Virtual vs. In-Person Client Appreciation Events: The Advantages of Going Virtual

Although folks have craved “getting outside their 4 walls” since COVID times, we’re hearing shifting feedback from companies who host both in-person and virtual client appreciation events.

One event organizer for an insurance company explained, “The cost of in-person events is becoming prohibitive, and people RSVP and then don’t even show up! Our virtual gatherings have better attendance and engagement.”

Across the board, client appreciation events serve as valuable opportunities for your business to express gratitude and foster strong relationships with your clients. 

However, in the era of virtual connection, let’s refocus on how it’s best for your client to engage. Many peoples’ lifestyles and expectations have changed, and perhaps, just perhaps….

…Virtual client engagement events are a better option for your company and your clients. Read on for 4 reasons why.

1. Accessibility and Convenience

No commute! Save your clients time and give them the flexibility to participate at home. Virtual client appreciation events provide unparalleled accessibility and convenience. By eliminating the need for travel, virtual events enable clients from various locations to participate effortlessly. 

Regardless of their geographic location or time zone, clients can attend from the comfort of their homes, enhancing engagement. You can even encourage your clients to include their families in the virtual event. Get to know your clients on a personal level and bring their households into the fun.

2. Cost-Effectiveness

Save time and money by gathering clients all together versus visiting them across different locations. With virtual client appreciation events, you can save on expenses such as venue rentals, catering, transportation, and accommodation. 

This cost efficiency allows you to allocate resources more effectively and achieve a higher return on investment. Additionally, if you stretch your budget through virtual, you can have more frequent engagements and touchpoints with your clients. 

3. Increased Reach and Attendance

Virtual client appreciation events have the advantage of the expanded reach and maximum attendance. With in-person events, geographical limitations or scheduling conflicts can affect participation. By eliminating travel requirements, virtual events enable your business to engage with a larger audience, nurturing existing relationships and attracting potential clients. 

We help our customers increase attendance with our complimentary registration process and by shipping recipe kits to each of their guests. Recipe kits give the feeling of unboxing a gift (and even include a souvenir kitchen tool!), and make it *almost too easy* for your attendees to join the class without having to grocery shop or explore their pantry. 

One event organizer shared, “Every time we’ve hosted a virtual cooking class we get emails from clients afterward who thought it was great and asked what other kind of cuisine they can learn next. These events always sell out!”

4. Flexibility and Customization

Virtual events provide unparalleled flexibility and customization. For our virtual cooking class events at TTLT, we can customize the format, duration, and schedule to suit your preferences, and they create dynamic and engaging experiences. Moreover, virtual events can accommodate varying group sizes, from intimate gatherings to large-scale conferences.

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And there you have it! Four advantages of virtual events: accessibility, cost-effectiveness, expanded reach, and flexibility.

If you’re in the market for a client appreciation event, check out one of our global cooking classes.

“You all make this so easy to plan. The Everything You Need Recipe Kit is so awesome and communication from TTLT is easy to understand and follow. We cannot wait for next year’s event! We truly all look forward to this each year and our clients rave about it!”

— Shannon N. at BerganKDV

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Everything You Need to Know When Planning a Team Offsite

Planning a team offsite can be daunting, especially for companies where there is not a dedicated “event planner” or “event manager”.

Do you have the expertise for the destination? What’s the best and most efficient way to book flights? How do you manage bookkeeping for all the expenses? How many days/nights should the event be? What do people want to do versus what feels like forced fun?

Here’s everything you need to know to start your planning process, in addition to the resources and tools you should consider.

1. Make a list of your invitees and your goal for registration numbers.

At this time you should also determine if this is a mandatory event or an optional invitation. If it’s an optional event, what’s the incentive for them to attend the offsite?

2. Determine when your event will happen.

Things to consider:

• If you’re traveling and need multiple days, think about the fact that your employees are real people and have commitments outside of work.

• Use a Doodle poll to present trip date options and gather votes. Cater as much as you can around attendee preferences.

• This starts you out on a more positive note if folks have the buy-in to opt for dates that work for them instead of feeling resentful if they “have to go to an offsite” over something else planned in their personal lives.

