Julie Burke (www.tallorder.ca) : Blog

Ignorance is Not Bliss

Julie Burke — Tue, 08 May 2012 09:37:22 -0700

Ignorance

If we don’t know how to make something great, we simply won’t. If we don’t know that greatness is possible, we won’t bother attempting it. All too often, we literally do not know any better than good enough.

Culinary Teamwork practices in Calgary

Julie Burke — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 12:41:52 -0700

Culinary Teamwork is crucial to all managers. The cog in the wheel. What does teamwork put on the table?

1. Teamwork creates synergy where the sum is greater than the part
2. Teamwork gives each person a sense of autonomy and empowers which creates a more effective outcome
3. Teamwork can take on options for hierarchy
4. Teamwork can take on a more flexabile and responsive environment in change management
5. Teamwork motivates and celebrates

Culinary Teambuilding is a universal langusage. Building a connection with your team. Who are you in the kitchen? What role would you best play. Poaching pears (patience) or adding spice to a curry?

Love In The Kitchen - A Team Bonding Culinary Experience

Julie Burke — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 11:01:11 -0700

Imagine a night where never met couples come together to compete and collaborate over Crabs. Our culinary event was in Vancouver with a fully booked group of 10 couples that included newlyweds, online daters, newly divorced and a couple of empty nester's. A mixed bag of strangers to say the least. They knew when they signed up for this adventure that this wasn't a cooking class but rather a test of love in the kitchen with no knowledge of what they were getting into.Shellfish allergies weren't a concern so we knew they were safe from death.Their challenge was to see in 90 minutes, what they could do with a bucket full of crabs, a couple of lobsters, three large pots and two stoves for a feast. They also had to make fresh hollandaise.

With wine in hand, the planning began with heavy discussions and disagreements on HOW to KILL a crab humanly. The rules stated that only the ladies could take the crabs out of the bucket and onto the counter. Several poor crabs fell onto the floor creeping and crawling around, (like the Annie Hall scene in the kitchen) which led to several high pitched screams, laughter and some course language.The fun had begun.

The craziness was non stop with crab guts, water spilling, and eggs breaking. The scene was part relationship mayhem and part hell's kitchen. Hilarious! When all was done the mess was more than we expected but you could see the great sense of accomplishment and bragging rights of some as they sat down to a huge crab feast. We had such a great response that we plan to pitch this to singles and corporates alike.

Team Building Toronto Culinary Auction a Smash

Julie Burke — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 14:54:53 -0700

There's nothing better then getting kudos for a job that you put everything on the table for financially and otherwise. Or as one might add, a labour of love. We had an extraordinary evening with over 300 participants from the banking sector, auctioning off recipes and other culinary related activities like ice sculpting and culinary pitch skits. We held the event in a large ballroom and hired one of Toront's best cowboy auctioneers who had to learn on a dime how to pitch food.

We had the group broken into eight teams each with a team colored card.The most interesting part of the process was watching the interaction between the groups themselves. They didn't neccessarily want to agree on the same recipe. It proved to be why it all rolled out so well when our facilitators debriefed the next day during their morning session. We had the luxury of extra budget for all the goodies in video and sound production as well as a multitude of layered lighting on the stage and surrounding the room. Teambuilding for large crowds brings a whole new dimension to the production of a delivery to clients and can offer up so many unique options rather then the usual Iron Chef.

Culinary Team Building on a Shoestring

Julie Burke — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 11:41:04 -0700

If your team is planning an all day type meeting. Whatever the reason, some kind of team building should be on the 'must do' list. Culinary Team Building is one of the more exciting activities that provides an array of options in the kitchen. However, if the budget is tight and you want culinary, there are options to have your culinary team builder come to you at the office. It goes without saying that everyone gets fed no matter what but combining a few culinary activities that deliver's a fun and interactive experience is well money spent. The bottom line is choosing a culinary team builder who actually is skilled at facilitation and has an impact on developing a deeper understanding of your team dynamics.

In Vancouver, we offer several ice breakers and culinary tasks that can be combined with preparing spring rolls stuffed with crab and avocado, torching cream brulee or making the pineapple salsa for the halibut tacos. These activities can be anywhere from 15 minutes to 45 minutes at a cost range from $20-50 pperson. There's always a creative solution available.

