March 2005

 


Early afternoon at Chapel Hill Winery in McLaren Vale South Australia. Through the long kitchen windows we glimpse rows of manicured green vines on the gentle slopes below. On a hill in the distance is the restored chapel and winery while over on the horizon is a small triangle of blue sea.

There are nine of us, divided into three teams, in the large airy state-of- the-art kitchen. We’ve come not just for a serious cooking class but also to look at how we work together under supervision as a team.

But first we’re given a brief run-down by executive chef Peter Hogg who gives us the recipes and outlines the menu for tonight’s meal plus the basic occupational health and safety regulations which must be followed.

My team has decided to do the first course, a sophisticated dish of steamed stuffed squid with squid ink noodles and basil chilli salad. Another team will prepare the main course, a fairly complex stuffed roast rabbit with braised tomatoes, shallots and semolina gnocchi, while yet another will do the dessert of poached peaches with vanilla bean semifreddo.

We’ve been allotted just over an hour for the first stage, then it’s lunch outside on the terrace and back to the kitchen at 3pm for another hour and a half of final prep and cooking.

It doesn’t take long for the team I’m in to realise we haven’t read the two page recipe thoroughly – that we’ve processed the green prawns instead of chopping them for the squid farce - and that we’re not really pulling together as a team. “Well,” declared one of the team members, her arms crossed. “I’m an Aries!” “So am I,” piped up another. “So am I,” I exclaimed. “So?”

“It means we’re all leaders,” said team member No 1. “Which probably explains why we’re not working as a team.” At that moment Peter Hogg had just come over to our bench to see how we were going. It turned out that he too was an Aries. Laughter all round. Back in the kitchen after a delicious lunch (duck and olive pie in a flaky homemade pie crust), we consulted with each other over the various tasks to be completed and no longer went off on our own tangents.

Later in the afternoon at the session with organisational psychologist Estelle Bowman in the winery’s boardroom, each team was encouraged to give constructive feedback, an exercise which offered insight into the different ways in which we perceived each other’s strengths and weaknesses. This was a little scary but also very useful. For company executives and employees who are keen on their food and wine, it’s a fantastic way to tackle issues such as interpersonal skills and behavioural change, leadership development and team building. Less arduous than abseiling, kayaking or rope climbing, it offers instruction in various cookery skills, some of which (like de-boning the rabbit) require patience and attention to detail rather than brute muscle strength and epicurean tips like which wines to match with the food.

 

 


Set in the idyllic rural seclusion of Chapel Hill’s vineyards, the $3 million gourmet retreat is one of the first of its kind in the world, signalling a new growth area in the travel industry.

Getting together to cook in a supervised class is not new (many companies, for example, send teams along to the Sydney Seafood School) but what Chapel Hill’s Gourmet Retreat offers is the opportunity to work under the supervision of both an executive chef and management consultant. Companies are encouraged to take their own consultants or to engage the services of a local consultant like Estelle Bowman to deliver customised executive programs.

Set in idyllic wine country 45 minutes south of Adelaide airport, the venue includes accommodation for up to twenty guests in ten air-conditioned bedrooms, spacious stainless steel kitchen with tiered demonstration viewing area and separate workbenches for individual participation, a separate executive wing, internet access, spacious lounge room with open fires, bar facilities and video projector plus a large outdoor terrace with wood oven and barbecue area.

Visits are tailored to corporate reward and incentive groups, executive meetings and conferences and may include an after-dinner speaker or meeting in the winery boardroom to tackle the agenda or relaxing together around a log fire. Depending on the season, guests can join in winery or vineyard tasks like pruning vines or working barrels in the barrel hall. Recreational activities may also include a picnic in the vineyard, a hike in the Onkaparinga National Park, a walk along local beaches or a visit to the local Willunga Farmers Market. There is also a guest house on the property which will accommodate up to six people and operates as a separate B&B.

www.chapelhillwine.com.au