Activity · 2-3 hours
Indoor games day
An afternoon of carrom, chess, table tennis, board games, and card games that lets people from different teams mix and compete in a relaxed way.
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Team building
Cooking competition
Teams prepare a dish with a set theme or ingredient list and present it to judges - delicious teamwork in action.
- Duration
- 2-3 hours
- Group size
- 12-60 people
- Budget
- Medium ($11-$17 per person)
- How often
- Once or twice a year
Benefits
- Teaches planning, delegation, and communication under time pressure.
- A relaxed setting for people from different departments to bond.
- Everyone enjoys a shared meal at the end.
What you need
- A kitchen, pantry, or cooking stations with safe equipment (no open flames if unsafe).
- The same basket of ingredients and utensils for every team.
- Judges, a scoring sheet, aprons, hygiene supplies, and cleaning staff.
- Allergen information and vegetarian-only rules where needed.
How to run it - step by step
- 1
Announce the theme (healthy bowls, street food, desserts) and share the ingredient list.
- 2
Form teams and give each a station and the same basket.
- 3
Set a 45-minute cooking window with a clear hygiene briefing.
- 4
Teams plate and present their dish to the judges.
- 5
Judges score on taste, presentation, teamwork, and creativity; everyone eats together.
Variations
- No-cook challenge: salads, sandwiches, and smoothies.
- Home cook-off: employees cook at home and share photos and recipes.
- Family recipe round: each team recreates a recipe from a colleague’s family.
Mistakes to avoid
- Ignoring allergies, religious, and dietary needs.
- Unsafe equipment or too little supervision.
- No plan for cleaning up.
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