I'm no masterchef. Actually I can't cook, but on Friday I cooked lunch for 17 team members in Melbourne - here's why.

They all said I was mad. They gave me a thousand other ways that I could impress my team. But I didn't listen. I knew that by being brave enough to try to cook for all 17 of our team in our Melbourne office on Friday would show them that they are family and they mean the world to me. And guess what? It worked.

I nervously cooked for 3.5 hours in the smallest kitchen ever, as I am leasing while I build my new home. I haven't unpacked everything as there is no purpose in doing so, which has meant that I used one pot, 4 times. Now that's dedication.

I found a recipe from Donna Hay for Thai red chicken curry soup, and added a few healthy ingredients of my own like broccolini, carrots and zucchini. I cut everything up in what seemed to take forever and unlike many people who enjoy cooking, I was bored out of my brain. Chopping doesn't stimulate me enough. But I did it over and over again until there was enough chopped up for 17 people.

The most I have ever cooked for is 6, and even then, it was the worse experience ever even though it turned out to be delicious. And the last time I cooked was last Christmas at my brother's house, from yet another Donna Hay recipe.

This is why I did it:

• I wanted to show my team that I was happy to put myself out of my comfort zone for them to enjoy a lunch made by me rather than our normal Friday pizza's.
• I wanted my team to know that giving up hours of my time, just so that they could enjoy a delicious lunch was important to me. A small sacrifice to show them that as much as they constantly do things for me and often I don't get to reciprocate - this is one time I was going to show them that I appreciate the efforts they put in.
• Eating around a table is an intimate thing, particularly if it isn't at a restaurant. We are all work family and it's important that we share a home cooked meal.
• Because I care about what they eat and want them to enjoy variety.

The end result was great. They ate every single bit and seemed to really enjoy it. Even I thought it was delicious. Sometimes it's the small things that mean the most.