What better way to a person’s heart, than through their stomach?
Food-tasting events at work are soaring in popularity, and it’s not hard to see why. They’re a fantastic way to improve team building and to help staff form new bonds.
We’ve got 27 food-tasting event ideas below, with a little something to please everyone.
We hope you aren’t too hungry as you’re reading this, now let’s dive in!
Why use a food-tasting event during a team retreat?
Organizing a teambuilding retreat raises teamwork in the company to new heights. Teambuilding retreats provide the perfect balance between productive group work and recreational relaxation, all while in an unforgettable location.
This is where food-tasting events come into play. At a food-tasting event, the focus isn’t on cooking the food itself, but on enjoying the food presented to you. Tasks like prepping and baking are done beforehand by organizers, teams just enjoy the fruits of the labor!
These events kickstart great conversations between team members and break the ice faster than you can ask the chef for seconds!
27 food tasting events to try on a retreat
So here’s our list of the best experiences available for your teams, all revolving around food.
Oh, and we’ve topped our list off with virtual-friendly food-tasting events too, so everything’s covered!
In-person food tasting events
These events are perfect for in-person team building. Take the whole day with your teams to appreciate the delicacies on offer!
1. Pizza toppings for days
We’ve got to start our list off with the world’s most-loved food. Pizza is the perfect instigator for starting conversations and building friendships due to the endless toppings you can have. A day out building your own pizza with distinct cheeses and selected meats is a fantastic choice (Just so you know, we think pineapple belongs on pizza!).
2. Olive oil and balsamic experience
A distinct experience celebrating olive oils, balsamic vinegar provides a fantastic food-tasting experience. Olive oil has a fascinating history and an incredible amount of effort goes into its production. On top of that, it just pairs perfectly with freshly made artisanal bread, shellfish, and summer veggies. Balsamic vinegar also deserves some love!
3. Pasta and wine-making class
Continuing our appreciation for Italian cuisine, a pasta and wine-making class is a superb choice for teambuilding. We all know the artistry that goes into fresh pasta making, and we’re always blown away when other people make it for us. So why not take the opportunity to combine pizza and pasta making and spread the love? Great choice.
4. Hummus and dip-making classes
More love for dips now. The Middle East has celebrated hummus for centuries, and tasting it lets you know why. Hummus is loved around the world for its sumptuous texture and nutritional properties. Chickpeas are the main ingredient, but there are enough variations to have a fantastic hummus-making experience with your teams. Pesto making is a great choice too!
5. St Paddy’s Irish hot chocolate-making
Who doesn’t love a hot, comforting cup of cocoa? Celebrate the Irish spirit with an Irish hot chocolate-making experience. Rich cocoa blends mix splendidly with a dash of Irish cream. Cinnamon and orange blends work well too. A day out with your teams celebrating the patron saint of Ireland will go down a treat. Sláinte!
6. A hot chili showdown
Heat things up with a day dedicated to Mexican chili. Everyone loves fresh chili con carne, but the real joy is in the toppings! Diced onions, sour cream, grated cheese, saltine crackers, pork tamales, and tortilla chips are sure to please everyone! Just be careful of how many chilies you add!
7. Food truckin’
Food trucks and stalls have become big business over the past few years, from pop-up stalls to tortilla kitchens on wheels. Food trucks promote the spirit of independence; as long as you have a heat source and ingredients, you can sell wherever you like! Going out for a team lunch with exciting new dishes from a food truck is a great way to spend the afternoon.
8. Dining in the dark
For a unique team-building experience, try "dining in the dark." Group dinners work fantastically for team building. For this activity, Diners are blindfolded, heightening their senses to appreciate the aromas and textures of each dish. The menu can include anything from soups and soufflés. Find a new appreciation for the night’s culinary delights!
9. Sensuous salsa making
Spice up the day with a session of sensuous salsa-making. Salsa traces back to early Latin American civilizations. The colors, smells, zest, and vibrancy are sure to get everyone excited. Your teams can make it as hot or mild as they like, and making it from scratch gives it a personalized feel. It’s a real hands-on experience that’s hopefully as fiery as your dance moves! Stir up some fun with this one!
