21 February: Not only is a passion for cookery igniting creative sparks in people from all walks of life, the parallels between professional kitchens and commercial business practices provide great opportunities for corporate teambuilding and incentives.
The award-winning Edinburgh New Town Cookery School (ENTCS) has responded to demand for teambuilding that goes beyond paintballing and survival courses with the launch of its 2014 corporate events programme. The courses are designed to bring people together in a competitive and creative environment, with something for everyone who enjoys food.
Working in a kitchen is the ultimate in team working. Getting the best out of a chef team is about ensuring each person achieves their potential and completes a task to the height of their ability to meet a common goal – the Holy Grail for any business.
ENTCS, run by Leiths School of Food and Wine former principal, Fiona Burrell, is already highly regarded as an accredited training ground for professional chefs and enthusiastic amateurs. The School has developed its corporate packages to bring out the best in participants through offering a chance to learn a real skill, in a professional kitchen with teachers who have trained chefs working in top UK restaurants.
Packages suitable for groups of eight to 32 range from basic cookery classes to delivering a three-course meal; making canapés, tapas or Asian street food; and include wine tastings and beer and food matching sessions.
Fiona Burrell enthuses: “I have seen corporate teams achieving great things during a short course and the participants leave energised and inspired. Not only do they take new-found team skills back to their companies and organisations, the fun they have had in learning them is, quite literally, the icing on the cake!”
Costs, which vary depending on numbers and duration of courses, range from £45 to £105 a head, excluding VAT. Courses can be tailored to requirement and clients can choose from a range of ENTCS merchandise to offer prizes for competitions or corporate gifts for participants. For more details go to www.entcs.co.uk,call 0131 226 4314 or email info@entcs.co.uk
