6 Benefits of Culinary Team Building

When companies are looking for a group activity that will help bring team members together, many turn towards culinary events. We’re talking group cooking classes or food tours around cities, giving team members a taste of history and culture – as well as mouthwatering food. That said, culinary activities are team building staples for reason. Beyond the good vibes, the truth is that pure science backs the idea of cooking and eating being fantastic activities to bring a group of people together. And we’re going to prove it.

In this post, we’re going to focus on hitting on the six most notable benefits of culinary team building with sources.

Treat your team!

1. Positive Impact on Quality of Life

A study found that community-based cooking was linked to positive influences on socialization, quality of life, and affect. When we translate this to plain English, the main gist is that scientists saw hints of an improvement on the overall lives of those who participated in “cooking interventions.” These cooking interventions included activities such as meeting up and doing supermarket tours and then cooking in groups with menu planning. In other words, cooking interventions look a lot like group food tours.

2. Improved Cognitive Ability

The whole purpose of culinary team building is to act as a creative way to engage in socialization. The thing is, socialization itself has myriad benefits – with a 2021 study finding that people with higher levels of social connectedness and engagement have higher scores on cognitive tests. In other words, culinary team building lets you eat better and become smarter for it. 

Learn a new recipe!

3. Boosted Mindfulness

Mindfulness is a general sense of being more aware of what’s going on in your body and around you. According to Vandana Sheth, a registered dietitian nutritionist, cooking is actually a fantastic mindfulness activity. We can chalk this up to how cooking requires you to be aware of multiple factors. This includes logistics such as stove heat, how cooked what you’re preparing is, and when it’s time to add flavorful seasonings or sauces. These are all different ways that your team will be forced to focus on the task of cooking, which can prep them to be more mindful in other tasks for your company.

Work together!

4. Greater Problem-solving and Planning

The World Health Organization identifies skills such as problem solving and planning as necessary life skills. Well, this study points out that these two same skills are present in cooking assignments as well. What do you need to measure to follow a recipe? What substitutions can you make to create something that’s still delicious? Cooking naturally trains your team members’ problem-solving and planning skills, which are fantastic logistical tools that you want sharp as steak knives in the workplace.

Good time, good people, good food!

5. Stress Relief

Cooking has also been directly linked to the mitigation of stress, in addition to depression and anxiety. This was reported in a study monitoring therapeutic cooking as well as in this study monitoring the overall psychosocial benefits of cooking. This means that scheduling a culinary team building activity would be great towards the end of a workday (so your team members can decompress). Alternatively, you could set it for a day after a major event, summit, or project. 

There’s no better way to enjoy a city than to eat your way around it.

     6. Higher Self-Esteem

Cooking activities have also been linked to greater self-esteem. This means a small ego boost that can leave your team feeling more confident and ready to absolutely crush any assignments or projects coming their way.

(Bonus): You get to eat delicious food! ‘Nuff said.

Culinary Team Building is Too Appetizing to Skip Out On

These numerous benefits to engaging in culinary team building activities make it all the more important for business owners to incorporate them into workplace. Between the physical benefits (a belly full of delicious food) and the mental benefits, there’s no reason for any savvy manager or supervisor to not take advantage of these hugely beneficial activities.

Want to find culinary team building near you? Check the Sidewalk Food Tours directory to book an event!