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KSL Nightside's Sarah Jane reportingThere's just something about sitting down and sharing food that loosens people up and helps them grow closer. And a lot of companies are catching on.
"It provides an opportunity for the company president to work with the mail room person, and get to know each other a little bit better, and it helps the dynamic back at the office," said chef Jim Light of Home Cooks Culinary Adventures. "Everybody has a great time.
"Eating is such a fundamental activity and it's so nurturing that when people get together to do that they develop a bond that you really can't buy," said Light.
Chef Catherine Moore teaches company classes at Kimball Distributing. She said businesses that do this get the benefit of sharing in a full-sensory experience. "You use your smell, your touch, your taste, your sight. It encompasses all those things."
Realtor Michael Young hangs out with his coworkers at My Girlfriend's Kitchen. They don't do much cooking, but they do assemble the meals together and share in the costs. "We're good friends to begin with, and this just gives us one more outing outside of the work environment that we can have fun doing," he said.
Seminars with White and Moore range anywhere from $55 to $135 a person. At My Girlfriend's Kitchen, it's $22 for a meal for four. But Light says the chance for social bonding is worth the cost.
