Tired of struggling with too many details that go into any team building activity such as learning, togetherness or having fun? Otao kitchen's team bonding is built to handle all those details and more. Whether your next event is virtual, in-person or a combination of both, we’ll make sure it runs smoothly from start to finish. 

Our chefs and event managers love what they do. These are people who understand both the art of team building cooking. Their genuine enthusiasm is infectious. They have the ability to inspire and engage, while fostering positive, authentic connections that will last long after your event is over.

• Selection. We have a dozen of cooking themes for you to cook, entertain, share and celebrate. Contact us helps you select a program to fit your goals, budget and calendar perfectly.
• Customising. There’s real power in strategically customising a team and work party event to fit with the business culture, staff inspiration and goal of your team event.
• Booking and planning. Your chef and host  organises event details for you so you can enjoy the event as well.
• Event Day! Your chef and host deliver the cooking event, engage your team, achieve your goals, and wrap things up with a strategic debrief.

Where We Do Team Bonding

We have a brand new 200m2 cooking studio in Abbotsford, Melbourne - just 3km from Melbourne CBD or virtually online. Otao kitchen’s greatest strength is that you join us in our kitchen so you can experience the real cooking. Many of our programs can be done at your office. Other times a nearby venue makes more sense. We’ve staged successful events at countless hotels, restaurants, convention centers, and theme parks across the globe.

For a Melbourne team to work effectively, it needs team players that communicate, support and collaborate with each other. While you can foster these qualities with time, it’s rare to find a team that work well together at the start. Collaboration has to be developed through group activities. 

If you’re looking up activities for team building, Melbourne team activities are packed with events and classes that will transform your team into a cohesive unit. Fun group activities in Melbourne offers include cooking classes, painting classes, and escape rooms. Your employees will develop friendships, create memories, and build trust, translating to productive, effective work units. 

This page covers why you should invest in team-building and lists some of the best team building activities in Melbourne has available to help you get started.

Importance of Team Building Cooking Activities

Team building cooking aims to create a fun and exciting environment where employees can interact while learning new skills. Throughout the cooking activity, they will learn about their strengths and weaknesses and develop the skills to work in harmony with each other. However, it would be best if your company didn’t rely on one-off corporate cooking events. Otao Kitchen hosts many cooking activities that allow your team to challenge themselves and build skills that will transfer to the workplace. 

Group Cooking Classes in Melbourne

A group cooking class is the perfect team outing. Melbourne is filled with foodies, so connecting your teammates with local chefs makes for a fun and exciting social kitchen escapade. 

You can stand beside your co-workers as you learn how to slice and dice and then celebrate the achievement with a delicious meal. Whether you’re looking for corporate summer outings or a more intimate setting, you can find new kitchen studio at Otao Kitchen for your employees to build trust and cooperation. Through group cooking classes, your team will:

• Bonding
• Creativity
• Cooking 

Virtual Classes for Team Building

As the world continually adapts to the “new normal,” remote work has become commonplace. While some may love being able to roll out of bed and have their office a few feet away, remote workers lose out on the relationships typically built through in-person communication. 

One way to alleviate this burden is through online group activities. If you’re setting up team building activities, Sydney or Melbourne doesn’t have to be the stage. You can perform these games from the comfort of your own home while still benefiting from the much-needed social interaction.

Corporate Group Outings in Melbourne

Corporate team-building exercises don’t have to be a nuisance. With a little planning and the right atmosphere, you can organise an activity that boosts morale while building camaraderie. 

If you’re trying to find the most memorable team building activities, Melbourne cooking school Otao Kitchen can deliver, nothing beats a group cooking course—and you can host online group activities. Otao Kitchen has a variety of classes that can appeal to any palate. Contact us today to book group cooking classes for your company.

Corporate teams around the work have embraced remote work and find a new way to collaborate. Team building is an important part of collaboration and bonding. Team building efforts are most effective when done regularly, and result in a caring and connected team. 

When it comes to remote working with teams, virtual team building is especially important. Since the intention to communicate and collaborate needs to be at the forefront of all remote initiatives, making sure that your team feels emotionally connected is a good place to start. 

REMOTE TEAM BUILDING AND BONDING

Speaking to your team member in person is easier when in person as you can give your attention, pick up on nonverbal cues, and build rapport via shared experiences.

However, choosing to get together in person as one team does come with some challenge. Assuming it’s safe to travel, airfare and accommodations can be pricey, and each flight will add about 0.5 metric tons of CO2 to your carbon footprint. 