3. Compile a list of possible destinations, and then have your attendees vote on their top 3 destinations.

4. Decide on a budget, and prioritize where you want to spend.

5. Secure accommodations.

At the very least, have backup accommodations booked before planning anything else. If you don’t have somewhere for people to stay, it’s a problem! You can always modify or cancel the reservation later once you have firmer plans and a clearer direction.

6. Find suppliers.

First things first, make sure you have a supplier for transportation, meals, experiences, conference rooms, meeting moderators, AV technical support, and more. 

Consider hiring a professional to manage the event logistics. They have the relationships specific to that destination that will help pull it all together, and they can be boots on the ground if anything goes wrong and you need creative, last-minute troubleshooting.

Additionally, many professional event organizers can negotiate rates and contracts on your behalf.

7. Survey your attendees.

Send your attendees an pre-trip survey once you have an idea of experiences, meals, etc. Find out what’s most important to them and what would add the most value.

8. Plan your days.

Determine your priorities for your group. Is it strategy time & meetings, team building activities, fun for the sake of fun, cultural experiences, meals together, etc?

9. Give people free time.

Allow for some free time for people to expand on conversations they might have started with colleagues during meetings, explore on their own, recharge for the introverts who need alone time, catch up on emails, and other day-to-day tasks.

10. Bring your team into the planning.

A great way to get buy-in is to have your attendees participate in some of the planning. Assign tasks to teams that will be something they can look forward to.

Example: Team A chooses the dinner venue and Team B plans a full day of activities in the surrounding areas.

Case Study: In our team offsite we split into two teams. Team Merida planned the first 2 days of our experience and Team Oaxaca planned the second 2 days of our experience. They organized everything from activities to meeting times, transportation, restaurants and meals, vendor meetings, etc. The feedback was that they had fun feeling like they were ‘hosting’ half of the offsite and felt like they where they were walking in with fresh eyes for the other half. It also got them thinking about coordination, planning, and who else on the team they needed to work with. The value of the offsite can take shape well before the event itself.

11. Plan for things to not be perfect.

Have the names and contact information of extra suppliers in case you need to call in an emergency service: taxis, AV services, caterers, etc.

12. Make life at home as easy as possible.

If you have the budget or resources - consider the challenges at home that make it difficult for your team to get away. Can you provide a meal delivery service voucher (UberEats, etc.) for their families when they’re gone? Do you have a nanny agency that can provide evening care options? 

If doing it yourself sounds like too much, let us do the planning for you! Contact us with information about your event and what you need the most help with. We’ll work with you to make all the necessary arrangements and bookings so you can check it off your to-do list.

No matter where you travel, we always recommend purchasing travel protection to safeguard against sudden changes or cancellations. If you don’t already have a preferred vendor, you can check out ours - Travel Insured - which offers a “Cancel for Any Reason” policy. 

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5 Free Ways to Celebrate the Holidays with Your Team

We talk with clients from a wide variety of industries and company sizes but one concern that comes up across the board is the current state of tightening budgets. That makes this time of year particularly difficult since most team gatherings happen around the holidays and are crucial to keeping morale high, team members working efficiently and feeling connected to their colleagues. 

If the budget is shrinking or frankly non-existent, some much-needed team connection and team building events can feel like a tall and potentially impossible order. 

The good news is that there are still ways for you to gather your team together, connect, and foster a productive and thoughtful team culture.

Here are 5 virtual ways you can connect with your team without breaking the bank (or even spending a cent).

1. Cookie Decorating Competition

Send out a simple sugar cookie and icing recipe and host a virtual cookie decorating competition. There are so many fun ways to organize this event depending on the interests of your team. 
Give it a cooking show vibe where everyone joins a Zoom call and decorates together for 20 minutes and then shares their final results and participates in judging.

If you want something a little less involved, have your team make cookies in their free time and submit a photo to a Teams chat or Slack channel and everyone can vote based on a few judging categories. 

Fun Tip! Encourage your teammates to dress up in a favorite holiday outfit. You could even have a judging category for best dressed! 

