Posted Oct 8, 2008 by Danielle F CORAL GABLES-MIAMI, FLA - What happens when cooking classes are mixed with meeting groups, creative chefs and an iconic hotel in South Florida? A recipe for success at the Biltmore, located in the upscale neighborhood of Coral Gables, in the heart of Miami. An ideal meeting option for companies, groups and meeting planners interested in building good fun and great food into business meetings, Biltmore Interactive Cooking offers more than just a meal.

What is the Biltmore Interactive Cooking experience?
Biltmore Interactive Cooking gets staff out of the boardroom and into a completely new environment, where it's not rare to see an entry-level employee teaching a corporate CEO how to sear foie gras. The interactive setting breaks down traditional "hierarchy" barriers and fosters a true team-building environment.

The Biltmore takes the guesswork out of developing a rewarding, team-building experience by incorporating the expertise of chefs who have led Biltmore Interactive Cooking events since 1992. Classes are offered for lunch or dinner. The reversal of roles - from passive meeting attendee to active participant in a new shared endeavor - serves to motivate and engage all members of the group in a rewarding way.

"The Biltmore offers meeting planners an exceptional range of innovative programs that motivate, inspire and help build teamwork and cooperation," said Femke Weller, Director of Catering and Conference services. "Drawing on the expertise of an award-winning culinary team and adding a measure of light-hearted fun and adventure, the Biltmore Interactive Cooking meeting option breaks the ice, builds teams and sets the tone for productive meetings."

How does it work?
With the flexibility of taking place in a conference or banquet room, each group of participants is provided with their own tabletop burners and a supervising chef from the resort's kitchen. Meeting participants choose which colleagues at their table will cook each appetizer, main course and dessert. Then the fun begins! Guests are cheered on by their "table teammates" as Biltmore chefs guide the way. With instruction and hands-on supervision from the Biltmore professionals, each table creates a full meal using pre-measured and pre-cut ingredients. Sample gourmet menu items include favorites from Biltmore restaurants, such as Foie Gras, Maine Lobster Fricassee and Rack of Lamb.

"Our Biltmore Interactive Cooking experience showed our company the importance of teambuilding," said Rolando Aedo, acting Senior Vice President of Marketing and Tourism at the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau. "Instead of the traditional monthly boardroom meeting and holiday event, we had very senior members of our company interacting with junior staff to saut scallops - achieving not only laughs but building a familiarity and trust that is typically difficult to create."

Does Biltmore Interactive Cooking provide cost benefits to my meeting?
In addition to the extraordinary benefits of fostering teamwork and camaraderie, Biltmore Interactive Cooking classes provide solutions to two tough issues. First, the Interactive experience provides a team-building activity option beyond traditional activities such as golf - solving the challenge of selecting an activity that pleases diverse meeting attendees: men, women, Generation X and Y, etc.

And for slightly more than the typical lunch provided during a conference, the two-in-one approach of a fun, team-building exercise combined with a gourmet lunch outing saves dollars overall. Prices per person are $110 for lunch and $140 for dinner, for a three-course meal and coffee/tea service. This price includes the service staff, Biltmore chefs to oversee cooking at each table, menu items and ingredients, room rental at the Biltmore and personalized aprons for all participants.

Why meet at the Biltmore?
The Biltmore offers extensive and elegant facilities for meetings large and small. The resort features 76,000 total square feet of function space, with an entire wing devoted exclusively to small meetings and breakouts in order to enhance productivity. Meeting capabilities include:

36,000 square feet of meeting and banquet space accommodating up to 1,000 people
40,000 square feet of additional meeting space at the Conference Center of the Americas
11,280 square feet of outdoor banquet space
A total of 33 meeting spaces, including three ballrooms, largest ballroom is 6,200 sq. ft.
Most meeting rooms feature natural daylight
Located adjacent to the hotel, The Conference Center of the Americas (CCA) is a world-class conference center with technologically advanced facilities. The CCA has become South Florida's preferred site for high-level professional and executive education programs.
The CCA features 40,000 square feet of exceptional function space that includes eight main meeting rooms, six breakout rooms, a 6,200 sq. ft. Ballroom, two, state-of-the-art, tiered amphitheaters that seat groups of 60-90 and 90-130 persons, and a private executive boardroom. State-of-the-art technology includes Ethernet access to T1 high-speed internet, simultaneous translation, wireless audience response devices, ISDN Videoconference capability and more. Specifications and a virtual tour of the facility are available for viewing at [url]www.ccamericas.com[/url]
For more information about Biltmore Interactive Cooking and meeting options, call Director of Sales Frank Fuentes at 305-913-3118.