10. Group mixology
Dedicated group mixology classes let your team members step into the shoes of cocktail (or mocktail) masters. There are more steps involved in cocktail-making than most people realize. Your teams will learn all the steps needed for classic cocktails, from a Whiskey Highball to an Old Fashioned. There are countless options for non-drinkers too, with vibrant blends of fruit juice and spice syrups. Cheers to mixing!
11. Happy appetizers
We feel appetizers are an often-overlooked aspect of a great meal. Take a day to celebrate miniature culinary delights with an appetizer-tasting event. Traditional Western appetizers of bread and accompanying cheeses, deli meats and dips go down a treat. Alternatively, go international and find appetizers from around the world, like Chinese dumplings and Indian samosas.
Don’t overlook the smaller things in life, share some love for appetizers with your teams for a fantastic culinary experience!
12. Fancy fondant decorating
Cakes have been used for centuries for every kind of celebration. Birthday and wedding cakes are often decorated with elegant fondant designs, so why not indulge in fondant cake decorating?
Provide stencils, templates, and ideas for your teams, or simply let them use the fondant to decorate in their own way. This experience comes with countless delicious add-ons, like sugar flowers, sprinkles and edible glitters.
Get your glamor and glitz on, with fondant decorating. Oh, and please save a slice for us!
13. The art of ice cream making
Continuing our sweet recommendations, an ice cream-making experience is a wonderful way to spend a day with your teams. Your team members will be learning the key concepts of ice cream making, like chemistry, emulsion, and phases of matter (though there’s no homework needed for these scientific topics!)
You probably won’t be able to take the remaining leftovers home before they melt, so enjoy the moment. Countless ice cream flavors, from white chocolate and blueberry to rum-n-raisin. Keep your teams sweet and solidify team bonds with an ice-cream-making experience.
14. Team chocolatier
A luxury chocolatier experience is another satisfyingly sweet way to bring team members together. Artisanal chocolate experts craft sumptuous balls of chocolate with more flavors than we can list. The expert chocolate-making experience stays with your team members long after it’s finished.
The craft of chocolate-making involves skill and ingredients from around the world. Create a day to remember with an artisanal chocolatier experience. Just be sure to keep any leftovers from melting on the way home!
15. Sumptuous coffee-making morning
For millions of people, a cup of their favorite coffee is the ultimate way to start the day. People love the simplicity of brewing a cup, but there’s also a lot of love, care and consideration that goes into artisanal coffee making. This could be the perfect chance for a fabulous office breakfast idea.
Some people like their coffee simple, but complex flavor profiles that measure aroma, sweetness and acidity await the more adventurous caffeine sippers. Start the morning right with an experience that compliments a love for coffee!
16. Just desserts
Desserts have so much variety and complexity waiting to be explored with a “just desserts” experience. A teambuilding day out making desserts will satisfy employees with a sweet tooth. Organizers take care of the complex baking process, and your teams could be creating sweet treats like smooth, creamy custards and aromatic tiramisu.
The level of dedication and experience needed for advanced dessert-making is best left to the professionals. All you and your teams have to do is sit back, mix ingredients, and enjoy the ride! Spend a day creating “just desserts” and your teams will thank you for it.
17. Donut decoration
Our final recommendation in the sweet treat category is a donut decorating experience to remember. Who doesn’t love a donut? Expert bakers provide fresh, fluffy balls of dough, and it’s up to your teams on how they want them decorated.
Keep it simple with strawberry and vanilla frosting, or get creative with more adventurous ingredients like cinnamon powder, coconut shaving and chopped candies. Kickstart team bonding that revolves around hole-y donuts, and save some for your loved ones too.
18. Pancakes of every variety!
Pancake making is an ancient tradition in many countries. The U.S. favors thick, fluffy pancakes, and Europe opts for thinner ones. European pancakes are often stuffed or wrapped around ingredients like ice cream and sprinkles, with sugar and lemon.
There are countless ways to design the perfect pancake. From blueberry fondant to crispy bacon, everyone has their own personal preference. So celebrate diverse flavors and bring everyone to a pancake-tasting experience they won’t forget.
19. Pub grub tour
Many are familiar with the classic pub crawl, but what about a tour focused not on the drinks, but on delicious pub grub?