2. Guess Who Game

Come up with a series of questions, gather your team’s answers ahead of time, and see how well you know each other. For example, what’s your most listened to song currently? Favorite candy? Fun fact about you?

Gather everyone on a Zoom call for the game. Depending on the size of your team, have everyone write each team member's name on a piece of paper. When you ask the question, have them hold up the piece of paper with the name of the person who they think is the correct answer. 

Tip! If you’re doing any sort of game, check out free online platforms that will elevate the experience and make it a more interactive event. Check out Kahoot or Heads-Up. If you need more game ideas, check out this Washington Post article! 

3. Skills Class

Take a page out of our play book! Poll your team members for special skills and pick one person on your team to teach the rest of your team a new skill.

It can be anything: painting, yoga, sign language, etc. Be creative.

4. Charades

We’re firm believers that the best interactive virtual events get people up and out of their chairs. No one wants to sit in front of Zoom the same way they do every day at work. 

Have one person draft up some charade ideas and then through the chat box privately message individuals with their charade task. 

5. Powerpoint Party

Tell everyone on your team to come prepared with a 3-minute presentation. Set parameters for prep time, such as only 10 minutes to work on it, so it’s not an overwhelming ask. Give guidelines on what the presentation should be about. For example, best 90’s movie, favorite holiday tradition, most underrated holiday movie character, etc.

Turn it into a competition and give out prizes for most convincing, creative, or festive presentation. 

It’s important that regardless of budget, you’re finding ways to engage your team and connect. In the future, when it’s the right time to invest in your next team building events, let us make it the easiest item on your to-do list. We’ll handle all the prep work and management so you can sit back and enjoy with your team. 

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Book A Virtual Cooking Class for Your Virtual Corporate Event

Planning a virtual corporate event doesn’t have to be a headache or time-consuming vortex. It can be the easiest item to check off your list without compromising the thoughtful connection and interaction you’re looking to have with your group. 

Here’s why you should book a cooking class for your next team building virtual event.

Corporate cooking classes are flexible.

It can be hard to find a virtual corporate event that piques everyone’s interest. Our team building cooking classes attract a wide variety of individuals - foodies, travelers, home chefs, adventurers, etc. You choose the recipe that best fits your team's interests, dietary preferences, and even cooking limitations. We work with novices and top chefs alike, even on the same team!

Everyone on the team can participate.

Our virtual classes for corporate events are 100% remote, and because we have chefs from around the world we can accommodate almost all time requests. Even as the event organizer, you are free to participate in the class without any responsibilities. We want you to focus on the reason you booked the class - to connect with your group and have fun. 

EYN Recipe Kits make it even easier to participate with all prepped ingredients shipped directly to each of your guest's homes. With a virtual cooking class with ingredients delivered, everyone starts at the same level with the same measured ingredients. 

On top of that, having an EYN Recipe Kit show up at your door is a great way to get everyone buzzed and excited about virtual team building events!

“I literally took my [recipe kit] out of the fridge and opened it 5 mins before class. I had everything I needed. I wasn't missing any ingredients and the instructions were crystal clear. What a great idea for a virtual event!” - Alex O., participant

Organizing a virtual class for corporate events is EASY!

Our class production team handles all guest registration and communication. From the very beginning, we communicate with your guests to make sure they have all the information they need, as well as answer any questions they may have. 

“[The booking process] exceeded my expectations. I received excellent customer service. All the communications…verbal, email, online were done well. The beautifully documented recipes with pictures, the website layout, company logo… top drawer lovely and easy to read.” - Suzanne D., event organizer



Virtual classes for corporate events are unique and interactive.

We have chefs from different countries who can teach you and your group a variety of seasonal dishes. Each class is a unique experience because you’ll be culturally immersed in learning the history of the dish, listening to the chef’s stories, and asking questions along the way. 

It doesn’t stop there! You’ll be on your feet the entire time, chopping, sauteing, and comparing dough consistencies with your teammates. 

