The Spicy Lunch
After years of remote work, interactions inside the organisation had become mostly transactional. People collaborated without really knowing one another—faces reduced to names, voices without presence, relationships without context.
I felt a need for something simple and human: a way to bring people together outside the structure of formal meetings.
THE INSIGHT
I realised that culture doesn’t shift through large programs.
It changes through small, genuine gestures—moments that make people feel part of something again.
So I created Spicy Lunch: a monthly gathering built around shared food, playful challenges, and real conversation. The spicy element acted as a natural icebreaker: surprising, fun, slightly vulnerable, and always disarming.
HOW IT WORKS
I design and host each edition end-to-end:
concept & ritual
menu design with the catering team
communication, registration, and logistics
spicy “challenges,” secret sauces, games
welcoming newcomers and opening each session
building partnerships with the internal kitchen
creating a space where people felt safe, included, and seen
What started with four or five colleagues quickly grew into a monthly community of 40–60 participants.
WHAT IT ENABLES
Spicy Lunch opens doors that formal structures never could.
Newcomers integrate faster and felt immediately part of the organisation.
Interns meet managers informally, gaining visibility and opportunities.
Cross-team conversations spark effortlessly, breaking silos.
Seniors and juniors connect in ways that would never happen in a meeting.
Collaboration becomes easier because people finally know each other as humans.
Leadership noticed the impact and participated themselves—including the CEO.
The atmosphere carries back into the workspace as trust, curiosity, and openness.
One conversation during a Spicy Lunch even allowed me to secure key resources for an innovation project—an opportunity that would have taken months through hierarchical channels.
WHAT I LEARNED
I learned that human connection unlocks resources and opportunities that systems cannot. Culture shifts through small gestures, not big programs. Inclusion isn’t a policy—it’s a practice shaped by the atmosphere we create together. When people meet as humans, collaboration becomes natural, trust grows faster, and the organisation feels alive again.
WHY IT MATTERS
Spicy Lunch is not about food.
It is about belonging.
A simple monthly ritual that helped rebuild the human fabric of a large organisation—one shared moment at a time.
