Wok+Wine has featured in:
"Traditional networking is so inauthentic and transactional. Wok+Wine is exactly the opposite. You're having interesting and surprising conversations and making new connections without even realising it"
Moir Laird, Melbourne
"Wok+Wine is like a 2 hour digital vacation. With hands covered in shrimp juice of course you're not going to be reaching for your phone"
Jason Wisdom, New York
CORPORATE SOLUTIONS
We apply globally proven methodologies to connect, align and engage groups within and between organisations - improving performance, saving resources and unlocking potential for growth.
Better connected teams perform better. Open-mindedness powers innovation.
Below are the three most powerful applications of the Wok+Wine format.
CONNECT
Connect or reconnect team members or key stakeholders more authentically. Build stronger and longer-lasting relationships.
Objective: To increase the quantity of connections and quality of relationships between participating individuals, providing a stronger foundation for ongoing collaboration.
Target audience: Staff in any organisation or members of any association.
Example cases:
- Rapidly connecting new groups (e.g. new recruits)
- Helping diverse teams find common ground
Results delivered: Stronger and more connections between participants gives you:
- Enhanced relationships, increasing the quality and quantity of group output
- Strengthened sense of belonging which increases commitment and productivity
- More authentic connections leading to better collaboration which accelerates innovation
Typical Duration: 3 hours
Format: Based on Wok+Wine core design principles. Single group in one space including food and beverage.
ALIGN
Align individuals or organisations to a common goal or vision and see huge savings in time and resources.
Objective: To align a team or group of collaborating companies to a common vision or goal, particularly when they bring different perspectives and motivations to the table.
Target audience: Team members or collaborating organisations or other stakeholders, including government and non-profit.
Example cases:
- Brands - Improve integration across network of creative agencies
- Management consultancies and government - Align stakeholder groups at project initiation
- Creative/Arts sector - Align team members to common purpose
Results delivered: Clearer alignment to common goal means:
- Huge savings of time and resources due to fewer miscommunications and improved collaboration
- Enhanced group / stakeholder cohesion
- Significantly improved morale between collaborating individuals
Typical Duration: 3 hours
Format: Based on core Wok+Wine experience with potential for additional content or facilitator.
ENGAGE
Learn proven methods for becoming more open-minded and curious to discover new opportunities for growth.
Objective: To empower participants with practical tools that can be applied immediately - to be more open-minded and leverage their curiosity to discover new opportunities. They'll also be more aware of what often gets in the way.
Target audience: Staff in any organisation, including government and non-profit.
Example cases:
- Identify, understand and overcome limiting beliefs and preconceptions
- Explore untapped areas of potential
- Learn how to think in new and unconventional ways
Results delivered: Enhanced connections plus more open-minded team members means you benefit from:
- Individuals better able to spot untapped potential revenue streams
- New ways of thinking that accelerate your innovation agenda
- Energised and optimistic teams, better aligned to your organisation's vision
Typical Duration: 3 hour workshop + 2 hour Wok+Wine session.
Format: Interactive workshop format followed by proven Wok+Wine format.
OUR STORY
Wok+Wine is no ordinary concept. We are often confused with 'foodie' events but the fact that we serve excellent food and wine is about all we have in common. Our story is much deeper, more interesting and more thoughtful.
Founder: Peter Mandeno
Strategist, psychologist, storyteller, entrepreneur, traveler and master of serendipity Peter Mandeno has spent 20 years living and working across multiple continents and industries, looking at how we interact with the world and with each other. While the world was changing, we were not. In New York in 2009, Peter launched Wok+Wine a concept that would open his eyes, and the eyes of thousands of others, to the power of serendipity or as he describes it “finding the people we didn’t know we were looking for”.
Peter holds degrees in Psychology and Marketing Strategy from the University of Otago in New Zealand. He is a graduate of THNK - The School for Creative Leadership in Amsterdam and a Fellow of RSA (Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce).
Peter has set up and run multiple businesses across the globe and is constantly on the lookout for new opportunities.
Concept: Simplicity and serendipity
The universal power of Wok+Wine lies in the thoughtfulness and simplicity of its design. The food and wine are amazing but that is not what this experience is about. The food and wine are simply key features of a complete experience where the primary objective is to create more authentic, more interesting and more meaningful connections between participants. Successfully executing more than 150 events in 11 countries has enabled us to fine-tune the concept to what it is today.