“Chef Alain was fantastic! He made the class feel stress-free, while still sharing helpful tips and humorous insights related to Italian cooking...After cooking with him, I feel confident in my ability to make pizza from scratch and inspired to spend more time in the kitchen.” - Jamie D., event organizer

Virtual Team Building Events can be personalized!

Is your group competitive, chatty, full of Type A personalities, or just getting to know each other? Tell us! We can personalize your virtual corporate events to fit your group with competitions and prizes or games

If you’re a chatty group, then stay on after your virtual corporate event and enjoy your 15-minute virtual dining time, where you and your group can enjoy your finished dish together and talk about your favorite parts of the class.

Fill out an inquiry form if you’re interested in booking a virtual corporate event with your team this summer, and make sure to ask us about our summer recipes coming soon!

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Building a Strong Team in a Remote World

We’re halfway through January 2022 and to many companies’ dismay we are still living in a mostly remote world. Per a recent article in the New York Times, “The R.T.O. (return to office) date is gone. It’s been replaced with “we’ll get back to you.” And in a Gartner survey of 238 executives, a whopping two-thirds of the organizations delayed their return to office plans due to new COVID-19 variants.

Slingshot Aerospace team in a cooking class with Gaia from Florence

With return-to-office plans up in the air for most companies, many executives and team leaders are concerned about the uncertainty that results in a lack of firm dates to look towards.

How can team leaders create certainty in uncertain times? Our answer: create a strong team culture that can navigate remote, hybrid, and in-person work.

88% of job seekers say that a healthy culture at work is vital for success and team leaders have the highest impact on company culture. 

What are unique ways you can build a strong team culture? Gift interactive and creative experiences! In a new study by Coresight Research with 300 corporate gift buyers, over 80% said gifts have improved relationships with employees and/or clients.

Gifting is becoming a critical part of company culture and it looks like “corporate gifting is a long-term habit that is going to be sustained in the post-Covid world.” Gifting experiences can show team appreciation while building company culture and socialization. (Something a stackable food tower could never do.) 

As experts in team building, remote work, and team member appreciation, we prioritize giving remote team members the opportunity to engage in small talk, get to know one another, and socialize outside of the normal work hours. How? Interactive global cooking classes.

We’re not talking about another "Zoom activity" where you're sitting and staring at your computer on mute.

We’re talking about an interactive, on-your-feet, get-your-hands-dirty kind of virtual corporate event.

Our bread and butter (and personal team favorite): cooking classes with chefs around the world. Take all work-related topics off the table and instead talk about who's the best chef, who's planning a trip to Italy, and who desperately needs a sous chef to clean up after them. 

Check out our Valentine’s Day recipes and see which one is the best gift for your team.

Torta Caprese Cake with Domenico & Maria in Capri

Desserts

Great for: vegetarians, novice chefs, chatty teams, or if your team might have sous chefs join them (ie kids, partners, etc)

• Strawberry Tiramisu with Domenico & Maria in Capri

• Sweet Crepes with Guillaume in France

• Torta Caprese with Domenico & Maria in Capri

Entrées

Great for: vegetarians, happy hour fans, willing to get a little messy

• Handmade Pasta & Tomato Sauce with Chef Alain in Tuscany

• Prosecco Risotto with Pink Peppercorns with Gaia in Florence

And if you really want to treat your team…

Great for: Wine enthusiasts, don’t want to grocery shop, give a physical ‘gift’ with their class

• Exclusive Handmade Pizza with Chef Alain in Tuscany or Marika & Emanuele on the Amalfi Coast - EYN Recipe Kit & Wine Kit Class

Didn’t see something that piqued your interest? We have a library of recipes to choose from for your class. Give us a call and let’s talk more.

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Engage with Your Virtual Team After Your Team Building Activity

There is nothing like the excitement of wrapping up a virtual team building cooking class. Folks are ready to dive in and eat and everyone stays on during dining time to chat about their newfound kitchen skills, their funniest cooking moment, or how amazed they are by the ease of the recipe.

But then what? Your team had an incredible time connecting and breaking bread together, but what happens next? How can you maximize the team-building momentum? 

