From cooking classes to food and drink tastings, the city offers a variety of unique team-building activities that go beyond the typical office outing. Whether it's bonding over shared tasks in a hands-on cooking class, competing in a trivia or escape room challenge, or exploring creative sides through arts and crafts, there’s something for every team dynamic. Chicago’s vibrant culinary scene and creative hubs provide the perfect backdrop for fostering collaboration, boosting morale, and building stronger connections. Read on to discover the top team-building activities sure to inspire and unite your team.
Cook up Some Teamwork
Cooking and baking classes are a fantastic way to build stronger teams in Chicago. Whether you're rolling out fresh pasta, crafting pizzas, or making tacos, these hands-on experiences get everyone working together in a fun and interactive environment. As teammates collaborate to knead dough or assemble tacos, they bond over shared tasks, and creativity shines as they personalize their creations. It's also an excellent way to break the ice and get to know each other in a relaxed setting outside the office.
Cake decorating or truffle-making classes take teamwork to a more refined level, where attention to detail is key, and collaboration is essential to perfecting intricate designs or flavors. These activities encourage communication, patients, and a bit of friendly competition as groups work toward a common goal. Plus, who doesn’t love the reward of indulging in the fruits of their labor? It's a win-win for team bonding and tasty treats!
Chicago: Handmade Pizza Group Event
Tasting Group Activities
- Live hosts
- Curated experiences
- Hassle free
- Free Gift card for every participant
Thousands of classes & experiences. As featured in Time Out.
Thick or thin crust? You decide! Come learn the best baking techniques as you create your own "Personal Pizza Masterpiece." Receive hands-on instruction from artisan bakers on mixing your own pizza dough and skillfully choosing your toppings. After the bake, enjoy your handiwork with a glass of wine or beer or unlimited house iced tea and lemonade. Leave with your own handmade dough and home-made sauce to continue your pizza making at home!
Chicago: Homemade Pasta Group Event
Is homemade pasta worth the time and effort? Absolutely! Come and learn how to make fresh pasta at home! Under the instruction of an experienced chef, participants will learn to make their own dough, create different pasta shapes and experiment with seasonal flavors. Each student will enjoy their own homemade pasta in two different seasonal flavors on-site. You are welcome to bring your own beverages.
Chicago: Asian Dumplings Group Event
Discover the flavor-packed world of dumplings! In this class, you will learn to make pan fried Chinese dumplings, using traditional fillings and new creative styes. We will create these morsels around our creativity and personal preferences. Experiment with ingredients like tasty meats, delicious cheeses, fresh vegetables and aromatic herbs and spices. Try your hand at replicating intricate folds and designs! Want to add some sauciness to your dish? Try some tomatillo vinaigrette or bruschetta salsa for your dipping pleasure. These treats will be sure to make your stomach happy and can have guests raving at your next family dinner.
Chicago: Tacos Y Tequila Group Event
Unleash your inner chef and embark on a culinary adventure with an exclusive private group cooking class! This hands-on cooking team-building experience promises an unforgettable journey through the world of gastronomy. In this Mexican taco fest, we’ll make homemade tortillas, guacamole, salsa verde de tomatillos, and salsa pasilla, and prepare various fillings and fixings, including Nopales (cactus), Camarones (shrimp), pollo (chicken), and carnitas (pork). And, of course, margaritas to accompany. ¡Olé!
Learn the foundations of cake decorating and piping techniques, including shells, stars, zig-zag, and rosettes. The first half of this lesson will concentrate on mastering basic skills and proper technique. The second part of the class will focus on applying the skills you learned to create a professional-looking textured buttercream cake.Â
Chicago: Truffle Making Workshop
Make a batch of classic, delectable truffles in this beginner-friendly event. The only thing standing between your team and a box of delicious homemade chocolate truffles is clicking the link on this page. One of our expert chefs will turn your team into proud amateur chocolatiers in just one hour. In this event, team members will receive everything they need to make a flawless chocolate ganache and learn the basics of rolling truffles by hand, including their first attempt at filled truffles. As their smooth ganache chills, they'll prepare an assortment of delicious toppings before learning to shape and coat their truffles. Officially, they'll last a week in the fridge, but we all know they'll be gone before then!
