DIJGTAL’s DIJGIChef Lockdown Challenge: Virtual Team Building Done Right

How do you do a team-building exercise when most of your team is in lockdown? You get creative! DIJGTAL’s entire Sydney team had been in lockdown for almost three months due to the Delta COVID outbreak in Australia.

With no end in sight of when lockdown laws would be lifted, it was decided that the team needed a fun, challenging and what was found to be a somewhat stressful distraction — a virtual cook-off!

22 cooks, 17 ingredients, 1.5hrs to create a culinary masterpiece. The DIJGIChef challenge was a perfect way to share some laughs, bring out some healthy competition, and of course, some nervous sweats!

Challengers were delivered a box of ingredients a few days before the challenge and were tasked with coming up with recipes that would use as many of the ingredients as possible. They were also allowed to incorporate five additional ingredients, plus any usual pantry items to create their dish.

The resulting dishes were delicious demonstrations of the wonderful cultural mix within the DIJGTAL team. Some people pulled on old family recipes, others fused traditional and modern methods, while some had never cooked a whole chicken before!

The team over at DIJGTAL put together a fun video commemorating their experience together, check it out below!

Team Members Commented on the Experience

Donna White said:

I loved seeing “another room” outside of the usual rectangle of Monday-Friday, along with everyone’s fams, kids, dogs, skills, and of course the bants. But mainly I loved that everyone joined in, what a bunch of heroes 🙌🏻♥️

Adam Natiq said:

What a fun exercise! I actually learned how intuitive cooking can be, especially if you follow some basic rules.

Steph Lloyd said:

It was my chance to quite literally make it or break it.

Kevin Van said:

We usually eat chicken in the form of nuggets. I don’t know what they were thinking giving us a whole bird to cook! Honestly, though, it was a fun experience to enjoy with everyone on the same journey— but thank goodness for my girlfriend, I don’t think I would have made it.

Disha Rathod said:

This was one of the funniest challenges I’ve ever done. It was hilarious seeing everyone struggling with their chickens. I loved how all the dishes turned out — it made lockdown fun.

Mark Nickson, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of DIJGTAL added:

Working from home has had its challenges, and one thing that’s so important for us is to ensure our team feels connected and know they have the support of all of us — whether work-related or personal, we always have each other’s backs.

Want to learn more about DIJGTAL? Check out their website.

About DIJGTAL

DIJGTAL is an innovation-led strategic design and marketing agency, with offices in Sydney, Vancouver, and Los Angeles.