54% of employees say a strong sense of community kept them at a company longer in a survey by Gusto. We know that team-building activities are important and we recognize that the follow-up is just as critical to creating a strong sense of community.

Let us support you in cultivating ongoing connections that follow our virtual cooking classes with meal kits, leading to increased connection, engagement, and recall of your memorable & fun time together.

Some of our favorite teams - Zoom, Etsy, Amazon, and Uber - shared with us the ways they keep the team-building momentum created by our cooking classes going.

Try one or two or try them all; it’s about what works best for your unique virtual team! Let’s keep the fun going long after your 90-minute cooking class has landed delicious dishes on your table.

One day after your cooking class…

1. Create a competition. After class, have everybody submit photos of their dish in your communication channel and have your team vote on the submitted dishes. Then give out prizes for different categories like, "Top Chef", "Most Creative Presentation", "The Biggest Fail", “Hungriest Chef”, etc. Keep the conversation going!

 2. Play I Spy. Before class, encourage everyone to “plant” an item in their background that is hidden but visible from the camera. During our team building cooking classes, we take a group photo that we share with you afterward. Once everyone gets the class photo, create an "I Spy" email thread that starts with "I Spy in our cooking class..." and give an award to the person who guesses the item that is out of place.

From a Zoom team that cooked with us!

One week after your cooking class…

3. Share tips. After their class, one team asked in their weekly team meeting, "Who made the pizza recipe again and what toppings did you change?" This encouraged team members to recreate the recipe and share feedback.

For most of your team members, our team building cooking class will be the very first time making the recipe, so sharing tips after class can be helpful. One participant said,  “Our cooking lesson was a super way to engage the team. I think for most of us, this was the first time ever making pasta!” Ask your team about their cooking experience and use questions about the class as an ice breaker activity in the future.

 4. Build a team recipe book. After your cooking class, have folks send in their favorite recipes and create a recipe book along with the recipe you all cooked together. As you take more cooking classes together, you can add recipes to your team recipe book! This is a fun and easy souvenir that you can customize with your company logo and give as a gift during the holiday season.

One month after your cooking class…

5. Send a follow-up gift. Gift everyone on your team a TTLT apron or kitchen tool as a follow-up to their cooking class. If you plan a virtual corporate event with us and are interested in gifting your team members a TTLT item, ask for our private class discount code! Check out our TTLT Shop for more gift ideas.

Six months after your cooking class…

6. Travel somewhere new! Poll your team on the next destination you want to visit through one of our cooking classes. Italy? Thailand? Peru? France? The world is your oyster. View all of our recipes, their modifications, and their difficulty level. One class participant said, “I had the opportunity to transport myself out of Bloomington, IL to the kitchens of Japan and Italy.”

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How to Plan the Best Office Christmas Party for Your Virtual Team

With collaboration, communication, and loneliness making up 32% of the biggest struggles individuals face with remote work, planning a virtual event has never been more important to connect with your hybrid or virtual team. However, that doesn’t mean sifting through virtual event options in 2021 is easy.

As experts in building connections, community, and team building, here are three suggestions to plan the best Christmas office party for your virtual team.  

1. Mix it up! 

Whether you’ve already tried every virtual event under the sun or this is your very first one, choose a unique experience that is personalized to your team and goals.

Steer clear of companies that don’t emphasize understanding your goals, whether it’s team building or celebrating an accomplishment. Clicking “buy” on a generic event online might be easy but you don’t really know what you’re getting.

2. Always choose interactive!

 Zoom keeps us connected but it also keeps us in our chairs. Don’t choose a virtual event where you’re sitting the entire time. Pick an event that gets people on their feet and moving but still encourages connection and conversation. 

3. Take it to the next level! 

Connection is not a one-time transaction. One team-building activity isn’t going to immediately build open and thoughtful team communication. Have a plan to elevate your experience through special perks and keep your team engaged on an ongoing basis after your virtual event. Creating meaningful connections is in the follow-up.

Check out our interactive cooking classes at The Table Less Traveled!

