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Customer Experience Survey

We have conducted a customer survey, asking our recent clients about their experience at Social Cooking and our team building events. We were thrilled with the results, which have completely surpassed our expectations, and wanted to share them.We’ve included charts below, but key findings from this survey were:84% of our customers described Social Cooking team building experiences as “Excellent”81% found the quality of our chefs and staff to be “Excellent”83% described our customer ser...

Visit Anaheim visit Social Cooking

Visit Anaheim, Delta Airlines and supporting Anaheim partners hosted a trade event at Social Cooking in February. The Masterchef event for a group of 44 guests, featured food to fit the theme. America meets New Zealand!Social Cooking creates many bespoke client hosting events for our customers, designed to create positive interactions over food, in an informal environment. If this kind of event is of interest to you, please contact Alina to learn more about hosting your customers at Social Cooki...

Team Building in Taupo

Social Cooking really can host events any where in New Zealand! We were so fortunate this summer to be invited to Wairakei School to host a Banquet Challenge as part of their teacher only day.We packed up all our equipment, and our team drove to Taupo to host this wonderful team building event. The teaching staff were wonderful hosts, and the school hall was a brilliant venue. We just needed to take some portable cookers, pots and pans, utensils, and of course ingredients! The Wairakei team...

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Matariki Masterchef

Matariki is a time for people to come together, to reflect, share food and tell stories. The festival is a celebration of connection, cooking and creativity. And, that is exactly what we offer at Social Cooking.Join us this Matariki and bring your team together with our Matariki themed Masterchef. Our team building events are designed to bring out the creativity and collaboration of your team, while making sure that everyone has a great time. Our Matariki themed Masterchef events are perfec...

Short & Sharp Canape Challenge

Our Short & Sharp Challenges are now better than ever! We’ve added a new 2 hour format - the Short & Sharp Canapé Challenge.Canapés are a perfect creation for either morning or afternoon tea-timed team building events. If you’re short on time, or looking for a quick addition to a business planning day, this format could be ideal.Select up to 4 delicious canapé recipesWork with your team to re-create these recipesPlate up for the group to shareThe best dish judged by our chefAll ou...

Premium Wellington Events

Courtney Creative is our premium "off site" venue for groups looking for something a little bit special.Located centrally, in Wellington's CBD, Courtney Creative is housed in the old National Bank building, built in 1926. This is a gorgeous venue, with high stud, chandeliers, stained glass windows and original building features.This venue is right next door to The Library, one of Wellington's best known and quirkiest bars. A great spot for a post event cocktail!Contact us today to learn more abo...

Five Stars. Our Customer Reviews

We are so lucky at Social Cooking to have some amazing customers! We love hosting groups in Auckland, Wellington and throughout New Zealand, and fortunately for us, they seem to love us too!Or at least, that's what their reviews say! You can read reviews that our clients have sent directly to us here, but we thought this short video would be a great way for you to read the reviews left on Google.All five star of course! There's a whole lot more that we couldn't include, so feel free to head to o...

Wellington Venue

Miramar Bowling Club is "home base" for Social Cooking in Wellington. This is a old school, feel good location, just a short drive from the Wellington CBD.This is a generously sized venue, offering parking and is fully licensed. Should you wish to hold a pre-event meeting or conference, Miramar Bowling Club can provide everything you need - from an AV system to a whiteboard.And it wouldn't be a bowling club without bowls!Contact us today to learn more about this fantastic venue. Venue detai...

Auckland Pride and Ivanna Drink!

We're thrilled to announce our latest collaboration with one of Auckland's most sensational drag queens, Ivanna Drink. To celebrate the Auckland Pride Festival 2023, Ivanna will be joining us to host our newest event format, Drag Masterchef!Throughout Pride month (February 2023), Ivanna will be available on request to host your next team building event. "Ivanna Drink is a recognisable face on Auckland’s Karangahape Road, often found at Caluzzi Cabaret as resident Emcee and Showgirl. Her d...

Meet Raechel Ford, ICC Academy Coach

Raechel is a coach at the ICC Academy. She has been working for ICC for over 12 years delivering training and coaching. Along with being a ICC coach Raechel runs her own staff training program that has been curated to deliver the most effective results. With years of experience and extensive knowledge Raechel delivers her lessons in a way that can be easily understood and applied by her students. Social Cooking are thrilled to announce that we are working collaboratively with Raechel and the ICC...

Experience Christmas at Social Cooking - Video

Ever wondered what a Christmas challenge is like at Social Cooking?  We have a wide range of Christmas challenges that you can choose from. We have:  Christmas Masterchef ChallengeShort and Sharp XmasChristmas Mystery BoxChristmas Banquet Choose one of the Christmas challenges to end your teams year on a positive note.   Watch the video below for more information, or contact us today. ...

Our Team - Sudeshna Nayyar, Marketing

Sudeshna is in charge of Marketing here at social cooking. She makes sure our media is up-to-date and our audiences are in the know about what is happening here in social cooking.  What did you last cook?   SN: I love to bake so the last thing that I whipped up in the kitchen was a carrot cake. I have been baking for many years, through trial and error I was able to perfect my very own carrot cake recipe which never fails to impress.   What makes a good team building event?&n...

