The hard part of organising group activities in Christchurch is not finding something to do. It is finding something where nobody has to be good at it, nobody has to set up, and nobody has to stay behind and clean up afterwards.
We run four formats, and they suit quite different groups. Here is how to pick.
1. The Mini-Cake Decorating Challenge — for fun over skill
Think paint and sip, except the canvas is edible. Everyone gets their own freshly baked mini cake, ganache and professional garnishes, a short briefing on piping, and then a timed competition. You photograph the results, crown a table winner, and eat the evidence or box it up.
$65 per person, four to twelve guests, up to 90 minutes, Tuesday to Friday between 11am and 4pm. No experience needed — people who have never held a piping bag routinely beat people who watch a lot of baking television, which is most of the fun. Cakes with no added gluten can be selected at booking.
Book this one if: it is a hen party, a birthday, or a team that does not know each other well. The competition does the social work for you.
2. A class, or a proper team-building session
Our classes can be booked as a private group rather than joining a public session. Dhi runs it hands-on: cake consistency, getting sharp edges, piping technique. All professional tools and premium ingredients provided, and everyone leaves with a finished cake and enough understanding to make it again. Brownie substitutes with no added gluten are available.
The scheduled classes run from Cake Decorating Level 1 through to chocolate tempering, plus choux and tarts, each with its per-head rate on its own page.
For work groups there is a team-building format in one, two or three-hour versions, built so everyone gets personal attention rather than watching from the back. Our kitchen takes four to six comfortably; for anything larger we use The Welder's events space, which handles fifteen or more. Details on the classes page.
Book this one if: your group would rather come away with a skill than a scoreboard — or you need to fill a specific slot in a work day.
3. Group high tea — for sitting down properly
Our Full High Tea Experience is $65 per person for a relaxed 90 to 120-minute lunch: savoury bites with a South American and French twist, a curated run of our signature desserts, and bottomless organic Zealong tea. Specialty drinks can be added.
You can book up to ten people online. Larger groups and private weekday events go in the bigger events space — get in touch for a quote. Bookings need 48 hours' notice, and for a weekend it is worth asking one to two weeks ahead because spaces are limited. A vegetarian menu and a no-added-gluten option can be selected at booking.
Book this one if: it is a baby shower, a milestone birthday, or a bridal party — and read our piece on what makes it a fusion high tea first.
4. A private dessert evening — for the ones who really care
The one most people do not know about. We open after hours for your group alone and serve a rotating menu of plated desserts and experimental flavours — things that have not reached the retail cabinet yet — with Dhi talking you through where each idea came from and how it is built.
Book this one if: your group are genuinely into food, or you want something for an anniversary or a small celebration that nobody will have done before. There is more on our evenings and events page.
How to enquire
The Mini-Cake Challenge books straight from its product page. For everything else — and for any group over ten — use the enquiry form on our group experiences page. It asks your group size (up to 20+) and which format you are after, and we come back with what fits.
Booking terms are on our terms page, and the wider list of what you can book is on the bookable experiences page.
Where you will be
Inside The Welder at 20–26 Welles Street, one block south of the Bus Interchange. A plant-filled space with an open kitchen you can watch, movable tables that group four to eight, parking across the road and behind the building, and bike racks at the side entrance.
Or just bring a cake
If the occasion does not need a whole activity, our mini cakes are one serving each and come as trays of six or twelve — everyone gets their own, nothing needs cutting. The birthday cake range covers anything larger, and there is more about the building we are in here.
Allergens present include soy, almonds, nuts, eggs and dairy. Our kitchen is small and without exclusive production areas for all of our different recipes, so traces may occur and nothing is guaranteed safe for severe coeliac disease.