We take the time to get on a call and understand what you’re trying to accomplish with your team event. We suggest recipes and chefs that are the best fit for your group and date and time preference to accommodate worldwide teams 24/7. And if we don’t think we’re a good match, we’ll be honest and encourage you to find a different event. 

Our cooking classes are not a cooking show or demonstration. You and your team members will be on your feet the entire time, sauteing, stirring, and cooking alongside the chef.

One class participant with Backblaze said, “Not only did I learn something new, I got a little exercise too! Super interactive! Great all around!” During class, our hosts and chefs encourage conversation, make connections, and coax individuals away from their mute buttons. 

We offer Everything You Need (EYN) Recipe Kits delivered to each participant’s home. We want to eliminate any stress or distraction, and ensure each participant starts on the same level with the same ingredients and can focus on being present. 

“Social time turns out to be deeply critical to team performance, often accounting for more than 50% of positive changes in communication patterns.” With the right team-building activity, you can strengthen your connection and improve feelings of collaboration even if your team works from home.

At The Table Less Traveled, we work with you to optimize team building and connection.

Meredith Spring took a class with her YPO group and said, “the sense of community we felt through something as simple as cooking together was amazing! It was fun to be “with” people we haven’t been able to see in weeks and loved learning new skills in the kitchen we can use for years to come!” 

Sources:

https://buffer.com/2021-state-of-remote-work

https://hbr.org/2012/04/the-new-science-of-building-great-teams

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5 Reasons to Book a Private Cooking Class as your Virtual Holiday Party for Your Remote Team

Office Holiday Parties will be looking a little different this year — but you can still make yours one to remember

As more companies than ever have resorted to remote work in 2020, the upcoming holiday season is sure to look just as unprecedented as office life in general this year. With virtual holiday parties as the only option for many remote teams, companies will have to find new, creative ways of bringing their employees together to celebrate the hard work they’ve accomplished.

Whether this is your first time planning a virtual holiday party for your remote workers (thanks, COVID), or an event your remote team looks forward to every year, make this year’s company holiday celebration unforgettable by hosting an interactive cooking class with your remote workers near and far. 

We’ve pulled together 5 reasons why you and your team will love an online cooking class as your virtual holiday party.

1. Everyone Gets Involved (AKA not your typical virtual happy hour)

By now, most of us have exhausted the virtual happy hours — staring at each other’s faces with a drink of our choice in hand. With a shared cooking class, your team will have an opportunity to do a creative activity together, even though you’re apart. You’ll step into each other’s kitchens and lives, share the challenge of kneading your pasta dough to the perfect consistency, or artfully folding your empanadas. You’ll get to ask questions, share stories, and get feedback from your chef and teammates.

Not everyone on your team is an experienced cook? Our chefs make sure even the least kitchen-confident participant has the coaching they need for a successful dish and a fun experience.

Employees all across the country making handmade pasta carbonara with Chef Alain in TUscany

2. Enjoy a Unique Experience Together

When was the last time you made authentic, international cuisine taught live by a chef in Portugal, Peru, Italy, Indonesia, or Japan? When was the last time you made authentic, international cuisine taught live by a chef in Portugal, Peru, Italy, Indonesia, or Japan with your coworkers? 

We'll take your team on a culinary adventure through the backstreets of Osaka, the countryside of Tuscany, or high into the Andes Mountains of Peru as we learn to cook traditional recipes — and often personal family recipes — from locals themselves, bringing a bit of the world right into your kitchens to enjoy together.

3. Completely Customizable

Vegetarian, vegan, gluten or dairy free? Not a problem. We can work around any dietary preference to find a recipe that’s just perfect for your group.

Wanting to turn it up a notch? We can add wine tasting, wine pairing, or cocktail making to any class to really get the party started (in the classiest and most-cultured of ways, of course). Make Pisco sours from Peru or Negronis from Florence; try your dish paired with northern and southern Italian wines, or taste the difference between Japanese sakés — all with our chefs to guide you.

4. Stress-Free Set Up

We organize all the details so you can relax, have fun, and focus on cooking and connecting with your team. Once you book, we set up an event page with all the information you and your participants need to prepare for class. As well as all of our classes come not just with a chef, but with a Zoom moderator to field questions, type cooking instructions, and make sure the event and tech runs smoothly.