Selecting remote meetings helps fill in the communication gaps during those technologically-challenging moments. Let's look at some icebreakers and quick virtual activities to help your team kick-off your next conference call on the same page.

The key here is to make team catch up with consistent, rather than a random bonding exercise. In the long run, your team will become more familiar with the idea of opening up to other team members through some fun virtual activities like cooking. 

Here are some quick and ongoing team building activities to implement in your team conference calls to keep work moving forward in a collaborative and connected light.

THE HAPPY HOUR TEAM BUILDING 

We will be cultivating a fun and imaginative atmosphere, making delicious food and drinks to share in this virtual team-building ‘happy hour’ demonstration class. Through an approachable back-to-the-basics style of cooking and hospitality, we empower people to connect and develop as a group. Our chef instructors have structured a fun, engaging, and interactive program using food and beverages as a vehicle for inspiring deeper connections. We provide a variety of food-based experiences like home cook-offs, cocktail workshops, cooking classes, contests, and challenges. You can choose any of the menu themes below.

ONLINE COOKING CLASSES 

In this online cooking class, your team members can cook, connect and celebrate together. This virtual cooking event can be hosted by our chef in Melbourne to the comfort of the participants' kitchen anywhere via Zoom. You choose the menu, we may change a little to reflect the timing and send you a list of ingredients, so your members can include them in their normal shopping. Our menu below has been customised to use your local supermarkets (Australia - Coles, and Woolworth) or (New Zealand - New World, Countdown).   We can modify recipes and ingredients to suit any dietary requirements. The virtual cooking events can range in duration from 1 to 2 hours and are for a minimum of 2 and a maximum of 40 Zoom connections. All you need is a laptop, tablet, or mobile phone, a functioning kitchen, and a few pantry basics. Check the ingredient list before booking classes in Dumpling Making, Street Food Asia, Vietnamese, Thai, Chinese, Indian, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean or Vegan 

ONLINE COOKING CLASS  WITH A MAGIC BOX OF INGREDIENTS DELIVERED AUS WIDE

Online cooking classes with our magic box of ingredients are the best activity to do with your team or clients? Perhaps an alternative to your end-of-year party or a gift? Live private cooking classes with Otao kitchen chefs are the perfect way to enjoy great food, learn new tricks, and get together when it's not so easy to physically get together. We'll deliver everything including some stool (no meat/seafood) so you and your guests need to cook along at home, so all that's left is to log on our Zoom, hone your cooking skills, eat delicious food, and have a great time. Generally, we need 7 working days to deliver your boxes to a metro city, and it will be more for regional cities and towns in Australia. The meals will be vegetarian, and we will include in your note if you want to have the option to add meats and seafood.  Check the menu here: The Ultimate Dumpling Making, Japanese Ramen Making Class, Authentic Pasta making Class, Cooking with Native Ingredients, Plus you can ask for our drink Victorian option.

Bringing corporate teams together is an important way for your business to thrive. Cooking and sharing is a great way to facilitate the bonding as it not only brings you out of your comfort zone, but gives you the chance to get to know other people in the business. There are many things to love about team cooking classes in Melbourne. It’s a great way to bond over the love of food and to learn things about other team member you didn’t know before. 

Team cooking events can help to solve issues in the team by providing a fun space to work together in a more casual way. It also allows for group interaction and team cohesion while discussing solutions, successes and challenges in the kitchen. Cooking team building classes can serve as a reward for all the hard work going on in the office and improve the team's overall communication skills.

It also strengthens bonds between staff and allows them to practice following instructions and the learning to adjust to any situation while increasing motivation. Sharing an experience can help workers come together in new ways they never thought possible. It allows for improved communication in the workplace and can be where friendships are formed and where skills are discovered. 

Whether you want to learn how to make Mexican cuisine, Korean food, Thai dishes, or you just want to have one big dumpling party for your teammates, Otao Kitchen is the place to do it. The classes run for two to four hours and are 100 percent hands on. Their team building sessions can be customised dependent on what kind of experience you're looking for, whether it's friendly competition or more relaxed teamwork. The classes are taught by professional chefs and can be held at their brand-new studio in Abbotsford or at a venue of your choice. 

Dumpling Party

Immerse yourself in Chinese food culture with this dumpling party making class. In this class, you’ll learn how to make your own dough from scratch, a tasty filling with your choice of protein: beef, pork, chicken or tofu, and a selection of decorative folds. 

