The hard part of organising group activities in Christchurch is not finding something to do. The hard part is finding something where nobody has to be good at it, nobody has to set up, and nobody stays behind to clean up.
We run four formats. They suit different groups. Here is how to pick.
1. The Mini-Cake Decorating Challenge — for fun over skill
Paint and sip, except the canvas is edible. Everyone gets a freshly baked mini cake, ganache, professional garnishes, a short briefing on piping, then a timed competition. You photograph the results, crown a table winner, and eat the evidence while the ganache is still soft. Warm ganache drags behind the nozzle. Cool ganache holds a sharp edge. Working that out against a clock is most of the entertainment.
$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. 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 instead of a public session. Dhi runs it hands-on: cake consistency, getting sharp edges, piping technique. All professional tools and premium ingredients provided. Everyone leaves with a finished cake and the understanding to repeat it. 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. Tempered chocolate snaps; untempered chocolate bends.
For work groups, the team-building format comes in one, two or three-hour versions, built so everyone gets attention instead of 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 sooner come away with a skill than a scoreboard, or you need to fill a 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. Savoury first, warm and salty; then the desserts, silky and cold. Specialty drinks can be added. The pot keeps coming back full and hot, and that is what stretches a table to two hours.
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 ask 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. Our Christchurch high tea page explains what makes it a fusion menu.
4. A private dessert evening — for the ones who really care
The one most people do not know about. We set the room aside for your group alone. A rotating menu of plated desserts and experimental flavours, things that have not reached the cabinet yet, with Dhi talking you through where each idea came from and how it is built. Plates land warm, something cold melting against something hot, and the table goes quiet for the first spoonful.
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. 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. 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, bike racks at the side. Open 10am to 9pm Tuesday to Saturday, closed Sunday and Monday.
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, and a cold ganache top keeps its shine all afternoon. Trays need two days through the checkout date picker. Everything is collected in person from Welles Street; we do not deliver. The birthday cake range covers anything larger, and 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.