We can even send Recipe Kits with pre-measured ingredients to all of your participants — including cocktail ingredients and wine (depending on location) — for extra ease and less mess.

5. Employee Gift Add-Ons

We find many companies, especially around the holidays, want to include little gifts for participants in their Recipe Kits. You can choose from a variety of items such as cocktail shakers, aprons, tumblers, t-shirts, kitchen items and more, branded with your company’s logo for an extra special holiday surprise.

Just because your team will have to party remotely, doesn’t mean you can’t throw an incredible virtual holiday party that they’ll be sure to love. Let us help you make this end-of-year celebration extra special and extra memorable.

Learn more about our Team-Building Cooking Classes and book yours today.

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Creative Virtual Team Building for Remote Workers: Live Cooking Classes with Chefs Around the World

Since this last March, more teams than ever across the globe have been adjusting to remote working, prompting Time magazine’s apt labeling of the coronavirus outbreak as “the world’s largest work-from-home experiment.” 

While that experiment now continues into July (with little end in sight), companies such as Facebook, Twitter, Nationwide Insurance and more are already promising to continue work-from-home privileges even after COVID-19 is just a (bad) memory of the past. 

However, though business continues as usual, productivity remains as high as ever, and lower real estate costs are quite attractive, removing the “social” aspect of work life is taking its toll on employees. 

A survey by Slack shows that “nearly half of newly remote workers say that working from home has negatively affected their sense of belonging”, and The New York Times magazine reports that “isolation...has been a chief complaint that arises in all research on remote work.”

As working from home becomes the norm in “office” life, employers will need more than just the occasional everyone-grab-a-drink Zoom happy hour to keep office morale and company culture on an upward trajectory. 

During this shift to remote work, one way to connect with your team, share a fun experience together, and bridge the divide that comes from working at home, is with a Private Online Cooking Class as a virtual team-building activity.

A New Type of Team Building: Human Ventures’ Experience Cooking Together

Human Ventures in their private pasta class with chef alain in tuscany

After taking one of our Online Cooking Classes with her boyfriend over a weekend, Danielle Miller posed the idea of a private homemade pasta class as a team-building activity to her New York City-based company, Human Ventures.

“It felt like a great option to do something new together. No matter where people's culinary level is, a private class is a perfect option.” she explained. 

On the day of the class, her teammates logged on from their home kitchens. Seeing a few colleagues in aprons, an unidentified shout goes out, “ah, aprons, guys!” and multiple faces disappear from screens and reappear donning a domestic accessory that would rarely (if ever) have made an appearance in the office.

The group ranged in cooking abilities and experience, but each person followed the steps Chef Alain gave to making pasta dough and homemade tomato sauce with enthusiasm. “Alain was really good at explaining the steps and showing what he is doing while explaining different things. For example, I now know the trick to not crying when I chop onions!” says Danielle.

Chef Alain, leading the class from his home kitchen in Tuscany, continued to remind the group as they went along that no matter what happens in class, “it’s only pasta.”

“I think it unconsciously became a slight competition of who had the better looking pasta, whose was thinner/longer,” Danielle laughs. “It was unintentional, but became a great aspect of the class. That might just be our team since it was not a competitive class at all, it was very friendly and open...It's hard being apart from everyone, but this really helped to feel like we were together.”

homemade pasta with chef alain

homemade cherry tomato pasta sauce with chef alain

At one point, Chef Alain explains the proper chef technique for gripping vegetables while chopping as making a “tiger claw” with your hand. Immediately multiple “tiger claws” and barred teeth fill the screens as the team laughs and claws at each other.

Forbes supports team-building activities that get participants interacting in new ways, as one article explains, “The most successful, memorable team-building events are ones that don’t feel like a day at the office...Spending time together, sharing an experience or working towards a common goal allows bonding to happen more organically and far more effectively [than activities with overt leadership lessons].”