We use expressions like 'collective discomfort' and 'maximising collisions while minimising bottlenecks' to explain the design principles that underpin Wok+Wine. Each part of the concept has been thoughtfully considered to create the conditions in which participants feel open and able to speak to anyone about anything. We are firm believers in the power of simplicity. Experiences like these are not made more effective by adding things in but by leaving them out.
Origins: Networking was broken
Wok+Wine started in New York City as an antidote to siloes and filter bubbles. We live in a world in which the doorway to our next big opportunity is likely to be opened by an unlikely connection. It just doesn't make sense to network only with people who work in the same industry or have some demographic criteria (e.g. age, nationality, race) in common, yet so many people still do it. We wanted to fix that.
We wondered what would happen if a fashion designer, a chemist, a software engineer and an accountant (or any equally unlikely combination) were to come together for no apparent reason. The results have been remarkable.
Wok+Wine has featured in Harvard Business Review. That article does a great job of explaining the relevance and importance of the concept in helping individuals and organisations to succeed in a rapidly changing world.
Wok+Wine has helped thousands of individuals - as well as companies like Accenture, ABN AMRO and Airbnb - to get better connected.
A unique social experience, tried and tested in 11 countries so far
What it is?
Wok+Wine is a 3 hour gathering of 40+ people peeling and eating the most delicious jumbo prawns from a long communal table covered with newspaper and banana leaves, paired with sensational wine.
The food and wine are amazing but the real magic is the diversity and depth of surprising conversation.
Wok+Wine is the antidote to filter bubbles and predictive algorithms. We will surprise you.
Why we created it?
Our most valuable opportunities can come from connections to unlikely people. Wok+Wine creates an environment where such opportunities are discovered.
We wondered what would happen if we gathered people based on their mindset rather than their skill-set. That is, rather than all being designers or accountants or chemists, what if open-minded designers and accountants and chemists could meet in one place?
Wok+Wine connects you to the people
you didn't know you were looking for.
Wok+Wine is particularly effective in the following business situations.
Strengthening client relationships
This Wok+Wine experience was purposefully designed to strengthen the relationship between partners and staff of a global law firm and one of their most important national accounts.
Connecting dispersed teams
Most of the consultants at this firm work on-site in clients' offices. As a result, they had little opportunity to connect face to face. There was limited sense of community and best practices were not easily shared. This Wok+Wine experience successfully tackled both of these challenges.
Discovering new client opportunities
Many service businesses have a diverse network of interesting and successful clients. Rather than keeping them isolated and meeting them one-on-one, this Wok+Wine experience proved the value of bringing clients together at one time, to connect and discover new business opportunities.
Event / project kick-off
Wok+Wine is significantly more effective at connecting conference delegates (or other event participants) than any cocktail evening. Your delegates will make many more connections in a much more authentic way and those connections will continue to build throughout your conference.
Connecting online communities offline
While digital platforms are effective for building community numbers, when it comes to real community engagement, the online experience alone cannot fulfil our social needs. Eventually your members will want to meet each other face-to-face. Wok+Wine provides a simple and effective way for you to connect your community offline.
Connecting teams across departments or other siloes
Most organisations are looking for more effective ways to connect members of different teams or departments to find better solutions for increasingly complex problems, and to find new opportunities for growth. Wok+Wine is particularly effective at creating a level playing field for such engagement.
Enter your details below to join the global Wok+Wine community and be the first to know about our next event in your city.
We will only use your details to keep you updated about Wok+Wine events and other opportunities. Please see our Terms & Privacy section to learn more. By submitting your information via this form, you are consenting to those terms.
Contact Us
If you'd like to harness the proven connecting power of Wok+Wine for your team, group or community, or if you'd simply like to suggest an interesting venue or join the community, we'd love to hear from you.
Please complete the form below or email us directly at woknwine@gmail.com
Wok+wine: PRIVACY POLICY
Wok+Wine takes your privacy very seriously. We ask that you read this privacy policy carefully as it contains important information about what to expect when Wok+Wine collects personal information about you and how Wok+Wine will use your personal data.
This policy applies to information we collect about:
-- visitors to our website;
-- people who do business with us
-- People who register for email updates
—- People who participate in our events and other activities.
