Outside of the Box, Inside the Kitchen
18/05/2009
How Some of the Biggest Names in Media are Taking Their Creatives Out of the Office and Sending Them to Venturi’s Table in a Bid to Stay Inspired
Apart from being some of the world’s most powerful media companies Young & Rubicam, Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO Ltd and Euro RSCG all have one thing in common – they have all sent executives to Venturi’s Table Corporate Cookery Centre. In kitchens which have been designed to mimic the comforting atmosphere of a family home, media creatives are the latest breed of business professional to be seen stirring saffron risotto in Le Creuset pots and kneading dough for homemade ravioli. The experience is sensory, hands-on and invigoratingly non-corporate and is proving the perfect way to engage restless creative types. The centre’s ‘Sicilian’ and ‘Milan’ kitchens also provide a new, refreshing environment within which to stimulate fresh thinking with brainstorms moved from around a flip chart to over a stove.
With the constant pressure to come up with one award winning idea after another, media companies are cottoning on to the fact that creativity can be stifled by the environment of the office and boardroom or ingrained brainstorming practices. It is no longer enough that advertising creatives can roll up an hour after the account managers and are allowed to wear trainers. Companies are realising they must create the right atmosphere for ideas and ‘place’ is the new buzz word. WPP was tasked with a complicated client rebranding and brought the project team to Venturi’s Table’s to cook orecchiette, meatballs and tiramisu and then brainstorm ideas around the wooden, Underwood island in its Sicilian kitchen.
Martin Cole, a planning director for WPP commented; “We are always encouraging our creatives not to work. This may sound strange but ideas come when we are not focussing on the problem itself. Diversions and new environments are a brilliant way of getting people to think and talk in ways which are unexpected and the unexpected often brings new answers to an existing problem. The good thing about Venturi’s Table is that its approach means individuals collaborate together rather than compete. People have to get their hands dirty and get stuck in whilst doing something at odds with normal office practices- this helps generate ideas.”
Alongside the big media companies, famous and forward thinking brands such as Microsoft, BP, Mars and Green & Black’s have also been signing up for their in-house creative departments for the Venturi’s Table experience.
Green & Black’s sent their marketing and sales teams to Venturi’s Table to cook together. John Kerslake UK Sales Director for Green & Black’s commented; “ideas do not respond well to stress, extreme pressure or rigid structures. They come when we are not looking for them and are triggered by experiences which fire us up and interest us. Sending our marketing and sales departments cooking was a great way to allow them to break out of their normal working confines and help keep them receptive to ideas.”
Anna Venturi the Managing Director of Venturi’s Table Corporate Cookery Centre commented; “Human experience tells us that we have our best ideas when we are at our most relaxed, sometimes not are even thinking and normally nowhere near the office. For far too long, companies in the ideas game have failed to use this understanding to influence the way they do things. Inspiration has been suffocated by the standards of western business – characterless desks, computers and powerpoint presentations. Our kitchens help release the flow of ideas by relaxing people, opening them up to the creative process. The hands-on cooking and delicious smells also serve to distract from the problem at hand, allowing people to then return to it with new eyes.”
Venturi’s Table Corporate Cookery Centre, in London’s Wandsworth Town, offers a unique form of ‘culinary therapy’ for business professionals. Unlike other cookery centres the Venturi’s Table philosophy is less about teaching professionals how to cook and more about how the atmosphere of a kitchen, the process of cooking and the practice of eating around a table have a transforming affect on the human psyche. Food brings people together. We forget our worries in the atmosphere of the kitchen and relationships are nourished around the table.
For media companies wanting to book a Venturi’s Table Corporate Cookery experience visit www.venturis-table.com for more information or call 020 8875 7488.