🍔🥗 Culinary Quest
Welcome, foodies! Let’s gather around the virtual kitchen and cook up insights from our last sprint. Celebrate sizzling successes, chew over sticky challenges, and spice up our plans to feast on future wins!
Template Columns
🍞 Rising Dough (Wind)
Share the ingredients and moments that helped our team rise and thrive.
Base column: Wind🧂 Sticky Spills (Anchors)
Discuss the sticky spots and recipe setbacks that held us back this sprint.
Base column: Anchors🍳 New Recipes (Actions)
Suggest new recipes and actionable tweaks to cook up even better results next time!
Base column: ActionsAbout this template
The Culinary Quest retrospective uses a food-themed format to explore what helped the team rise, which challenges got sticky, and what new recipes (actions) will lead to future successes.
When to use this template
Use this retrospective when you want to energize the team with a playful theme, spark open discussions about achievements and obstacles, and brainstorm actionable improvements.
How to facilitate
Kick off the session by welcoming the team to the virtual kitchen and explaining each column's purpose using the food metaphors to set a fun, positive tone.
Invite everyone to reflect on the sprint and add notes to Rising Dough for things that worked well or supported team growth.
Move on to Sticky Spills, prompting teammates to share setbacks, obstacles, or moments that slowed down progress.
Transition to New Recipes, encouraging everyone to propose new ideas, experiments, or process changes for the next sprint.
Read through the notes in each column, grouping similar points together, and ask participants to clarify or expand where needed.
Lead a team discussion to prioritize the most impactful actions from the New Recipes column.
Assign ownership for selected actions, ensuring clear next steps before the retrospective ends.
Pro Tips
Use food analogies throughout to keep the energy up and reinforce the theme.
Encourage quieter team members to contribute by calling on them for specific insights or asking for their favorite food-based analogy.
Practice timeboxing for each section so the team stays focused and the session remains engaging.
Share screens or visuals of delicious food to stimulate creativity and lighten the mood.
FAQ
What if someone struggles with the food-related metaphors?
Allow team members to contribute ideas in plain language and help relate their feedback back to the metaphor in a light-hearted way.
How can we ensure actionable outcomes from New Recipes?
Facilitate a focused discussion to agree on the top actions, and assign clear owners before closing the session.
Is this template suitable for serious topics?
Yes, but set expectations up front that the theme is to encourage sharing, not trivialize challenges. Adjust the tone as needed for sensitive discussions.
At a glance
- Duration
40–55 min
- Team Size
3-10 people
- Columns
3 columns
- Base Format
Wind, Anchors, Actions
Tags
Ready to get started?
Use this template to run your next retrospective