Everybody eats, so what better way to bring a group together than through food? Dining experiences, classes, tours, and other experiential sessions are a great way to bring the gang closer together via the magic of food.
While gathering around the table at one of our many local dining spots that are ideal for groups is a great start, the locations below have special experiences ready to go straight to your guests' hearts. After all, the fastest way to the heart is through the stomach!
Experience Chocolate at Seattle Chocolate
Local woman-owned Seattle Chocolate offers multiple experiences that are fantastic for groups. Firstly, the tasting experience has your attendees use all their five senses to take in the nuances of chocolate, encouraging your attendees to think differently about this sweet treat. This lesson can easily be translated back to the group, where a situation that might "normally" be thought of as only approachable from one direction (tasting chocolate) can actually be seen from many directions (tasting, seeing, touching, smelling, even hearing chocolate!). Next, the factory tour experience allows your group to see a chocolate factory at work (production happens Monday through Thursday, so plan accordingly), with every person on the factory floor playing their part to create the sweet final product. By special arrangement, your group can even craft their own custom candy bar, working together to make something really sweet.
Mead and Meetings at a Meadery
Turn your meeting into a mead-ing at Oppegaard Meadery, a traditional Viking-inspired meadery right here in Seattle Southside. Not familiar with mead, also known as honey wine? We've got you covered. Not only can your team do a mead tasting, awakening all of your team's senses with the experience of tasting this ancient and delicious beverage, but you can also do mead-making classes as a team to take the teambuilding a step further, crafting a bottle of mead as a team! They provide all the materials and lessons you need, plus guidance for the at-home portion, in which you wait on your mead to develop. While the final product may not be available the same day, this one is great for company retreats or other groups who want team bonding refreshers a few months down the road. While the mead has fermented, coming together to make this final product, how have we as a team come together? Toast your successes over a glass of your own mead!
If you'd rather stick to grape wine and not explore the world of mead, Bacovino is a local winery that offers tastings as well.
Pacific Northwest Farm-to-Table at Copperleaf
Copperleaf Restaurant located in Cedarbrook Lodge isn't your everyday hotel restaurant. The seasonally rotating dishes at this restaurant focus on local ingredients and experiences, ensuring the freshest eats and tastes that are perfect for the moment. They even have a small garden onsite where some of the herbs and vegetables are grown. You can arrange for more than just a meal by working with Copperleaf to create a team experience; perhaps creating a team menu that tells a story or having you team attempt to identify all of the key ingredients of a dish using their senses. Have the chef talk to them about sustainability or how their kitchen functions as a team. A meal can be much more when the food becomes a vehicle for learning. Copperleaf also regularly hosts pairing events with different wines and spirits to teach about how these drinks best pair with food, and a private version of these events can be held for your group
Lessons Around the Table at CuliNex
The meeting spaces at CuliNex can be arranged in an array of ways to make whatever culinary lesson you want to provide even easier. Whether you hire a chef working out of CuliNex's commissary kitchens to teach your group on how to make a dish or the history of a cuisine, or host a cookie decorating competition, the facilities at CuliNex are ideal for anything food related. Not only is the classroom a great fit for most events, but the kitchen space next door can be used for even more in-depth demonstrations.
Work with your Venue
If you already have a venue picked out, work with the venue's sales team to create something truly special for your event. The Museum of Flight, for example, works exclusively with McCormick & Schmick's for catering, with truly outstanding food and beverage selections providing incredible opportunities to come together over the table. Many hotels and venues will work with you to create a paired tasting menu as well based on what they have seasonally.
If you need guidance working with your venue or finding the ideal venue to work with, reach out to our team for help or visit MeetInSeattleSouthside.com to explore on your own. Our local event experts know all the ins and outs to make your culinary experience something your attendees will never forget!
