Meetings have a grand purpose — to elevate your business by educating and inspiring your team. This goal can be achieved with proper planning and deliberate execution. Sure, workshops, lectures, and talks are important but so is engagement. If your team engages with one another through interactive experiences, they are much more likely to grow together as a team. One such experience is through food and drink.
1. WINE TASTING
Shouldn’t every meeting start with a little wine? We agree! Wine tastings are a great way to help your staff relax and assists in opening communication in a casual setting. One more fun fact about wine tastings, it spans all ages and walks of life. Wine is a great equalizer and can help team members connect who don’t always have anything else in common.
At The Inn At Virginia Tech, we offer a customized wine tasting event specifically for meetings. The charming sommelier from Preston’s Restaurant takes time to explain the variances of particular wines including where they originate. The sommelier will also challenge the guests to detect subtle differences between wines as they sip and sample. Gourmet cheeses are also served to compliment the wine tasting process. It is a wonderful opportunity for guests to engage with one another in a relaxing environment.
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2. COOKING DEMO
Between lectures, invite your team to interact with one another while learning a new skill with awesome benefits — tasty food! Another equalizer, everyone likes to eat. They will master terms like ballotine, julienne, and anglaise while interactively learning a new skill. (A side perk to consider – this could really elevate the company potlucks after they complete this course – much to everyone’s benefit!)
3. COOK-OFF CHALLENGE
If your team loves the cooking demo, take it to the next level and include a cookoff challenge. Similar to the show Chopped, your group will be divided up into teams and given a mystery basket of ingredients. They are then challenged to whip up something wonderful within the parameters of the competition. It’s a wonderful time of hilarity and team building that adds immense value to the meeting as a whole.
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4. THEMED DINNER
Destination focused theme dinners are another fun and relaxing way to add value to your meeting while enhancing engagement and creating memories. From A Taste of Virginia to a Backyard Barbecue to a Mexican Fiesta, themed dinners are always enjoyed. Winding down from a long day of meetings during a relaxed dinner gives your team the opportunity to decompress and finalize any discussions before heading home. It also encourages everyone to wrap up any loose ends and ask questions, furthering the education portion of the event.
Create an event for your team that will encourage every attendee to grow relationally as well as professionally. This empowers your staff loyalty which gives your company an undeniable advantage for growth.
Give the team at The Inn at Virginia Tech a call today to talk about how you can put together an offsite meeting that will boost your company while maximizing your return on investment. Contact us here >>
