A new trend: the culinary team building

Culinary team-building activities are among the ten major trends in meetings and conventions identified by Benchmark Hospitality International. On the menu of challenges: creation, communication, conflict resolution, time and resources management and collaboration. On the menu of results: new camaraderie, strengthening the team spirit and delicious meals!

A recipe accessible and collaborative

Team building sessions are varied, but often associated with physical activity, even extreme, which do not necessarily correspond to all employees. Golf, rafting, treasure hunts, role-playing are ways to get employees to do something together outside work. But while golfers will be delighted by of golf course, others will find that rafting is too extreme. Cooking lessons create the same effect in a simple, inexpensive and accessible way to all. Moreover, cooking is more oriented toward collaboration than other activities more competitive.

Attractive benefits

Cuisine is based on an organizational system, as business: it recreates schedules, limited resources, decision-making and cooperation necessary for success. In a kitchen, individuals are assigned to different roles and must create together a product ... in this case, a meal. Participants will share responsibilities and have to appreciate the personal skills of everyone and work towards a common goal: to roast lamb, to “sauté” forest mushrooms, or succeed a rich chocolate sauce!

Events can be customized to meet objectives and budgets of each group. The ability to interact with renowned chefs can also be a part of the experience; and this is very popular.

The exercise is fun and everyone. In fact, having culinary abilities has nothing to do with the position in the company; roles may even be sometimes reversed, stereotypes fall and a new group dynamic appears. The kitchen is a familiar environment and food a universal language, a cooking group brings people together, and not only in a team building event.

The secret to success: planning and consistency

Success of a team building activity begins well before the session itself, which has to be well planned. Moreover, it is appropriate to form a team of employees to organize the event.

The effect of the activity will be optimized if it is consistent with the overall structure of the company, for example if culture, values and practices aim at consolidating the concept of "team" on an ongoing basis.

Participation will be greater if the team-building activity is created around a business in which all employees can contribute.

To take advantage of the full potential of team building, there should be real objectives. Thereafter, we must determine how learning will be integrated into the workplace and what monitoring will be done, before even making activity.