Category News & Events

Parties That Cook’s Corporate Holiday Party Round Up: Early November

I know it’s been a while since we’ve taken a peek at our corporate events. Time to get back to the grind, and have some fun reminiscing about holiday cooking parties! We’re going to pick up right about where we left off: Early November. We had quite the start, with 26 corporate team building events in the first couple of weeks. Seems like Christmas came early this year!

On November 2nd, Indiana University‘s Kelley School of Business opted to host a Small Plates event in the San Francisco venue, Cookhouse. Indiana University host, Christine Z., is no stranger to Parties That Cook events – she’s hosted three over the past three years! Why does Christine keep coming back? “Great customer service and they’re easy to work with.” Sounds good to me! She noted that she thought this event was successful because of the laid back atmosphere (no wonder they keep picking Sumptuous Small Plates events!).

A couple of days later, on November 4th, Broadcom host Melissa D. wanted to push her team out of their comfort zone, and give them something they wouldn’t be used to. With a Cupcake Wars baking competition, boy did she accomplish her goals! Lead Chef Carolyn reported that though the 32 men in this group were a little hesitant at first, it didn’t take long for them to get into it. She added that they had a lot of fun and got very creative. And from the photos (some pictured here), you would think these were professional bakers! It can’t get any better than a perfect score on our post-event survey!

That same day, a group from the Hewlett Foundation participated in a Chef’s Table group cooking event. Host Christine T. explains, “I had never done a cooking class with a group before this, so I was a little nervous about how it would work – turned out great! It was lots of fun, food was great. I’d say it was definitely a success!” She knew she wanted to host a hands-on cooking event, and went with Parties That Cook after seeing our reviews. She added that “The food was so good! Maybe too good… We were completely stuffed by the end!” Still, I must say thanks for taking that leap of faith, Christine! I’m glad we delivered “A positive experience, from beginning to end.”

The third and final event of the day was held in a gorgeous private home with Align Technology, Inc. Host Tina B. opted for a Chef’s Table after deciding that Parties That Cook had the “best of what [she] saw both in terms of referrals and online menus.” After the event, she commented that the event “was very successful. We had a lot of fun and the team was great. The chef was perfect.” Nicely done, Scott! It’s great to hear that we live up to expectations!

Rounding out this blog post, we have a Chicago Kitchen Challenge event for Pepsi Co. Host Linda B. actually found us by searching the internet for “team building events“! LOVE IT. According to all-star Lead Chef Heidi, “Clients loved it! The host, Linda, must’ve said a dozen times, ‘this is awesome’. She was happy with the party from the moment that they arrived, and all the guests were thrilled at the end of the night.” Linda herself echoed the report, saying, “The night was great everything exceeded our expectations. Heidi and the team were awesome leaders. The event was successful because of their leadership but also because we all came to have fun.” Fantastic!

If you would like to see your event featured in a Parties That Cook blog, let us know! We’d be delighted to whip up something about your event for your company newsletter or team email!

Happy Holidays!

Parties That Cook’s Fall Event Recap: Cooking Up Teamwork Outside the Office

It’s that time of the week again: Time to reflect on some of our fun events in recent Parties That Cook history. From traditional Sumptuous Small Plates events to full blown Executive Kitchen Challenges, this post features some of the latest and greatest of our corporate team building events!

First, we’ll finish off September with a fun Chicago event. ADM hosted a Small Plates event on the 29th, and from what we’ve heard, the dishes were all a hit! Chef Molly reported that all the recipes turned out great. This “fantastic” group was very energetic and very competitive. Molly added, “Everyone got into every aspect and had a great time. In the end, at least 7 different people told me that this was the best team event they had ever done.” Fantastic! The ADM host, Lori, commented, “Nothing could have made it more enjoyable… It was well organized, clean and a totally different experience.” She even made sure to note the impact Chef Molly (and her personality) had on the success of the event!

Near the end of October’s first week, Chef Irfan led MAP Pharmaceuticals in a Small Plates event, as well. Chef Irfan believed it was a great menu, and received plenty of positive feedback on the recipes from the guests. Who wouldn’t love a menu with Sweet Potato Pancakes, Hot Crab Dip with Soft Pretzels, and Mini Apple, Roquefort and Onion Pies?? MAP Pharma host, Trudi, thought Irfan was fun and insightful, and said the PTC team was “knowledgeable and made us all feel like we were learning something at the same time that we made delicious food.” Not too shabby for an outing when your team can “see each other in a different setting without talking about work.” (Trudi thought this was the best part about the event!) Great job, team!

A week later, SVB decided to customize things a bit. Chef Scott led this Sumptuous Small Plates event with an added “challenge” component, and the guests really got into it! SVB host, Namita, said the best part was the presentation of the plates after the cooking. She added that she thought Chef Scott was a great teacher, and even said, “The event was successful because we had our head and sous chefs helping us. We may have had disasters otherwise.” We’d never let that happen, Namita!

To round things out, Kaiser hosted an Executive Kitchen Challenge – professional business coach and all! Second-time Kaiser host, Celina, wanted an opportunity for staff to become better acquainted with peers outside the work setting. As you can see, things got a little intense when blindfolds were brought into the equation (talk about a need for good communication skills!).

After the event, Celina reported that the event was successful because everyone was engaged in the team building activities and there was excellent facilitation by our event staff. Jed thought our usual Executive Kitchen Challenge facilitator/business coach, Starla, was “on her game”. Celina added, “Jed is awesome! He makes the event lots of fun and also provides a learning opportunity. Heather (the Sous Chef) was very encouraging and provided guidance but encouraged us to make our own decisions.” Great job, PTC Team!

If you would like to see your event featured in one of our Event Blogs, let us know!
We hope to see you in the kitchen soon!