Team up for a Game
Games bring out everyone's competitive side, while promoting collaboration and building team spirit. Take a brick-building challenge, for example—teams work together to create something from scratch, using problem-solving skills and creativity. It’s fun to see how different minds come together to design and build, and it’s a great way to break down barriers and get people working toward a common goal. Office Olympics are another hit, with lighthearted competitions like chair races or paper toss challenges that get everyone laughing and engaged. It’s all about having fun, boosting morale, and getting a little silly.
Escape rooms and trivia games take the team-building energy up a notch. In escape rooms, groups have to communicate well and think on their feet to solve puzzles and get out in time—it's a perfect way to test problem-solving skills under pressure. Trivia nights, on the other hand, bring out everyone’s knowledge and strengths. People get to show off their expertise, whether it’s random facts or pop culture, while also working together as a unit. These games foster teamwork in a relaxed, enjoyable setting, helping to strengthen connections and trust among team members.
Chicago: Brick Building Team Challenge
Get ready to click those bricks together and create Lego® masterpieces in this wildly popular brick-building challenge. Participants will receive their own Lego® kits, ensuring everyone starts on even footing for a series of both team and individual challenges that put their architectural skills and creativity to the test. Each round features prompts requiring teams to collaborate and tell a story with their creations, with winning builds chosen by popular vote. Embrace diversity of thought and outside-the-box thinking as you build the tallest stable structure, create unique forms of transportation, and represent favorite hobbies. The facilitator will kick off the event and keep the energy level high while guiding participants through a variety of engaging challenges such as building a zoo scene, constructing identical structures, racing to build the largest tower, and creating self-portraits. The 60-minute event will be divided between mini-team activities and full group collaboration, ensuring a dynamic and inclusive experience. With an entertaining host and comprehensive event fulfillment support, your group is guaranteed a smooth, fun, and unique team-building adventure. Materials will be shipped to your location.
Get together with your team and complete creative challenges in the Office Olympics. This event is a series of team-based, fun, hands-on, and generally silly competitions designed to get your group laughing as they compete for gold. The facilitator will welcome the group, go over the rules of the game, and start the event with high energy. Participants will engage in various challenges such as type-racing, Family Feud-style games, racing to build the tallest marshmallow towers, playing harmonicas, and spoon races. The event will last 60 minutes, ensuring an hour of lively, entertaining, and collaborative fun. All materials will be shipped to participants.
Challenge your team to a game of Pictionary where you'll work together to guess your teammate's drawings on a whiteboard—no pen or paper required. Entertaining hosts and engaging gameplay make this team-building activity a fun and unique experience for your group. The activity is held at your location of choice and includes easy, medium, and difficult levels.
Chicago: Escape Room—Mission: Mars
Space exploration is all fun and games until someone’s rocket ship breaks down. Turns out getting to Mars was the easy part! Your astro crew had an unfortunate crash-landing onto the red planet, causing serious damage to your spaceship. To make matters worse, you’re only 60 minutes away from a massive, not to mention deadly, solar flare. Being on Mars when that hits will be positively catastrophic! Can you repair your ship’s systems and re-launch in time? This is your only chance ever to see Earth again.
Embrace the season's crisp air and vibrant colors with this Fall Trivia game, a festive and fun-filled experience designed to bring your team, friends, or family together. Dive into an exciting game of trivia where the questions are all about fall! Topics include autumn holidays, seasonal music, cozy movies, fall sports, harvest food and drinks, scenic destinations, and plenty of other surprises. Get ready to flex those fall facts and face off in a friendly competition that will engage the most trivial corners of your colleagues' minds!
Chicago: White Elephant Team Gift Experience
Get into the holiday spirit and boost team morale with this virtual gift-giving and stealing game. Unwrap virtual gifts, participate in holiday trivia, and enjoy a high-energy team-building experience with a custom-built White Elephant game app.
