fresh figs if they’re in season.

It’s the kind of food that encourages people to lean in, help themselves, and stay at the table a little longer.

Entertainment

Nothing formal. During dinner, I’d keep it to acoustic 70s and 80s music in the background, Fleetwood Mac, Bowie, Roxy Music, Joni Mitchell. Music people recognise, but that doesn’t take over.

I’d love the conversation to be the real entertainment.

Guests

My Dad would be first. He had a huge influence on mine and my adult children’s lives, instilling in us the philosophy that “there is only one person stopping you.” He was full of ideas and opinions that were far ahead of his time, and I’d love to know what he makes of the world today.

Andrée Putman, because she trusted her instinct. She didn’t follow what was happening around her, she edited it, refined it, and made it her own. There’s a quiet confidence in that I admire in her work, and I think she’d be fascinating to talk to.

Norman Foster, because he’s built an extraordinary design business and is still remarkable at 90. His disciplined thinking is defining, especially in an industry that can be easily distracted. I’d love to know what’s kept him focused over time, and what still excites him now.

Bjarke Ingels, because he brings a dynamic energy to the table. He’s optimistic, curious, and not afraid to challenge things. Like me, he’s always asking, “but why not?” and I think he’d keep the conversation lively.

Johnny Ive because he understands how design & technology come together in a way that is seamless. He has a level of clarity to his work that I love, along with an ability to make the complex feel simple. He’d give the us so many fresh ideas and ways to look forward.

Axel Vervoordt, because he sees things differently. His work is beautiful – it’s about atmosphere, light and restraint. Not in a minimal sense, but in a way that feels deeply considered. I think he’d bring an interesting clam and grounded perspective to the table.

And Simon Sinek, because I’m drawn to his positive and optimistic approach and the enthusiastic honesty he brings to leadership conversations. His optimism is infectious and he is great at distilling complex ideas into actionable thinking around purpose – he’d get us all talking!

Kate Mooney, Founder, OCCA

In 2003, Kate Mooney founded OCCA, built on a clear-eyed observation: hotel design rarely fails for lack of creativity. It falters in the spaces between concept and completion – in procurement strategy, coordination, cost control, brand interpretation and operational reality. The studio was conceived to occupy that space deliberately.

Mooney’s perspective was shaped long before OCCA’s inception. Raised within a family contract furnishings business, she witnessed the mechanics of delivery from the supply side – the friction between vision and viability, between specification and installation. An architecture degree and years working across global hotel brands interior designers and boutique operators sharpened that understanding. The lesson was consistent: design is only as strong as the system supporting it.

Today, the studio integrates architectural and interior design, FF&E and OS&E procurement and hotel branding under one strategic framework. The structure is intentional. Owners and developers do not experience projects in silos; they experience them as capital exposure, programme risk and brand accountability. OCCA’s model reflects that reality, aligning creative ambition with commercial rigour from feasibility through to opening – and beyond.

Across more than 400 hotel projects spanning over 30 global brands – including Marriott, Hilton, IHG, Accor, Wyndham and Choice – OCCA has worked at every scale of hospitality. Yet scale is not its defining trait. The studio is often engaged at the earliest stages, when planning efficiency, specification logic and procurement pathways determine whether an asset will merely open well or trade well.