1 The information we collect about you
When you register for email updates, request products from us (e.g. merchandise) or participate in one of our activities we may collect the following personal information from you:
1.1 name
1.2 email address
1.3 postal address
1.4 when you are participating our events, we ask some questions that relate to your experiences and perspectives in connection with the subject matter at hand
Occasionally we may receive information about you from other sources (such as venues) which we will add to the information which we already hold about you in order to help us provide our services.
2 How we will use the information about you
We gather this information to allow us to process your registration, process any orders you may make, provide the services requested, and keep in touch providing you have given permission for us to do so. The relevant information is then used by us, our agents and sub-contractors to communicate with you on any matter relating to the conduct of your account and the provision of the services. If you agree, we may also contact you about other products and services we think may be of interest to you. We may also use aggregate information and statistics for the purposes of monitoring website usage in order to help us todevelop our website and our services.
These statistics will not include information that can be used to identify you. From time to time we may provide your information to our customer service agencies for research and analysis purposes so that we can monitor and improve the services we provide. We or our agents and sub-contractors may contact you by email or telephone to ask you for your feedback and comments on our services.
3 Marketing
We may also wish to provide you with information about special features of our website or any other service or products we think may be of interest to you. If you would rather not receive this information, please send an email message to woknwine@gmail.com. If you agree to us providing you with marketing information, you can always opt out at a later date. We may also want to provide you with related information from third parties we think may be of interest to you. If you would rather not receive this information, please send an email to woknwine@gmail.com. If you agree to us providing you with third party marketing information, you can always opt out at a later date. We may also provide your information to carefully selected third parties whose products or services we believe may be of interest to you. If you do not wish us to disclose your information in this way, please send an email to woknwine@gmail.com.
4 Our use of cookies and other information-gathering technologies
Cookies are text files placed on your computer to collect standard Internet log information and visitor behaviour information. The information is used to track visitor use of the website and to compile statistical reports on website activity. For further information about cookies visit www.aboutcookies.org or www.allaboutcookies.org. You can set your browser not to accept cookies and the above websites tell you how to remove cookies from your browser.
5 How we protect your information
We have put in place the following security procedures and technical and organisational measures to safeguard your personal information: we use well-regarded, well-protected technology services, namely Squarespace, Mailchimp, G Suite and Eventbrite. We will use all reasonable efforts to safeguard your personal information. However, you should be aware that the use of the Internet is not entirely secure and for this reason we cannot guarantee the security or integrity of any personal information which is transferred from you or to you via the Internet.
6 Overseas transfers
The information you provide may be transferred to countries outside the European Economic Area (EEA) that do not have similar protections in place regarding your data and restrictions on its use as set out in this policy. However, we will take steps to ensure adequate protections are in place to ensure the security of your information. The EEA comprises the EU member states plus Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein. By submitting your information you consent to these transfers for the purposes specified above.
You have the right to request a copy of the information that we hold about you. If you would like a copy of some or all of your personal information, please send an email to woknwine@gmail.com or send a letter to “Wok+Wine – Attention: Peter Mandeno, Highgate High Street, London N6 5HX, United Kingdom”. We may make a small charge for this service.
We want to ensure that your personal information is accurate and up to date. If any of the information that you have provided to Wok+Wine changes, for example if you change your email address, name or payment details, or if you wish to cancel your registration, please let us know the correct details by sending an email to woknwine@gmail.com or by sending a letter to “Wok+Wine – Attention: Peter Mandeno, Highgate High Street, London N6 5HX, United Kingdom”. You may ask us, or we may ask you, to correct information you or we think is inaccurate, and you may also ask us to remove information which is inaccurate.
8 Sale of business
If Wok+Wine’s business is sold or integrated with another business your details may be disclosed to our advisers and any prospective purchasers and their advisers and will be passed on to the new owners of the business.
9 Your consent
By submitting your personal information you consent to the use of that information as set out in this policy.
10 Changes to privacy policy
We keep our privacy policy under regular review. If we change our privacy policy we will post the changes on this page, and place notices on other pages of the website, so that you may be aware of the information we collect and how we use it at all times. This privacy policy was last updated on 20/5/2018.
11 How to contact Wok+Wine.
We welcome your views about our website and our privacy policy. If you would like to contact us with any queries or comments please send an email to woknwine@gmail.com or send a letter to “Wok+Wine – Attention: Peter Mandeno, Highgate High Street, London N6 5HX, United Kingdom”.
12 Links to other websites
Our website contains links to other websites. This privacy policy only applies to this website so when you link to other websites you should read their own privacy policies.