Bring the excitement of America’s longest-running television game show to life in Guess That Price. Join this thrilling experience as you compete against friends and/or coworkers to estimate the prices of various products and experiences accurately. You and your team will work closely to determine the exact prices of products, ranging from grocery items to luxurious vacations. From high-tech gadgets to dream vacations, test your pricing skills in a fun and interactive environment.
Get Creative Together
Arts and crafts classes are another fantastic way to bring your Chicago team together. Whether it’s painting or clay hand building, these creative activities let everyone tap into their artistic side while working in a relaxed, fun environment. Painting encourages self-expression, and it’s great to see how different styles come out on the canvas, sparking conversation and bonding between team members. Clay hand building, on the other hand, is hands-on and a bit more tactile, making it perfect for collaboration as teammates help each other mold and shape their creations.
Activities like wreath making, candle making, and soap making offer a mix of creativity and practicality, where teams get to craft something beautiful or useful together. Wreath making allows for teamwork as everyone adds their own touch to a collective design, while candle and soap making require patience and precision, encouraging collaboration as teams work through the steps. Plus, there’s something really satisfying about walking away with a handmade product you can use or gift. These activities help teammates relax, have fun, and leave with a sense of accomplishment, all while strengthening relationships and teamwork.
Chicago: After Dark—Spinning
Discover the magic of Shot of Art—After Dark, a captivating glow-in-the-dark experience ideal for a unique bachelorette party. This 45-minute session in a private room includes a 12x16 inch canvas per person, premium paint in four colors, wear protection, and all necessary art tools. To participate, select your technique and preferred time slot on the website, arrive 10 minutes early for check-in, and receive protective accessories. Guided by instructors, create a stunning work of art, which will take up to five days to dry. You can pick up your artwork afterward or opt for shipping at an additional cost. Varnishing is available for an extra charge.Â
Chicago: Art Blast Painting Party
Unlock your team's true creative potential with an extraordinary corporate event at our Chicago studio. Shot of Art specializes in unique, immersive art-making experiences that go beyond the conventional. But it's not just about art; it's a transformative journey that fosters teamwork, enhances communication, and builds a cohesive work environment. Forget the standard corporate gatherings—choose something different, something inspiring. Book your unforgettable corporate event on today and make your team's experience a true masterpiece.
Relax and create together with this classic Paint & Sip event! Everyone will receive wine and an acrylic painting kit, learn the techniques to paint a beautiful image of your choosing, and then toast to a fun and relaxing event! It's easy, fun, and totally stress-free. This activity is designed for beginners and has something for all skill levels. A seasoned instructor will come to your office for a stress-free team-building event where you and your crew will relax, sip wine, and paint together. You’ll get step-by-step guidance from a professional artist, and all materials will be shipped to participants before the class.
Dot painting originated from Aboriginal Australia, and in Sanskrit, a mandala means a circle representing the universe. This team-building event blends these two concepts to create a "mini-universe of our inner selves." Dot mandalas are an easy way to get started with this ancient art form, and they are not only creative but also relaxing and meditative, helping to awaken intuition and creativity. Your instructor will guide you step-by-step through the process, so even novice painters will walk away with new skills and a beautiful piece of art.
In this fun and interactive workshop, your group will learn simple pottery hand-building techniques to create a planter or candle holder using air-dry clay, so there's no need for a kiln. It's perfect for hands-on groups looking to learn new skills in a social and creative setting, and absolute beginners are welcome. The materials provided include two bags of eco-friendly air-dry clay, wooden pottery tools in a reusable fabric tool bag, acrylic paints, paint brushes, and base coat and gloss varnish, all shipped directly to you.
Chicago: Marbled Resin Cutting Board
Get creative and bond with your team as you make a stunning marbled cutting board with epoxy resin. Join a private interactive workshop led by a professional instructor and have all the materials shipped to your location. Each kit comes with a beautiful wood board, epoxy resin, paint, tape, and all the accessories you will need to make your own marbled resin board. The kit contains 12 different colors of paint for you to pick your favorite color combination.