Staple classics like steak and kidney pie, bangers and mash, and fish and chips await. Scout out local pub menus near you and organize a pub grub tour. Alcohol is of course totally optional. Explore your surroundings and divulge in pub grub to your heart’s content!
Virtual team-friendly food-tasting events
Food-tasting experiences have traditionally been used for teams to meet in person. But this doesn’t mean that virtual teams can’t join in the fun. Many companies offer food-tasting experience boxes with worldwide shipping.
Send some appreciation to your remote workers and indulge in a food-tasting experience box in a virtual setting. We know they’ll thank you for it!
20. Dive into a cheeseboard
Cheese is a food that’s been loved around the world for centuries. Did you know that there are in fact more than 2,000 varieties of cheese?
A delicious box of assorted cheeses, complete with crackers and biscuits, could be a fabulous way to bring people together. A mini-cheese tasting experience has something for everyone. Organize and post boxes for your teams, and just be mindful of the best before and expiration dates of all contents.
21. Around the world in 80 snacks
Remote teams often include employees from different parts of the world, and local snacks work perfectly for food question icrebreakers.
Do a little research on the most popular snacks in the countries where your team members are from. You could go the extra step and organize it yourself, though importing might be costly. Create an international box of treats and ship them out to remote workers. Enjoy the flavors!
22. Cookies like Grandma makes
Cookies are something most of us grew up eating. Maybe grandma baked them for you, or your local cookie specialist sold your favorite flavor (white chocolate and raspberry is ours). Well, how about a food-tasting experience that celebrates the wonderful world of cookies?
All you have to do is ship boxes of mixed-flavor cookies to your teams, and away you go! They’ll be reminiscing about childhood cookies in no time!
23. At-home pizza-making kit
Home pizza-making kits are a fun and popular team activity. With premium dough, boards, and rollers, teams can prep their favorite toppings and roll out the dough together during a virtual session.
Finish crafting, stick them in the oven and photograph the results as a group. This is a great experience to bring teams together through a love of all things cheesy!
24. Hot chocolate home kits
Here’s a great virtual food event that will have your teams building new bonds. A comforting cup of hot chocolate feels like a warm hug in a mug. Home kits for specialist hot chocolates are massively popular now, so create a comforting atmosphere with a group session where everyone brews their own cup.
25. Artisanal chocolate boxes
Another great way of bringing virtual teams together is with a sumptuous box of artisanal chocolate. Unpacking small wooden boxes filled with a few beautifully decorated chocolates sends such a positive signal to your teams. They’ll be discussing which one is their favorite in no time!
26. Savor the season: Holiday-tasting experience
Around the holiday times, a virtual tasting experience is a magical way to bring people together. Many people really appreciate team building when festivities are upon us. Christmas, easter and Halloween treats work well, or ask your virtual employees which festivities they celebrate, and with which foods. Perfect for international ice-breaker sessions!
27. Virtual charcuterie board workshop
Our final recommendation for a virtual-friendly tasting experience is a fabulous charcuterie board. A lot of effort goes into designing sumptuous charcuterie boards, so a workshop led by an expert can really make a difference. Cheese, meats, and fruits all complement one another in these bundles of joy. Try it out with your virtual teams!
Integrate food-tasting experiences with an unforgettable team retreat!
We all know that food brings people together, but the ultimate way of forging bonds in your teams is by bringing everyone on a team-building retreat.
Here at Surf Office, we’ve organized food-tasting events in multiple locations, including:
- A touch of sun-kissed goodness with a food tour in Porto.
- Experience European delicacies with our food and drink tour of Krakow.
- Trying out unique and exquisite food and drink pairings with wine tasting in Seoul.
Combining these experiences with a team-building retreat creates unforgettable memories. Here’s what we offer:
- Stress-free transfers? We got you! ✅
- Quality-assured accommodations? Check! ✅
- Engaging team-building activities? Our speciality ✅
- Restaurant reservations? That's on us! ✅
- Expert retreat planning assistance? Of course, we have this covered! ✅
- Onsite support, tailored to your needs? Absolutely ✅
Not only this but we also have access to 160+ locations around Europe, APAC, the US, Latin America, and now Africa, meaning the sky is your limit when it comes to choosing the right location for you and your team.
Let us integrate food-tasting experiences into a team-building retreat for you. Spaces are very limited, so get in touch now!
