Cooking together as mandatory bonding experience

[Fat Guy]

There was a piece in the New York Times yesterday -- in the business section -- about the trend of using cooking classes as corporate team-building exercises:

Taking inspiration from Rachael Ray, “Iron Chef” and “Top Chef,” companies like Amgen and Microsoft are sending their employees off to chop, dice and sauté their way to better sales and management skills. They might spend a leisurely hour assembling a meal together or split up and go cleaver to cleaver in a race against the clock.

Needless to say, we at the eGullet Society use cooking and eating as our exclusive means of corporate leadership training and team building. And it sure beats the ropes course or anything involving the outdoors.

Has anybody here ever been to one of these structured events, though? I'm assuming you won, but what was it like? Was it totally artificial and ridiculous, or was it a good thing?

[spikemom]

Has anybody here ever been to one of these structured events, though? I'm assuming you won, but what was it like? Was it totally artificial and ridiculous, or was it a good thing?

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Haven't done a corporate thing, but glad it isn't a prerequisite for getting married.

Husband does not cook AT ALL. But we've bonded pretty well--been married for almost 20 years.

[mrsadm]

I've suffered through several mandatory corporate bonding events and loathed them all but none were of the cooking variety.

I do think cooking together is a better idea than many of these schemes. My neighbor came back from one of these events with several broken ribs after falling from some sort of vehicle-pulling-together fiasco. At least with cooking, the worst that could happen is severe burns and a cut off finger.

[Fat Guy]

I agree that I personally would much rather participate in a cooking class than in any other forced corporate team-building experience I've survived. I remember a particularly embarrassing outing where I didn't even know how to play the sport in question and was totally ineducable. Still, even though forced cooking is less awful than forced sports (indeed, voluntary cooking with friends is one of my favorite activities), it's amazing to me that sophisticated corporations persist in that sort of Dilbert-esque behavior. I wonder if there's any actual evidence that it improves anything, or if it's just something consultants tell corporations to do because they figure there's no way to measure performance so it's a safe recommendation. I'm thankful to be out of that world, at least during the 30 days of the month when the Visa bill doesn't arrive.

[Carrot Top]

I wonder if there's any actual evidence that it improves anything, or if it's just something consultants tell corporations to do because they figure there's no way to measure performance so it's a safe recommendation.

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The only way to have documentation of actual evidence of "improvement" on the job after these corporate team-building activities are the surveys filled out by the participants.

The surveys generally focus on "morale improvement", or "how do you feel now?" (a warm and fuzzy thing). Usually everybody feels "better" even if just because they got off of work to do something different.

These (good) results can then be tied directly to job performance using whatever category one wants, if one wants. Usually there is some way to make a case for improved job performance. If there isn't any way (like, the company is losing money like crazy and the customers hate all the employees) to claim good results, then of course one can say that obviously more team-building experiences are required.

Besides, the cooking team-building experiences are fantastic. Why? Because everyone gets to eat.

[Shalmanese]

Cooking events serve as an equalizer, Mr. Gibbs said, where the hierarchies of the office do not always translate. “In the kitchen, it’s not about top-down structure,” he said. “Everyone is working on the same level.”

I don't get that at all. I would assume that people are just going to defer to the person with the most kitchen experience who's bossy enough to take charge. I've always found for people that cooking tends to be one of the more self-concious things they do and they are willing to defer to a more experienced person very readily.

[Marc Olson]

A couple of years ago I asked my team what *they* wanted to do as a team-building event. They did a bunch of research and we ended up at Kaspar's on Queen Anne in Seattle doing a four course lunch. It was chaos in the kitchen, but we had fun. Best part was just socializing...like anyone does when they cook together.

Were we more effective as a team? Dunno.

[tim]

Steve,

We used this technique for about twenty years on a daily basis with our children. Even now, cooking together is an important part of our Holidays, more important than the meals.

Results? They eat everything, know how to cook and two are in the restaurant business.

Tim

[Genny]

Once a year my women's group has a big themed get together. This year was my turn to host so I developed a "Cuisine Teams" concept and set up 4 stations in my kitchen for randomly chosen groups to cook simple recipes. Our goal wasn't "mandatory bonding" rather it was an opportunity to gab, catch up after summer vacations and have fun. The gals all said it was the best experience and we ended up adding 4 new members, our biggest addition ever! Could this be due to the "bonding" that took place during the activities? Sure! They had fun with new people and decided to hang around and see what kind of hijinx we would follow up with .

The ladies did learn that they actually liked foods that they didn't think they liked - he he, I love it when that happens!

[chezcherie]

I agree that I personally would much rather participate in a cooking class than in any other forced corporate team-building experience I've survived. I remember a particularly embarrassing outing where I didn't even know how to play the sport in question and was totally ineducable. Still, even though forced cooking is less awful than forced sports (indeed, voluntary cooking with friends is one of my favorite activities), it's amazing to me that sophisticated corporations persist in that sort of Dilbert-esque behavior. I wonder if there's any actual evidence that it improves anything, or if it's just something consultants tell corporations to do because they figure there's no way to measure performance so it's a safe recommendation. I'm thankful to be out of that world, at least during the 30 days of the month when the Visa bill doesn't arrive.

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we do quite a few corporate team building events at my cooking school. we try to steer groups away from the "iron chef" type thing, as in our experience, it doesn't bond the team, but divides them into cooks and non-cooks, show-offs and shy....we focus on the aspects of working together in an unfamiliar setting, performing a task they've never done together, sharing experiences, and hope to throw in a few "ahh ha" moments for everyone, from experienced cooks to novices.

then they dine together on what they've made together.

we have had nothing but positive feedback, as most of these folks have rock-climbed and white water rafted themselves silly on that type of team building event. we do get the occasional person who comes in with arms crossed across the chest, proclaiming " i DON'T cook", (this is the person who voted for rock climbing, and has all their pitons or crampons or whatever that stuff is, in the trunk of the car, ready to GO!) i can't tell you how many emails i've gotten from those people after the event, telling me that they did NOT want to come, that they are sure i remember them, because they were so strident in the "anti-cooking" position, and that after that event, they actually went home and cooked the meal for friends and family...

here's an excerpt from an email i received last week:

I hope you remember me.  I was with the *** group for "A Tuscan Afternoon".  I did it!  For Christmas Day, I prepared Pollo Arabiata with Cracked Potatoes & Rosemary…………..and for appetizers, the Caprese Bruschetti. It was a hit with my family and they couldn't believe I cooked it!  I'll admit it was a bit difficult preparing it myself without 10 other folks to help out, but I pulled it together.  My neighbor now refers to me as the Gourmet Cook.

I must say when our department chose Chez Cherie as a team building event, I frowned and pouted saying I'll never cook that exotic stuff at home.  I want to thank you for showing me how fun cooking can be, and it doesn't have to be complicated either.  ...Big thanks to you and your chefs for sharing your God given talents with non-cooking people like me.  Now when someone asks me if I can cook, I'll say "Of course I can".

well, golly....that will make a girl's day, won't it?

as far as "team building" goes, i think the culinary events have a really positive effect. at least that's our experience at chez cherie!

Edited January 19, 2007 by chezcherie (log)