Get creative this holiday season in this interactive wreath-making workshop. In this private 90-minute session, a professional artist will guide your group through crafting a custom wreath. This course is perfect for team building and can add a festive touch to your home or office. You'll learn things like what the best materials are for creating a long-lasting wreath, then get started with decorating a wreath of your very own.
Chicago: Candle Making Group Event
Learn to make beautiful, fragrant, multicolored candles with your team. In this dynamic workshop, students will learn virtually how to create unique candles to admire and share for far less than what they cost in stores. Students may be able to complete several candles and learn skills that enable them to continue on their own.Â
Chicago: Soap Making Group Event
When you add beautiful and fragrant handmade glycerin soaps to your bath, your bath can become your at-home getaway. Making these soaps is easy and enjoyable, and expressing your creativity is part of the fun. In this workshop, your group will create different types of soaps while learning how to add colors, molds, fragrances, essential oils, extracts, herbs, and novelties.Â
Custom-made soaps are gentle for those with sensitive skin, make unique gifts, and add to the décor of any bathroom.Â
Share Something Tasty
Chicago's vibrant food and drink scene provides many opportunities for team-building activities in the Windy City. Tastings combine relaxation, learning, and a little indulgence to allow colleagues to relax and get to know each other better. A wine and cheese tasting allows teammates to unwind while discovering new flavors together, sparking conversation and shared experiences. It’s fun to compare notes on different pairings and maybe even learn a thing or two about everyone’s tastes. A Belgian beer tasting is another great option, especially for those who enjoy exploring unique brews. As the team samples different beers, it’s easy for casual conversations to flow, making it a perfect, laid-back way to bond outside of work.
For something more hands-on, a mixology workshop or pizza competition is a great way to bring out everyone’s creative side. In a mixology class, teams learn the art of crafting cocktails, experimenting with flavors and techniques while working together to perfect their drinks. The pizza competition adds a friendly edge as teams come together to create their best pie, showcasing teamwork and a bit of playful rivalry. Whether it’s shaking up cocktails or tossing pizza dough, these activities are all about bringing people together over food and drink in a fun, interactive way.
Embark on a gastronomic journey through the diverse flavors of Chicago with an immersive culinary experience that explores the vibrant dishes defining the city's iconic neighborhoods. From the savory delights of Little Italy to the bold, spicy flavors of Pilsen, participants will uncover the secrets of authentic recipes alongside a professional chef. In this hands-on cooking party, guests will learn to recreate the distinctive tastes that make each neighborhood a culinary gem. The menu includes Greek Villagers Salad, Black Bean and Cheddar Empanadas, Beef and Broccoli Lo Mein, and Fresh Ricotta and Chocolate-Filled Cannoli, with dessert prepared in advance by the chef. Guests will savor the dishes they prepare while expanding their culinary repertoire and gaining a deeper appreciation for Chicago's rich food culture. A premium package is also available, featuring an appetizer, wine, and beer.
Chicago: Wine & Cheese Tasting
Explore two wines and two kinds of cheese in this fun event. You'll cover all the basics, from tasting through some delectable pairings. In this no-experience-required event, participants will be provided a pair of wines and cheeses with an expert instructor to help your group have more elevated conversations about what they're tasting. In this event, we'll discuss the pairings we've chosen in guided conversations while also having open time for curious participants to ask questions and get feedback on their own pairing ideas.Â
Embark on a flavorsome journey through the world of Belgian craft brewing in our interactive virtual beer-tasting experience. Immerse yourself in Belgium's rich brewing history, taste exceptional beers, and foster team building in this unique event. The Belgian brewing tradition creates some of the world's more unique beers. In this event, you'll learn about Belgium's rich brewing history by tasting a variety of exceptional beers. You will come away with an appreciation for the effort that goes into brewing them.Â
Shake things up with our fun and interactive mixology class, where your team will craft three delicious cocktails while learning the fundamentals that make every drink great! After a brief dive into mixology history, bar tools (and easy substitutions), and key skills, you'll move on to mastering three unique craft cocktails: Good Afternoon (Spirit of Choice, Seasonal Syrup, Citrus, Dehydrated Lemon), Awesome Sauce (Spirit of Choice, Seasonal Syrup, Citrus, Orange Liqueur, Dehydrated Lemon, Dried Flowers), and Huzzah! (Spirit of Choice, Seasonal Syrup, Citrus, Ginger Beer, Dehydrated Lemon, Umbrella, Glitter, Glow Stick). With a blend of creativity, flavor, and fun garnishes, this class will have your team feeling like pro bartenders in no time! Mocktail substitutions are available.
