Nellie Kerrison
COOKING TEACHER, AUTHOR / FOUNDER, RELISH MAMA
“Participating in events with a purpose creates a sense of achievement and fulfilment among team members. ”
NELLIE KERRISON
Since late last year, bookings for Nellie Kerrison’s cooking classes have soared by 30 per cent, after steadily rising since the end of the pandemic lockdowns. Her online offering for teams that can’t gather in person at her school in the Melbourne suburb of Cheltenham has grown even faster – up 60 per cent on pre-pandemic bookings.
“We’ve always been very busy with team-building events,” says Kerrison, whose clients include Bunnings, Chobani, L’Oréal, Nissan, Bendigo Bank and Mattel. “But postCOVID and in particular these past few months, teams are prioritising connection and gatherings outside of the typical festive periods.”
Spearheading the surge is Cooking for a Cause, which combines the satisfaction of preparing and eating a meal together with the social impact of making extra food to donate to crisis shelters and grassroots organisations. Kerrison, who founded the Relish Mama cooking school in 2009, introduced the concept after seeing people in her community struggling following Melbourne’s 2020 lockdowns. On average, a class of 15 prepares an extra 40 meals for donation.
“Participating in events with a purpose creates a sense of achievement and fulfilment among team members,” she says, adding that about one-third of her corporate clients choose this option and she hopes that it will become her most popular class by the end of this year. “The shared experience can lead to improved morale, increased motivation and a positive impact on workplace culture.”
Companies generally book a 2.5-hour lunch session (for 12 to 25 people) so as not to encroach on employees’ personal time. The average cost is about $220 per participant, depending on which package is chosen. The 90-minute online version is $87.50 per person for a full group of 12, with each attendee sent a shopping list of ingredients to buy.
A self-taught cook, food writer, recipe developer and stylist, Kerrison says her classes aim to go beyond traditional team-building exercises, inspired by her family background, where good food and coming together for meals was very important. Her grandfather was a pickling champion and her grandmother cooked posttraining breakfasts for jockeys.
“Food serves as a universal language, breaking down corporate barriers and fostering genuine connections,” she says, emphasising that there is no Master-Chef-style judgement on participants’ efforts.
Kerrison does admit that those taking part will be challenged. “In a team-building cooking class, the collaborative nature of preparing a meal encourages individuals to step out of their comfort zone.”