Vancouver Breakfast Teambuilding

Julie Burke — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 10:52:16 -0700

Most of the time our smaller culinary corporate parties ultimately start and end up in the kitchen. Corporate and Conference planners alike are always on the lookout for something NEW and fresh. However, this means changing the habits of cooking in the evening to cooking in the morning.

We recently got an inquiry for ideas to connect a select group of lawyers that met annually flying in on a Sunday evening to Vancouver. The plan of attack was to start the day with a breakfast culinary team building activity. The team building was two hours in duration and only five minutes away from their hotel in downtown Vancouver. We welcomed our guests with a champagne mimosa and fresh pressed coffee to start. Once they rolled up their sleeves with apron in hand they jumped into action. There was two challenges to this breakfast. The first to master poaching an egg and making your own custom Eggs Benedict. The second challenge was making the perfect Hollanaise Sauce without it breaking. Lastly a group effort to prepare a selection of ingredients for the benedict including BC Smoked Salmon, Honey Ham, Arugala and more along with a huge fruit salad. We heard from our client later that there was ongoing boasting about who made the perfect benedict. How fun is that!

Corporate Culinary Team Building - Why The Soup Never Tastes The Same?

Julie Burke — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 18:37:54 -0700

The best example of how different divisional team dynamics can play out is in the preparation and tasting of soup. If we're judging the marketing team verses the IT team for best Carrot Ginger Soup, almost every time the final presentation and flavour profile is often miles apart. The marketing soup team rarely reads the recipe through and pays little or no attention to the finer details, but wings it anyway in taste and time. On the other hand, the IT soup team takes forever and a day to slice the carrots using up valuable time perfecting the vertical cut of each carrot slice. They too haven't read through the recipe in it's entirety and have lost sight and mind that the soup gets blended. So who cares?

When the other teams in the kitchen have their main entree and desserts ready to go it's interesting how few jump in to assist the soup groups. All hungry eyes are on the IT soup team with some back bencher remarks most of it humour but some in disbelief. It looks like vultures waiting for the kill. This culinary corporate activity serves up lessons about how we process and communicate with each other.
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Culinary Team Building-A level playing field between Management and their key staff

Julie Burke — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 10:25:44 -0700

I wanted to share an example of a corporate culinary team building program we delivered for a large construction business. We recommended the 'Too Many Cooks' program to serve the Executive Team's objective to build back respect and recognition to their construction foreman. There has been a number of miscommunications that started to have an impact on the effectiveness of the crews on the job. So it was time to get out of their work environment and be involved in a fun and informal interactive culinary activity.

Our Chef and Facilitator had the task of creating a level playing field. The program took place in downtown Vancouver with a group of twenty. Our ice breaker was the primary element in 'breaking the ice' and creating excitment in creating a meal.

We strategically designed the meal preparation and cooking execution by partnering up certain individuals together. For example, the CEO and the Head Foreman were tasked to scale, debone and prepare the salmon and the CFO made bread with the Director of Business Development.

Cooking is an expression for how we operate in the world. A refreshing exhibition of how team work builds trust and strenthens relationships.

Culinary Teambuilding is an exciting new concept that “raises the bar” using cooking as a vehicle for collaboration.

Kitchen Party-Black Box Wine Challenge in Vancouver and Calgary

Julie Burke — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 09:56:00 -0700

A Black Box Wine Challenge Kitchen Party should be high on your wish list for an evening with friends that appreciate the nuances of wine tasting. Tall Order Culinary Team Building offers up the best evening of a fun and competitive wine blending challenge. Our Sommelier arrives with the raw materials and asorted wines and the blending is left up to your guests for 'best blend'. Kitchen parties can be booked in both Vancouver and Calgary.

Vancouver Culinary Tasting Tours

Julie Burke — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 08:35:31 -0700

As the cherry blossoms open, it's a reminder to Conference Planners in Vancouver, B.C. that their busiest season is ahead. Culinary activities are a popular offering for delegates. Tall Order Culinary offers a unique culinary tasting tour at Granville Island in Vancouver where local farmers offer fresh picks of fresh rhubarb, beets and rainbow chard. If there's time in the day, additional tours include local Fraser Valley wineries in Langley, BC and Agricultural Tours. One of our favorites is a local mushroom farm that grows 'pink' oyster mushrooms. The grower has great stories to tell and offers guests to pick a basketful to taste sauteed with butter, garlic and chives.