Join the ultimate culinary showdown at Chicago: Pizza Competition! Start by crafting your own stromboli, then team up for a Secret Ingredient Pizza Competition where creativity reigns supreme. Keep the pizza party going until the dough runs out, or you’re too full to continue—let the best pizza win!
Try Something Completely Different
Chicago offers some unique and unusual team-building activities that are sure to leave a lasting impression. One standout option is a dinner and dancing class, where teams can bond over a delicious meal followed by learning some fun dance moves together. Whether it's salsa, swing, or ballroom, these classes add an element of excitement and movement to the usual dining experience, encouraging teamwork in a lively and engaging way. The combination of great food and dancing creates a relaxed environment where colleagues can connect in a fun, energetic setting outside the office.
For something even more out-of-the-box, teams can try a cooking class hosted by drag queens, bringing culinary skills and fabulous entertainment together. It’s an interactive and lively experience that will spark laughter and memorable moments as teams cook with queens who bring flair and humor to the kitchen. Another one-of-a-kind option is a cooking and stage magic event, where participants learn to whip up tasty dishes and get a behind-the-scenes look at magic tricks performed by a professional magician. These activities break the mold of traditional team building, offering both fun and a bit of the unexpected, making them perfect for teams looking to do something different.
Unleash your inner chef and superstar at Chicago's unique Cooking & Karaoke night! Craft delicious dishes like sushi, pizza, or pasta, then sing your heart out as you bond with friends or colleagues. It's a night of unforgettable flavors and fun—where the kitchen meets the stage!
Spice up your evening with Chicago's Dinner & Dancing event! Whip up mouthwatering dishes like sushi or tapas, then groove through a fun dance lesson with friends or colleagues. It's a perfect blend of culinary creativity and dance-floor flair! Choose from the following menus: Tapas Inspired Menu, Sushi Making, Chinese Food or Pizza & Stromboli. Have a dance lesson while you make great food and bond with your friends or corporate team! You can't do anything like this anywhere else!Â
Get ready for a fabulous night of flavor and flair at Chicago's Cooking & Queens! Prepare delicious dishes like sushi or pizza with friends, then enjoy two dazzling drag sets for an unforgettable evening. Cooking has never been this entertaining! Choose from the following menus: Pasta Making, Sushi Making, Chinese Food or Pizza & Stromboli. Make great food and bond with your friends or corporate team, and see a couple of drag sets after you cook. You can't do anything like this anywhere else!Â
Experience the enchantment of Chicago's Cooking & Magic night! Whip up delicious dishes like sushi or pasta, then be amazed by a live magic show that will leave you spellbound. Choose from the following menus: Pasta Making, Sushi Making, Chinese Food, or Pizza & Stromboli. It's an unforgettable evening where culinary skills meet captivating illusions!Â
This exclusive private iPhone Photography Workshop in Chicago offers participants the chance to unlock their visual storytelling potential by learning to capture stunning images using only their iPhones. Led by an experienced instructor, the dynamic session covers essential techniques such as composition, lighting, and the advanced features of iPhone cameras. Through hands-on activities and guided exercises, attendees will gain practical skills and confidence in using their iPhones as powerful tools for photography, transforming everyday moments into extraordinary images.