Team lunch perks
Do you cook sometimes for your team? At Benoo, we got daily habits and one is to cook and have lunch together. As the holidays have come to an end, sharing again those special moments made us realize how we missed it and how is it important for us. Here’s why.
Research has revealed that “the more often people eat with others, the more likely they are to feel happy and satisfied with their lives”. We can totally relate to that since food gather and allow emotional bound: we put our heart into cooking it.
- Lunch brings our team closer together. It’s the perfect opportunity to get to know each other on a more personal level. We remove the professional constraints from our interactions, so we casually trade chitchat about families, hobbies and interests. We also share our goal and project and you get always advice or support you need. It helps us to understand each other as people. At the same time, our communication got improved.
- Team work become a second nature. It’s easy to gather around a project, since our daily lunch became kind of team building exercise. And our chats during it reveal values that match Benoo’s mission. We feel coorporate, supported and understood.
- It boosts our productivity and our creativity. Our break may be longer than in traditional company, since we also cook and do the dishes afterwards. By giving us time to recharge, we often pop up with new ideas. We share those on the kitchen door. Moreover, the process of cooking is also very inspiring to got new ideas. Everyone got its own way of cooking, so a dish you may know can come in another variation or with a surprising twist. Since we are also zero-waste, we cook with what we have, so our creativity is also multiplied along we brainstorm.
- We develop personal & professional skills. Every day, we chose today’s chef and everyone takes turns cooking for the whole week. The nominate one took the lead of the recipe and everyone else give support. It could be a Benoo recipe, or you just come with new ideas. As making it you gain confidence, team spirit and leadership, a great learning for trainees for example. You don’t have to an expert: some employees who didn’t know how to cook before (or simply didn’t felt at ease doing it!), progress a lot and now master seasonal cooking.
- It improves our wellbeing and our health: we are getting good food we ourselves prepare which give us more energy and productivity, rather than just grab a sandwich. It may take longer since some Benoo recipe, up to 45 min, but we are rarely falling into the habit of eating the same thing every lunchtime. Wellbeing agenda is always on the top of priority et Benoo.
- It simply create a happy workplace. Eating food together is a great way to relax and an opportunity to talk about the good and bad of the day. They are put into perspective so you can feel more offload and go back to work feg freel-insh, focused and full of energy.
“I love cooking at our workplace, and it makes me happy. It’s a special time to relax and share chit chat. On my previous experiences, I got used to going to the company’s canteen with my colleagues. It was always a nice team lunch, but I can see that at Benoo we are connecting in a different and closer level since we also cook in team. I love cooking for others and when I’m not, I always feel very inspired by my foodies team’s cooking. I guess it makes me more appreciatiative and grateful for the food we eat, knowing the backstage of it (made with love!), even on days when we doesn’t eat something special. For me, our daily lunch really carry out our values of community, creativity and transparency (food & people).” -Jennyfer
Discover more:

Bread Balls
Recipe by Inés Lauber Say goodbye to food waste with these deliciously tender vegan bread balls, made from leftover loaves and seasoned to perfection. Ingredients At home: white bread (stale), medium onions, breadcrumbs, tomato concentrate, mustard, parsley or ground...
Daily at Benoo, we encourage urban communities to cook with local and seasonal ingredients. Why? Simply to lower the impact of our food system. By using regional fresh ingredients, we shorten transportation, avoid the use of plastic and reduce food waste. We have calculated that a meal cooked with local ingredients can be up to 2/3 less impactful than a normal meal cooked with ingredients from a supermarket.
Why don’t you try to make it a weekly habit?
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