Combining her two absorbing lifelong passions: learning and the love of food, Helen Paige has developed a unique and exciting experience which is sure not only to encourage learning but to inspire chefs.
Helen Paige is the founder and director of a unique small business called Fun.Food.Focus, a culmination of her years of experience in both professional development training and gourmet cooking.
Helen has taught and lectured in both Australian and International Universities on numerous business-related topics such as team building, leadership skills, time management, change and organisational management, business ethics, creativity and human resource management.
Combined with her academic and business background, she is also one of the original “foodies”, having run her own catering business The Gracious Table and being one of the original cooks for Copper Pot Paté. Helen has also ‘tasted’ her way around the world, taking in cooking classes in New Orleans, Umbria, Lisbon and Paris, to name a few!
Through her extensive experience in these two distinct areas, Helen came up with the novel idea of combining the two to create an exciting and inspiring team-building experience which is sure to please all.
Fun.Food.Focus’s corporate group cooking classes specialise in integrating the professional development goals of the organisation involved with a tasty, ‘hands-on’ cooking experience. Helen works with the organisation to understand its specific development needs and structures a program to ensure that the class achieves the required purpose.
Helen’s classes are mobile and flexible and she often takes them to inspiring locations, such as organic food markets or picturesque wineries. Clients hand-pick the menu, which usually follows a culinary theme, such as Exotic Thai, Japanese Adventure, Rustic French, Italian Long Lunch or Australian Fusion. Helen has also been known to run Wood-Oven Pizza, French Crepes and Chocolate Making classes, for time-restricted groups looking for a fun activity. Fun.Food.Focus employs the expertise and guidance of an experienced chef in the chosen cuisine, who offers an authentic and professional touch to the classes. The sessions usually run for half a day and teach development and team-building ideas in the morning, which are trialled and reinforced in the ‘hands-on’ cooking class which follows. The session then culminates when everyone sits down to share in the delicious meal they have created together, sharing in a glass of wine and a hearty chat.
Helen describes the “unique combination of ‘hands on’ cooking and team-building” as the key to creating a dynamic and fun environment for professional development. “We use the yummy medium of cooking to break down barriers and provide an exciting and memorable team-building experience.” She says cooking is a ‘leveller’ which encourages members of an organisation to look past their usual office hierarchy and work with new team members to create an appetizing and rewarding goal.
Helen also recognizes the important role that the use of gourmet ingredients plays in engaging all the senses and arousing interest and enthusiasm in the group. “And let’s face it: who doesn’t love great food! It’s a fail-safe, sure-fire way of getting everyone involved and enthusiastic about the final product!” she adds.
Helen has recently launched her new website and is looking forward to collaborating more with the conference sector, in the areas of professional development and pre or post-conference cooking activities. As she is flexible, she is excited about the new opportunities to work with groups of all shapes and sizes and to create a unique cooking experience to add the finishing touch to a successful conference weekend.
To learn more about Fun.Food.Focus or what Helen could offer your corporate group, ring Helen on: 0403 374 183 or (08) 8271 1173 or visit the website at: www.funfoodfocus.com.au
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Well done for promoting another great SA foodie, George!
Nice, I want one of those chefs’ hats lol