5 Tips to Hire a Culinary Teambuilder

Julie Burke — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 11:40:00 -0700

The importance of giving leadership teams or attendees time to break way from the meeting material and to re energize or reload is an opportunity to interact informally in a cooking teambuilding activity in fun and carefree manner. Choosing a cooking teambuilding activity is advantagous both in having to feed the group and creating a 'safe' environment. The culinary program content is designed to interface with client's objective and messages to take home that produces results.

5 Tips for How to hire a Culinary Team-Building for Executive Teams and Conferences:

Who plans and Books a Teambuilding Program? Planning is typically done by a meeting planner, leader of the team, comittee or executive assistant.
Decide what you want the results to be. Make sure you take some time to communicate your objective to the culinary teambuilder.
Budgets – Based on your objective, be prepared to pay more for an authentic culinary teambuilder that will enrich the group's experience and give you long term results. Look carefully at the website, You-Tubes and Linked In. If your budget is low and doesn't include a meal there's plenty of other food games and activities that can be delivered.
Culinary Teambuilder Event Expertise - It's a bonus if your teambuilder has event experience. This especially is of value when you require assistance in researching interesting venues options and enhancements in foreign cities. Hiring a culinary teambuilding expert in their field that can travel is extremely important. Consistency and flexability in your final choice can make the difference between success or failure.
Define the roles prior and let the teams share their experiences – Always optional but one consideration to a cooking activity environment is tasking several teams with defined and undefined roles. An option to have a facilitator lead the culinary activity afterwards in a debrief is a toolbox full of data seeing clearly how the team collaborated, who communicated, leadership versus who didn't contribute.The proof is in the pudding.

Corporate Cooking Activities in Resort Towns in Alberta

Julie Burke — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 10:36:19 -0700

Fun cooking activities for corporations planning a strategy retreat or conference have plenty of exciting options when searching a fun and engaging team activity around food. In Alberta, there's a playground of ideas around exploring a unique culinary type team bonding activity. Calgary and Edmonton both offer kitchen spaces where we often deliver our popular program, Too Many Cooks, where cooking a four course meal is from start to finish.

If getting away from the city is the objective, then the world famous resort towns such as Kananaskis, Banff and Lake Louise is uaually what's explored.We're in the business of proposing fun interactive and unique team building activity programs that interface with each location. If the cooking activity is indoor or outdoors, we offer optional activities to clients like BBQ Spit Lamb Cooking Challenge, Wine Box Blending, Kitchen Fitness-Bootcamp, and our NEW! Culinary Amazing Race. The world is your .

Referral Partners

Julie Burke — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 16:17:59 -0700

Some team building companies in Canada share the wealth with their competition to respond to a client's request for a specific type of team building. In our case, culinary team building.Canadian Outback Adventures is one such company that supports our business across Canada with referrals they can't deliver themselves. One of our most recents contracts involved delivery culinary programs to their client across Canada. We travelled to Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa. We in turn would have no hesitation in sending business their way as well. If you can't practice what you preach, you breach your pitch to your client. For Tall Order Culinary it's all about what we can SOLVE for our clients.

Culinary Team Building Retreats - Foraging with your Team

Julie Burke — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 10:35:55 -0700

In the early spring we offer one of our favorite culinary team building programs, Foraging Organics for corporates looking to rereat away from their office. We tour and taste the best in their local market gathering up seasonal, local and fresh ingredients to prepare and cook with our team. There are no recipes so the organization of such a task takes leadership and direction along with a budget to stick to. The spring brings all sorts of incredible produce such as Rhubarb, Wild Nettles, and Yellow Beets. They must choose the seasonal seafood catch of the day.

Some markets for best foraging includes Granville Island Market, in Vancouver, Pike Place Market, in Seattle and St.Lawrence Market in Toronto. There isn't a market we can't find for our clients to embrace this amazing culinary experience that creates a sense of teamwork and connection.