Danielle mentions how the cooking class helped her remote team feel more close and connected, especially during the uncertainty of the global pandemic. “It's such a weird time in the world but somehow doing the same thing at the same time was really comforting and felt like we were all together.” The bonding effects were present during other work hours as well: “It was also fun to join a meeting after the weekend and our CEO asks ‘did anyone else make more of that pasta, or was it just me?!’”  

The other great thing Danielle found out about taking an online cooking class as a team-building activity? Easy coordination. “I think the nicest part (for me) was having The Table Less Traveled plan and handle all the logistics. It allowed for everyone to just show up with their ingredients and enjoy!”

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If you’re interested in booking a private cooking class for your team, fill out an inquiry form or email us to set up a time and class that works for you.

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Team-Building in Quarantine? Try an Interactive Cooking Class with Chefs Around the World

By now, most of us have adjusted to working remotely in the time of COVID.

We’ve mastered share screen on Zoom, learned to snack while on mute, and figured out how to still get work done despite the at-home distractions, but what’s truly missing is the team-like camaraderie and social connection that come from being in a shared workspace with coworkers.

Though continuing to promote company culture can be difficult to navigate when employees are remote, the current global crisis presents one of the most important times to encourage a safe, relaxed space for workers to unwind, bond, and continue connecting through the power of shared experiences.

In a time of social isolation, we’re seeing more and more companies interested in booking our Online Cooking Classes as a virtual team-building activity. These private, interactive classes give teams the opportunity and space to connect in a non-work setting, share a fun experience, and try something new together — even if it’s from the safety of your own kitchens.

Team-Building During COVID: Bridging the Divide in Work From Home

Equinox Business Law Group, a law firm based in Bellevue, Washington, joined us for a private asparagus risotto class taught by Gaia in Florence. 

CEO & Managing Attorney, Michelle Bomberger says she was looking for an activity that would bridge the divide that comes with working from home. “Our team is accustomed to being in the office together, collaborating and sharing our work and personal activities,” she says. “Working remotely really limits the amount of ‘fun’ time, and this class provided some time to try something new together.”

Ingredients photographed by participant, Ashley Wong

Bomberger requested a new recipe specifically for her private class, one that could be made gluten and dairy free, to accommodate for the dietary restrictions in their group. Gaia found the substitutions that would still make this recipe a success even without the dairy that usually goes into the dish. 

The number one rule to cooking risotto? “Never leave the risotto alone,” Gaia instructed. “This risotto is your best friend now.”

Their hard work paid off in the end: “The finished product was delicious — definitely my favorite part!” Bomberger says, “Both experienced and inexperienced cooks in the group raved about how unique the experience was — having a chef who was actually in Italy teaching the class!” 

Finished product photographed by participant, Ashley Wong

During introductions, many from the group admitted to not cooking on their own much, but they followed along as Gaia gave directions, and looked pretty proud of the final result. 

A Forbes article about the importance of team building encourages trying activities beyond a company picnic or virtual happy hour, ones that include some form of learning and challenge to maximize growth and bonding: “It turns out that happiness and learning are tied very closely together. Trying new things with your staff can generate good vibes among employees, which in turn benefits the business itself. Choosing something unique and slightly outside of people’s comfort zones can encourage them to come together in new ways.”

Bomberger and her team found this to be true for themselves, “The fact that each person came to the class with some apprehension, not knowing exactly what to expect, made it a great team-building experience,” says Bomberger. “It gave us an opportunity to all share a kitchen together (but apart) and with the added benefit of having a greater community impact.”

Virtual Team-Building that Gives Back

The greater community impact Bomberger mentions is the support for the chefs of our classes. For each class, our chefs receive 50% of the proceeds that have been instrumental in getting them through a difficult time when they have been unable to work due to quarantine, some without knowledge of when they may receive a paycheck again.

In a time of social distancing and isolation, virtual team-building can make a big difference for your remote office culture, but also has the potential to make a difference to those suffering the effects of COVID-19 on their communities.

Bomberger and her team agree, “It was truly rewarding for us to share this experience together as a team during this time.”

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If you’re interested in booking a private cooking class for your team, fill out an inquiry form or email us to set up a time and class that works for you.

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