Team building ideas in London that aren't an escape room
Six team building ideas for London offices that work better than an escape room, with real costs, timings and what each one does for your team.
Most London team building starts with a Google search and ends with an escape room. Fine, once. By the third year, people are checking their phones in the queue.
Good team building has three things. Everyone does something. Nobody is an expert. And there is a result at the end that people want to share. Cooking ticks all three. So do a few other things, which I’ll cover honestly below.
What makes a team activity actually work
I’ve cooked with a lot of groups. The pattern is the same every time.
- Shared tasks beat competitions. Races and leaderboards help the loud people and punish the quiet ones.
- Mixed levels are fine. If the finance director has never made a sauce, so much the better.
- The room matters. Teams relax faster in a place that isn’t a meeting room, or in a meeting room that has been turned into something else.
- A real outcome helps. A plate of food you made yourself ends the session on a high. A score on a screen doesn’t.
Six ideas worth your budget
1. A cooking masterclass in your own office
This is what I do. I bring the ingredients, equipment and aprons to your office or venue, and your team makes a full meal from scratch with me. Fresh pasta, a sauce, something sweet. Then everyone sits down and eats it.
It suits 8 to 30 people and starts from £120 per person plus VAT. Almost no cookery school in London will bring the class to you. Studio classes run from about £95 to £325 per head, usually with minimum group sizes of 8 to 20, and you still lose an hour travelling there and back.
2. A cookery school or studio class
A solid option if you have no space and don’t mind travelling. Expect £120 to £192 per person at most schools, and up to £325 at hotel schools. Check the minimum group size before you book. You are also on their schedule, which in December can mean a Tuesday at 5pm or nothing.
3. A volunteering day
Food banks, community kitchens and park clean-ups all work. People bond over useful work. The downside is that it takes a full day to organise, and some teams find it hard to switch off from work mode.
4. A walking tour with a purpose
Thames Path, Hackney’s canals or Bermondsey’s food streets. Cheap and easy, and good for small teams of up to 12. Weather is the risk, especially from November. Always have an indoor plan.
5. A pottery, flower or craft workshop
Creative, quiet and calm. Good for teams who talk all day and want a break from talking. Less good for teams who need to talk more to each other, since people end up working alone side by side.
6. A team meal with a chef at the table
If your team is small, say 6 to 10, a chef’s dinner in a private room or at someone’s home can work. It is more relaxed than a cooking class. People who want to chat, not chop, will like it. See private dining for how that works.
Why cooking works so well for teams
Pasta is a great example. Flour, eggs, your hands. Within ten minutes, a team of strangers is arguing happily about how thin is thin enough. Nobody has an advantage. The senior person who can’t roll dough is stuck at the same table as the intern who can.
Cooking also splits naturally into jobs. One group makes the dough, one the sauce, one the dessert. Then they depend on each other for dinner. It is a small version of how a good team works, without anyone having to say so.
I wrote more on this in what your team learns in two hours of pasta.
How to choose
Ask yourself three questions.
- How many people? Under 8, a private dining format or a walk works. Between 8 and 30, a masterclass in your space is ideal. Above 30, think about live cooking stations for the event.
- How much time? Two to three hours is the sweet spot. A full day is rarely needed.
- Who is in the room? Mixed seniority, new joiners, or teams that work remotely most of the week all benefit from something hands-on.
What it costs in London
| Option | Typical cost per person |
|---|---|
| Cooking masterclass at your office (From Scratch) | from £120 + VAT |
| Studio cookery class | £95 to £192 |
| Hotel cookery school | up to £325 |
| Craft workshop | £50 to £110 |
| Walking tour | £15 to £40 |
Check the pricing page for the full breakdown, including what is included: ingredients, equipment, clearing up and the meal itself.
Practical notes for your office
You don’t need a kitchen. A few trestle tables, access to a sink and a couple of sockets are enough for most groups. I’ve worked in offices in EC2, W1 and E14, in meeting rooms, canteens and rooftop terraces. If your space has a nearby Tube station, even better, since I bring the kit by car or van and need a loading point close by.
Book early for December. It is the busiest month, and the best weeks go by the end of October.
What happens next
Send me your headcount, preferred date and postcode through the contact page. I reply within 24 hours with a menu proposal and a clear price. If it fits, we lock a date and I handle the rest. You can also read more about corporate masterclasses before you write.