The class experience will be guided by an expert chef, who will be teaching you all the finesse and skills to craft your own delicious handmade creations. Of course, the best part comes at the end. Eat to your hearts content, or take your creations home for your family or friends to enjoy. 

Learn more.

Street Food of Asia

This exploration of popular Asian Street Food will take you through four countries. Our well-traveled chef instructors will guide you through 4 diverse cooking traditions, spanning 4 lessons, which can be attended individually or as a package. In this hands-on class, you'll be navigated through preparing numerous beautiful and tasty morsels of food.  The street food of Asia has been crafted to teach you all the skills necessary for you to be able to prepare your own Asian finger foods at home, perhaps a perfect solution for your next party at home. Whether you're looking for new and creative ideas for your next dinner party, a unique date night, we offer an engaging and thoroughly convivial experience. 

Learn more

Pizza Making Party

Discover our secret recipe to the perfect stone-baked pizza! While you learn how to make Italian pizza dough from scratch, our staff will be on hand to help the drinks flowing and the party going. Then, get ready to throw some dough! Show off your best dough-tossing skills, as you compete against your mate in the ultimate #BiggerTosser #otaokitchen challenge. Once you’ve topped your pizza with your favourite Italian ingredients, we’ll place it in our new Gozney oven - cooking the pizzas @500.degree for 90 seconds. Now you want to take take the oven home - a la the authentic Neapolitan way! We cater for gluten-free, vegan and dairy-free pizza buddies. 

Learn more

Are you looking to plan an event that stands out from the rest? Do you want to make sure that your event goes off without a hitch? Look no further than this ultimate event planning guide. By starting with a clear understanding of your event's what and why, you can set a benchmark for success and ensure that every aspect of your event is optimised. Read on to discover how to plan an event perfectly.

1. Define Your Event's Goals and Objectives

The first and most critical step to planning any event is to establish clear goals and objectives. Before you start planning, ask yourself: why are you organizing this event, and what do you hope to achieve? Maybe you want to raise awareness for a particular cause or attract a specific number of attendees. Whatever your goals may be, make sure they are quantifiable, so it's easier to measure success. Knowing your objectives from the beginning can help you create an effective event plan and ensure that everything you do supports your ultimate ambitions.

2. Understand Your Audience

Once you have defined your goals and objectives, the next step is to understand your audience. Ask yourself: who are the people you want to attend your event? What are their needs, interests, and preferences? Knowing your audience will guide decisions around your event's date and time, location, type of activities, and speakers. For example, if your audience comprises mostly millennials, they may prefer an immersive event experience. On the other hand, if your target audience is corporate managers, they may require a different type of event.

3. Determine Revenue and Expenditure

Every event requires funding, and it's essential to determine the sources of revenue and expenditure. You can generate revenue from ticket sales, sponsorships, grants, company donations, or exhibition fees. When it comes to expenses, allocate funds for venue hire, activities, food and beverage, technology, speakers and entertainment, marketing and promotion, event styling, and travel. Make sure to set a realistic budget and consider all possible costs to avoid unexpected expenses.

4. Plan for Logistics

Planning for logistics is critical in ensuring that your event runs smoothly. Key logistics areas to consider include venue management, transportation, security, catering, and audio-visual equipment. When choosing a venue, make sure it's suitable for your event's size and requirements. Consider factors such as accessibility, parking, and accommodation options. Also, think about the location's ambiance and whether it is conducive to your attendees' overall experience.

5. Promote Your Event

Finally, promoting your event is a crucial element of a successful event plan. To maximize attendance, create a comprehensive marketing campaign that includes email marketing, social media, event listing sites, and PR outreach. Make sure to set up a dedicated event page on your website, which highlights the event's features and benefits. Leverage all the available marketing channels to create buzz and excitement around your event.

Conclusion: 

In conclusion, planning an event is an involved process that requires careful attention to detail and a comprehensive plan. By starting with a clear what and why, understanding your audience, determining revenue and expenditure, planning for logistics, and promoting your event, you can create an unforgettable experience that achieves your goals. Following this ultimate event planning guide will set you up for success and ensure that your event stands out from the rest.

Business events can't be just about work but have a bit of fun, building great relationships or thanking everyone for their work. And most companies will organise something along the lines of going out for dinner after a meeting or heading to the bar for few beers which are all fabulous, and do work wonders for morale. But have you ever wanted to do something a bit more unique event?