We have a new premise!

After 10 years of living in Nelson St, Social Cooking has moved to a fresh new premise! You can now find us at 79a St Georges Bay Road in Auckland’s Parnell. We’ll be offering the same team building formats you all know and love, but with more space and more light. The location is still central, but more accessible to parking, with a fresh modern, industrial feel.To reach our new premise, head to Google Maps and search Social Cooking. We’ve dropped a pin on our new prem...

Our Team – Alina Bista, Sales Manager

When you, or a member of your team contact Social Cooking about an event, Alina Bista is the beautiful voice on the end of the phone. Alina has a wonderfully warm personality, is eternally positive and helpful, and is an essential team member. Our events just wouldn’t be the same without her!Today we’re asking our Sales Manager, Alina Bista, what makes her tick.What did you last cook?Alina: Miso Ramen soup. I am a big fan of noodles, and nothing beats a warm bowl of noodle soup on a cold Sun...

Our Team – Katrina Horton, Owner

We thought it was time for you to learn a bit more about our team, who they are, what they like, what they eat.Today we’re asking our owner and Managing Director, Katrina Horton, what makes her tick.What did you last cook? KH: Pad Thai. It was Sunday night, and the food stocks were running low. I knew I had chicken thighs and prawns in the freezer, some wilted broccoli and cabbage, rice noodles. But no spring onions, so had to use red onions, and no palm sugar, so subbed in brown. It was a bit...

Matariki Inspiration

It's our newest public holiday, finally one with local flavour. Matariki commemorates the arrival of the Pleiades in our night skies, and marks the winter solstice. It is also a time for communities to come together and celebrate. When we thought about Matariki, we realised that our knowledge of what this holiday actually means is patchy at best. So we hunted out this short video from Eat New Zealand, which explains the importance of food to this celebration, providing a bit of inspiration!...

Join us for Team Building, Wellington!

We’re finally back Wellington! Social Cooking now has pop up venues available for us to host our unique Masterchef style team building challenges at either Miramar Bowling Club, or in Wellington’s CBD!Social Cooking has been under new ownership since 2019, and a new team means a better, more professional experience every time. We’ve streamlined our team building experiences, invested in new equipment, hired new staff and given everything a polish. Wellington is looking better than ever!We ...

Staff still WFH? How about a hybrid event?!

As we move into a new phase of the pandemic, workplaces are moving to a hybrid work model. Some staff WFH, some work in the office, some are a combination of both. So we’ve joined the hybrid trend, with a new hybrid event.We introduced Digital events in 2020, which have proven popular with our guests. Many clients still prefer to bring their teams together in person at our premises in Auckland. Then a few weeks ago we had a request to host a team building experience that combined the...

Organizing a team event? Look behind the scene

One would think you simply start with a date, venue, food menu and an activity of some sort! Done. Well, there’s much more that goes on behind the scene.While some organizers will have clear picture of what they want for their team, many will just start with a generic statement – let’s see what’s available in the market. (BTW, if you’re reading this you’re already at the right market place)Sadly, shopping for ideas is not as easy as general online shopping. You’ll want somethi...

How to build the perfect team

How do you build the perfect team? According to Google’s Project Aristotle, culture is key.This video from Tech Insider gives a succinct insight into how a perfect team is produced. Charles Duhigg, journalist and author of “Smarter Faster Better,” explains the insights he gathered while spending time with Google’s Project Aristotle, a research team assembled to analyze how teams work....

Why team building cooking challenges work

Food has always had a reputation for bringing people together. We celebrate over food, grieve over food, obsess over food! Food is at the centre of all the major events in our lives, weddings, funerals, Christmas, birthdays, you name it, we cook and eat with others. So what about our professional lives? Can team building cooking challenges bring our work people together?Why yes. Yes, they can. And very effectively too! Team building events with cooking at the centre can build creativity, encoura...

It's time to book your Christmas Party Auckland!

Have you booked your Christmas party, Auckland? We know it’s another odd year, it’s hard to plan too far ahead, but imagine if you missed out! Our advice would be to start planning your Christmas event now.We are ready and waiting to take bookings for your Christmas party. We’ve already received bookings for some key dates, so get in touch to see what we have available. Here’s what you need to know:We’re able to host three groups per day at our central Auckland venue.Event start times ...

Perfect Burgers – How to Make them

It seems simple to make perfect burgers. After all, how hard can it be? Anyone who eats burgers regularly knows there is a vast difference between good and bad. It’s often hard to put your finger on exactly why a burger works or doesn’t. Is it the burger patty? Is it the bun? Are there too many fillings or not enough? Too much sauce or not enough?Sometimes it pays to go back to the basics.The late, great chef, Anthony Bourdain (RIP), writes at length in his book Appetites – A Cookbook...

Corporate Team Events – Short & Sharp Challenges

The Event Format Your group will be split into teams vying for the champions title, competing in a culinary challenge that relies on teamwork and creativity. Pretty similar to our other challenges, but you're in and out in about 2 hours.Choose from the following themes:Burger ChallengePizza Challenge (available in Auckland only)Dumpling ChallengeRisotto ChallengeDessert ChallengeGuests are split into teams, who then choose their fresh ingredients from our pantry of high quality, locally sourced ...