The Culinary Scavenger Race for Team Building

Julie Burke — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 13:45:14 -0700

I wanted to share an amazing corporate team building challenge we've got rave reviews on. Our culinary scavenger hunt is a motivating and collaboritive tool that reaches deep down into what it's like to be creative and go outside your comfort zone. With a GPS in hand, teams of 10 have a checklist of culinary tasks they have to complete over a three hour period to find their final destination where the team BBQ is. The tasks are everchanging, depending on the city and the terrain. A few such challenges include a brief dip in a pool to reach the next clue inside an enclosed milk container or picking a basket full of strawberries. Drop us a line if you have any funky ideas. If we use an idea, we'll send you a case of smarties for being so smart!

Culinary Tasting Tours Abundance

Julie Burke — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 08:47:44 -0800

Conference Planners are always on the lookout for their clients for a fun and engaging culinary activity. A variety of culinary tours are a popular option, especially if it includes tasting. Our adventurous chef guided tours are an hour of tasting morsels of fish, teas, fruits and vegetables that are unique in nature and have a story to tell. We offer a variety of culinary tours in cities have a culinary leg up both in markets and culture like Granville Island Market in Vancouver, St. Lawence Market in Toronto and Pikes Market in Seattle are examples of some of the best out there.

First Nations Feasthouse a special treat for Corporate Culinary Retreats and Conferences

Julie Burke — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 10:01:27 -0800

We've had several clients request for a special and unique venue for their retreat or conference team building activity. Often the client leaves the planning to us in regards to booking the hotel and travel closeby to the team building venue. One of our venue options is an authentic First Nations Longhouse. We have several exclusive arrangements on the West Coast of British Columbia.The programs usually rolls out by gathering around a larger than life crackling fire outside the entrance to the longhouse. Once inside, the group will form a circle and experience an authentic welcome dance using the traditional burning sage that is waved over each individual to clear their minds and calm the mind.

With wine in hand we create small groups and spend the evening bending the final shape of traditional bent boxes, BBQing Wild Salmon, making bannock bread, and shuking fresh oysters. We call this program First Nations Connect.

This type of custom culinary teambuilding comes with a higher price tag, but our clients feedback says the value is more than they expected as it laid out the foundation for openess amongst the team. Other valuable insights noted is a better sense of trust in context to the bigger picture and the strenghening of the team dynamics.

Kitchen Parties a Blast!

Julie Burke — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 09:50:50 -0800

How many times does your party end up in the kitchen? Kitchen parties are now the norm for socializing with friends. When your looking for something unique there's nothing like interactive cooking. Making appetizers is our most popular and wine and cheese pairing. It a form of culinary teambuilding where you think you know your friends until they take control over how chicken needs to be BBQ'd. I had a friend who I never knew cooked. He's single and so I just assumed. That was a mistake.
He got in the kitchen and was stressing outwardly about how others were preparing. This was an eye opener for me around him. It's a great place to have kitchen party for a singles event for all those reasons. Peel me a grape and you'll see why.

Corporate Culinary Retreat in Banff

Julie Burke — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 11:39:06 -0800

A culinary retreat event we did in Banff, Alberta had our clients in a BBQ challenge. Their task were to produce a meal for the other team of 100 with a table of ingredients including lamb, ingredients for cornbread, chili and chocolate. This culinary teambuilding concept has been delivered in Calgary, Whistler, Phoenix and Los Angeles. A big WOW factor for conference organizers.

Calgary and Edmonton Culinary Team Building

Julie Burke — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 09:21:04 -0800

In Alberta, the culinary teambuilding business is rocking. Tall Order Culinary have clients in Calgary and Edmonton who are working on a joint venture project. How do the group dynamics play out?

The social process by which people interact and behave in a group environment is called group

dynamics. Group dynamics involves the influence of personality, power, and behaviour on the

group process. Is the relationship between individuals conducive to achieving the groups goals?

The social process by which people interact and behave in a group environment involves the influence of personality, power, and behaviour between two teams from different corporate cultures. Is the relationship between all the individuals conducive to achieving the groups goals?

Often the collaborative efforts goes off the rails. In order for two companies to stay on the same page, the most effective activity to engage in is interactive culinary team building program that has a reputation for delivering on the clients objective. Tall Order has delivered several half cooking programs that address the immediate issues at hand. The informal fun environment build stronger relationships.