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Food and wine – what better event ingredients to socialize, work and bond over? Always important components of any occasion, more and more, corporate groups are meeting in the kitchen to serve up an education in culinary arts and provide a fun, out-of-the-box alternative to typical event programming. For a sense of corporate culture and how personalities blend, the kitchen is the ideal place to watch how individuals on a team collaborate and cook together. Whether used as an entertaining or incentive reward opportunity, or to whip up a teambuilding challenge, cooking events promote creativity, camaraderie and, in the end, a delicious sense of shared achievement. If your group is looking to exchange suits and ties for chef's whites, here are a few places and pros to help you make a food event connection. Add in a wine tasting to complete the experience: CULINARY SCHOOLSThe Cookworks — Adjacent to Mildred Pierce restaurant on Sudbury Street, and run by celebrity chef-restaurateur Donna Dooher, this lovely “high-tech-meets-Versaille” studio caters to groups of up to 26. Teams slice, whisk and sauteé their way through a four-course menu, then gather at the table under the magnificent chandelier to enjoy their efforts. Along the way, presentation skits and a prop box (beware of the rubber chicken!) further enhance team bonding. Launching this spring, a new hardcore “reality-based” teambuilding program. Complete with chef “lifelines” and guided by a professional facilitator, groups of 8 to 12 take on the cooking challenge, from menu planning to shopping for ingredients, to preparing their themed dishes and creating the ambience they serve it in.
Nella Cucina-Culinary School — Bright, airy and spacious, this cooking studio is operated by Nella Cucina, a popular food equipment retailer located at Bathurst, just north of Bloor. For the ultimate cooking demonstration for top dogs, tap into their connection with the city’s hottest chefs (Susur Lee is a guest chef), or customize a menu with the in-house specialists for a staff appreciation or teambuilding session. Mingle on the main floor with hors d’oeuvres before heading upstairs to the kitchen for hands-on learning at six cooking stations. Sit down to a well-earned repast at a beautifully set table beside the kitchen or larger groups can dine in an adjacent showroom. In-house retail wares make great takeaway gifts. Tailor the space for interactive cooking for 24 to demo and tasting enjoyment for up to 50 people.
Miele Design Centre — This Designers’ Walk high-end appliance showroom is loaded with kitchen space, versatility and Miele product beauty. Tour several to-die for dream appliance vignettes before hitting the live designer kitchen where groups of 12 to 45 roll up their sleeves in hands-on cooking programs, from teambuilding to pure socialization and enjoyment. Bring in a chef of choice, or draw from the list of Miele’s recommendations. A separate conference room offers break-out space for up to 50 theatre-style. Check out new facilities opening south of Vaughan Mills this summer. Dish Cooking Studio — Sit back and watch the cooking action from the sleek U-shaped cooking bar, or break into groups for interactive learning at this Yabu Pushelberg-designed culinary studio, café and food boutique on Dupont Street. The studio is often featured in owner Trish Magwood’s Party Dish series on the Food Network. Classes accommodate 12 to 50 people, or a group of 12 to 25 can have a seat at the interactive Chef’s Table. For groups up to 60, consider the Around the Word Tasting Party with teams rotating around several international tasting stations for a combination of demo, hands-on prep and noshing. A resident sommelier is the icing on the cake. RESTAURANT KITCHENS Into The Kitchen — Step into the culinary kingdoms of some of Toronto’s top restaurant chefs where groups of 8 to 10 become sous chefs for a day under the tutelage of the masters at Centro, Flow, Mistura or Splendido. A high-end program geared to executive groups and run by professional facilitator and teacher Louise Borins, the team works the kitchen preparing a multi-course lunch menu, learning insider tips and the ingredients to workplace collaboration along the way. Their culinary efforts, paired with wines, are enjoyed in the restaurant’s dining area. FOOD SPECIALISTS Rustico Fine Foods — Along with delicious cuisine, catering chefs Andrew Underwood and Paul Taylor Mootz bring their food as a corporate metaphor directly to boardrooms and meetings. Working with a company’s goals and presentation script, the engaging chefs use cuisine and cooking to help reinforce the message or communicate an idea. From titillating “the pitch” with the prep and serving of an amuse-bouche to the client, to reinforcing “right resources for the best job” with a culinary tools demonstration, Underwood and Mootz cook up a unique approach to the corporate sell.
My Place For Dinner — Freelance chef and cookbook author Debbie Diamente brings her dynamic personality and culinary skills to wherever the kitchen may be. With connections at several of the city’s culinary centres, including the Miele Design Centre, Diamente co-ordinates all elements of a corporate program, from booking space to creating a complimentary recipe workbook for eight to 60 participants. Fun hands-on cooking competitions add another learning dimension to lively discussions around ingredients, skills and kitchen teamwork. For a more relaxed, social atmosphere, Diamente also hosts classes for up to eight in her beautiful Riverdale home. A Taste For Chocolate — Move over chocolate fountains! This new culinary event service delivers the sweet goods along with a healthy helping of chocolate history and tips. Modeled after a wine tasting, founder Tracey Edelist brings her chocolate knowledge and fine chocolate selection to your chosen venue and leads the group in some mighty delicious sampling and learning while rating your favourites. Edelist, a chocolate importer, can also provide sinfully delicious gift bags.
www.thecookworks.com • www.nellacucina.ca
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