|
Team Building Incentives
- Cooking School
Lets
Cook!
The old adage, “If
you can't stand the heat get out of the kitchen”
has no place in Team building.
TEAM
COOKING AT SEA LEGGS
Case
Study: Australia Post
Feedback:
A big 'Thank You'
Corporate
Trainers are turning in their "Ropes and Rafts" for "Pots
and Pans"!
Corporate Team Cooking,
a recent innovation in the field of team building rewards,
incentives and activities, provides a unique challenge and
a significant opportunity for organisations and individuals
alike.
Participants learn
to work together to produce exotic and unfamiliar gourmet
meals, using techniques and ingredients entirely new to most.
No prior experience necessary.
For those with little
or no cooking experience this can be daunting. For those who
think they know how to cook, even more so! It’s not
about how much you know it’s about producing a Team
result. The old adage, “If you can't stand the heat
get out of the kitchen” has no place in Team building.
Forging a team around
the cook stove (or campfire) is fun, natural effective, intuitive
and essential to our nature (cooking is probably one of humankind's
first group activities, after hunting and gathering and certainly
a reward for all your hard work)
Cooking a gourmet
meal for 10 to 15 people requires and builds teamwork. Cooking
as a team develops service to others, close cooperation, planning
skills, good communication, quality performance, leadership,
consensus and attention to detail.
New techniques,
ingredients and tools present opportunities for learning and
innovation. For both the uninitiated and the experienced cook,
it is a challenge requiring full focus, openness to constructive
criticism, constant learning, and most importantly, teamwork.
Designing
the Course
Each course is designed
specifically to meet the needs and objectives of the team.
The course Menus includes Asian, European, Classic French,
Contemporary, Indian, Wok and Noodle quick productions and
Bread Baking.
The
Planning Process
The first task is
for the group to choose the menu from the options provided.
The group decides by consensus. Individual tastes and habits
are balanced against the need to find common ground (The Menu)
and to take the risk of the unknown.
The menus offered
are based on the degree of cooking experience of the group,
to provide a challenging learning experience, to take the
group into new territory, to stretch whatever culinary skills
they may have; and to teach the fundamental truth: the team
won't get through this unless it works together.
There is no room
for "prima donnas" in this kitchen. Secondly, the
strategy for the meal will be developed and documented by
the group. This will cover the resources, labour, and schedule
required.
Each member will
receive the selected menu and instructions prior to the cooking
program. The group will study the material, and begin to understand
the process and how best to distribute and perform tasks.
This stage is monitored to observe and record group dynamics
and the allocation of team duties and responsibilities.
Trust and confidence
in the ability of the team to accomplish the task is essential.
After all, you or your colleagues will eat what your team
has prepared. Concerns, uncertainties, and any questions will
be shared openly and dealt with throughout the course.
The
Goal
The goal is for
the group to become a team, to discover new facets and ways
of working together; to establish a team in an environment
where everyone starts out at zero, as equals, i.e., no one
knows how to do this.
The end result is
a sumptuous meal for everyone's enjoyment, the fulfillment
of a new and challenging task completed, and a chance to evaluate
the meal, the process and the learning that has taken place.
At its best, this
experience can affect and improve the daily work of the team.
It depends on the group to take all that it can from this
learning environment.
The
Course
Cooking is performance
art, where finite time, labour, and resources are tightly
choreographed to produce an excellent result on time.
The group will learn
to work as a team, set aside normal roles, plan carefully,
cooperate closely, ask for and give help as needed, deal with
mistakes and adjust quickly, and follow the strategy, the
recipes and instructions.
We are not going
to make production chefs out of the team, but we are going
to lead the team through the process, and instruct, support
and guide them to produce an excellent gourmet dinner.
They will experience
the fact that in this environment, no leader or manager can
succeed without the full support of the team. Each group member
will have to set aside individual aspirations for "culinary
stardom". Those who do have culinary skills may be selected
by the team to lead team sections.
Inevitably problems
arise in cooking, no matter how good the team. A moment’s
inattention can ruin a dish. Misunderstanding and emotions
can disturb the group. Breakdowns happen and are opportunities
for learning, for innovating and redesigning.
The benefits of
preparing a delicious meal are obvious. In this case many
other benefits accrue, such as the ability to evaluate the
team's performance on the spot, throughout the process and
after enjoying the results. We are also serving each other.
We will rely on
a thorough commentary of the dinner, and on the process and
what has been learned. The convivial mood of cooking and dining
together is very rewarding for the team.
Example
Half Day Team Building Schedule
Please double click
the link:
Half Day - Afternoon
and evening:
Agenda and Time Line doc.
Sample Full Day Team Building Schedule
Please double click
the link:
Full Day - Morning
planning / training session and afternoon / evening
Team Cooking:
Agenda
and Time Line doc.
Morning
Schedule 9-12 Lunch Demonstration
The first stage
of the program is to demonstrate to the team the various preparation
and cooking methods, ingredients, timing, and presentation
which will be used during the dinner preparation.
It is essential
to show the process in advance and allow the team to understand
the work and how it will have to organize for the task ahead.
This involves the team in the first steps of hands on cooking,
such as learning new ingredients and flavours, preparation
of food, measuring, proper cutting and chopping, and cooking
methods (such as steaming, boiling, braising, frying, grilling,
roasting and baking ).
After lunch the
team will clean up and prepare the kitchen for the dinner
production.
Afternoon
Schedule: 2:00pm to 7:30 pm Dinner Production
The team will have
reassigned tasks detailed in the strategy. Everyone will have
ample opportunity for hands on cooking, to experience the
detail of each dish as well as understand how the entire meal
is prepped, cooked and presented.
To maximise the
learning process and to foster the team experience, maximum
group numbers are kept to 20 participants. If your team is
larger than 20 we suggest, the program is conducted over two
sessions.
In the first session
one group prepares dinner for its invited guests (the other
half of the group) the fact that their culinary efforts are
to be judged by others adds weight to the activity. The non
culinary team could be responsible for all the dining room
preparations, setting and clearing of tables and washing of
dishes. The groups could be reversed next session.
At every step our
instructors will be guiding the process.
Cooking
Schools - Venues
Corporate
Rewards and Gift Ideas - Food and Wine Hampers
We also provide:
For more information,
and a program designed for your group, please contact:
Tony
Legg -
Mobile:
0425 752 745
Email: tonyslegg@iprimus.com.au
SSailingBillboards:www.sailingbillboards.com.au
Things
To Do in Melbourne
|
