Tag cupcake wars

John Deere and ShareThis Get Creative with Parties That Cook’s Amazing Kitchen Race and Cupcake Wars

0 comments By The Kitchen Whisperer Filed in Entertaining, News & Events Tagged with , , , , , , , August 29th, 2011 @ 3:38 pm

At Parties That Cook we hate making anyone feel forgotten. That being said, I think it’s time we featured a couple of our newer Corporate Team Building Events…

On Thursday, August 18th, John Deere hosted their first cooking event with Parties That Cook – and boy was it exciting! Not only did they get to experience a heated cooking competition, but the company took their team building a step further by selecting our Amazing Kitchen Race! According to the John Deere host, Sarah N., “It seemed like something different and something that would really get everyone working as a team.”

Teams took to the streets of Chicago to compete in a GPS scavenger hunt, earning points (called cache) to redeem for advantages in the kitchen. They then returned to the Charlie Baggs kitchen to finish the evening with the usual Kitchen Challenge portion of the event.

We were so glad to hear that our FIRST Amazing Kitchen Race in Chicago went off without a hitch! Communication with our partners at Geoteaming definitely contributed to a smooth competition. PTC’s Chef Molly reported, “The client was raving about the entire event and loved everything – both cooking and geoteaming.” John Deere’s host, Sarah N., added that the best part was seeing “everyone get so into the cooking and really working as a team.” Success!

The very next day, ShareThis hosted a Cupcake Wars event at the Ferry Building in San Francisco. PTC Chef Linda shared that the guests all had a great time! Being a judge must have been tough, as she loved how great each of the final products tasted.

ShareThis host, Olivia T., loved seeing everyone work together as a team, and she was impressed by all the brainstorming ideas. This must have been a particularly creative group, as Chef Linda also noted how creative the cupcakes were! Chef Linda explained, “Interestingly, guests made their decorations from fresh produce – berries, citrus, etc. No one touched the coloring, jimmies or confetti!” Great to see everyone stepping out of the box!

If you would like to see your event featured in one of our Event Blogs, just let us know!
Hope to see you in the kitchen soon!

Parties That Cook’s Corporate Event Secrets: How to Throw a Successful Cooking Party

0 comments By The Kitchen Whisperer Filed in Entertaining, General, News & Events Tagged with , , , , , , , , , April 26th, 2011 @ 3:14 pm

Need help planning your next corporate team building? Follow these helpful tips from Parties That Cook, and your event is sure to be a success!

–Get Competitive: Adding a competition component to a cooking party definitely changes the event’s dynamic. If you think your guests can handle the heat of competition in the kitchen, fire it up! In the end, everyone wins by building teamwork and camaraderie; though rewarding the winning team with a prize is an extra incentive for guests to try their best! Competitions make particularly good corporate team building activities because they also challenge guests to make the winning presentation. Ever seen your company logo recreated as plate garnish?

–Stay Current: Keep current trends in mind as you plan your bash. Are cupcakes the “It” dessert on the menu this year? Throw a cupcake-themed event, like Cupcake Wars, in which guests are armed with a base recipe of their choosing, and teams select their toppings and flavorings from a pantry of secret ingredients. Whether guests play it safe or head into uncharted territory – did anyone say bacon cupcakes? – presentation is critical as the judges decide which team takes the cake!

–Be Accommodating: If guests have dietary restrictions (vegetarians, food allergies, etc.), don’t just banish them to scraps. Offer to have a special menu item available for them, or reserve a portion of a recipe that can be adapted to fit their needs. If there are 5 vegetarians, remember to have at least one of them on the team making the vegetarian option. They need to be represented, too!

–Get Outdoors: Take advantage of the warmer spring weather, and move your party outside. A corporate scavenger hunt is a creative way to incorporate the outdoors into your cooking party, and Parties That Cook’s Amazing Kitchen Race does just that. Part scavenger hunt and part cooking competition, this event will challenge your guests to think on their feet (literally) as they hunt for clues and work together to earn advantages in the kitchen!

–Get Everyone Involved: Do you have an unenthusiastic guest? Put them in charge of a recipe, and they will be more invested in the outcome. If someone doesn’t want to cook, make them a team runner (have them grab ingredients, cooking utensils or drinks for their teammates) or let them design the final plate presentation.

Check back for more fun corporate event ideas soon. In the meantime, let us know if you have any fun tips!

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