The Challenge

Dannon High Health Group
Marketing Department
Jeanmarie Marone, Assistant

This marketing group of 20 is charged with promoting Dannon yogurt products with specific health benefits. They are always looking for fresh ideas and ways to tell the Dannon story in new and compelling ways. After participating in a half day meeting on new initiatives, the group was ready for some purposeful entertainment. An offsite teambuilding event seemed perfect.

Several were veterans of other teambuilding experiences, such as athletic competitions and scavenger hunts, and felt that something different was needed this time. As teambuilding not only strengthens group processes and interaction, it can also enhance creativity, especially when conducted in an interactive setting like a kitchen. A cooking event was suggested.

To find the right program, Assistant Jeanmarie Marone did an online search. She entered “Cooking Teambuilding Events” and found Cooking by the Book as the top listing.

“We thought about the TeamBuilder, but decided that The Challenge would be the most interesting and exciting for our group”, she explained. “We liked the competitive edge; it was more like Iron Chef.”

Three teams were predetermined by the department manager, so that specific staffers could interact with each other. In addition, several account people from their advertising agency were added to the mix.

The protein choice was chicken; the market basket includes potatoes, carrots, turnips, noodles and herbs. The biggest challenge of The Challenge was the initial brainstorming to create the recipe. Those who had never cooked deferred to those who had. But it took the skillful leadership and support of the culinary advisors to translate the ideas into a workable recipe.

After 90 minutes in the kitchen, everyone was ready to eat. They spilled out into the dining area, took chairs at three large round tables, joined in a collegial toast to the winning team, and then lunch was served.