For The Love Of Food Denver Cooking Classes corporate team building Kids Cook Summer Camp Culinary school

KNIFE-TO-KNIFE CHALLENGE

Two (or more) corporate teams battle it out, Iron Chef style, using the pre-chosen mystery ingredient, while a very opinionated panel of chefs judges best-of-the-best based on taste, presentation and teamwork.

Even if participants’ cooking skills are limited to nothing more than pushing a few buttons on a microwave, they will find a Culinary Team Building event both fun and educational. Our clients are continually amazed at the quality and presentation of the gourmet meals they create without any previous cooking experience!

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Timeframe:   3¼  hours

Agenda:  30 minutes   Meet & Greet with Chef’s Choice Hors d’oeuvres & Drinks

                   15 minutes    Welcome! Safety & Knife Skills Orientation

                   1½ Hours     Hands-On Cooking

                   1 Hour            Enjoy Dinner  & Socializing

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This activity is competitive, and teams are judged based on Best Tasting Food, Best Food Presentation, and Best Use of Resources (e.g., who creates the least amount of waste, who retains the most "Gourmet Bucks" – currency used to purchase food consultation and equipment), and most importantly, Best Teamwork.

 The Knife-to-Knife Challenge is best suited for :
• Company teams wanting to stimulate creativity and innovation
• Sales teams
• Executive teams executing strategic planning

Some past mystery ingredients have been:

• Mushroom Mélange – wild, domestic, dried, Asian, unique & unexpected!
• Torrents of Tomatoes – heirloom varieties, sun-dried, canned, Beefsteak, Roma, paste, grape, Yellow! Orange! Red! Unusual & Unique!
• Bean Bonanza – Fava, Green, Lentils, Garbanzo, Pinto, Black, White, Red, Pink…canned, fresh, & more!
• Potato Panoply! – White, Red, Purple, Yellow, Big, Little, Sweet, Yams… did you know there are over 400 types of potatoes in Peru???
• Gaga for Ginger! -  Fresh, Candied, Crystallized, Ground, Ginger beer, Ginger snaps…

PASSION PLATE

Passion Plate is an all-for-one & one-for-all effort where all team members work together to prepare a 4-course meal, comprised of an appetizer, salad or soup, an entrée with sides and dessert.

Even if participants’ previous cooking skills have been limited to using a microwave, they will find Culinary Team Building both fun and educational. We are dedicated to participants learning skills they can carry back to the workplace, as well as their own kitchen.

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Timeframe:   3  hours

Agenda:  30 minutes   Meet & Greet with Chef’s Choice Hors d’oeuvres & Drinks

                   15 minutes    Welcome! Safety & Knife Skills Orientation

                   1¼ Hours     Hands-On Cooking

                   1 Hour           Enjoy Dinner  & Socializing

With the Passion Plate format,  groups work collaboratively to create a gourmet menu that they’ll enjoy together.  Once the cooking is complete… it’s time for your team to relax. Our chefs will plate and serve you the gourmet meal you’ve created while you enjoy the fruits of your labors.

It's during dinner when the real team building occurs.  This is the "magic time"—when everyone starts sharing about who they really are when not a company employee. To reinforce this experience participants are asked to discover the meaning of the exercise, what they’ve learned from it, and how to apply it to their current working world.

Some Passion Plate menu choices are:

• An Italian Trattoria Luncheon

• An Old Fashioned American Picnic

• Bistro Dining Al Fresco 

• Wild Mushroom & Goat Cheese Crêpes; Grilled Rosemary Garlic Chicken with Orzo & Sea Salt Roasted Brocolli; Chocolate Pots de Crème

• Harvest Salad; Grilled Rib Steaks with Caramelized Onions & Mushrooms, Potato Galette; Molten Chocolate Cake 

SMALL PLATES, BIG TASTES

Working in small groups of 4 or 5, team members will

be creating a selection of Spanish Tapas, Greek Mezethes, Italian Antipasti or an eclectic selection of small plates from Lebanon,  Japan, Tunisia, Turkey, and around the world.  No matter, all their senses, problem solving, timing and communication skills will be put to the test as they organize themselves and the timing of their dishes to assure that everything is ready to eat on-time, and in time for each course.

The food preparation for Small Plates, Big Tastes lasts for approximately 75 minutes.  And at last, it’s time to admire the fruits of your labors ~ a meal worthy of a fine restaurant.
 
It's during dinner when the real team building occurs. Now the ice has broken and a new paradigm of behavior has begun, people bond even further while dining together. This is the "magic time"—when everyone starts sharing about who they really are when not a company employee.

To reinforce this experience participants are asked to discover the meaning of the exercise, what they’ve learned from it, and how to apply it to their current working world.

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Timeframe:   3  hours

Agenda:  30 minutes   Meet & Greet with Chef’s Choice Hors d’oeuvres & Drinks

                   15 minutes    Welcome! Safety & Knife Skills Orientation

                   1¼ Hours     Hands-On Cooking

                   1 Hour           Enjoy Dinner  & Socializing

•  Roasted Prosciutto-Wrapped  Figs with Honeyed Goat Cheese
  
•  Mussels in Tomato and Garlic Sauce with Crusty Bread
•  Feta, Onion & Tomato Turnovers
•  Peppered Roasted Filet with Gorgonzola
•  Chicken Skewers with Spicy Peanut Sauce
•  Panko-Crusted Shrimp with Tamarind-Honey Dipping Sauce
•  Raspberry Chipotle Pork Tenderloin Sliders
•  Chicken Kebabs with Harissa Yogurt Sauce
•  Eastern Shore Crabcakes with Homemade Tartar Sauce
•  Polpettini: Little Meatballs Braised in Tomatoes, Garlic & Wine

For groups up to 20 guests, select 4 Small Plates 
For groups of 21-35 guests, select 6 Small Plates 
For groups of 36+ guests, select 7 Small Plates

For larger groups, please contact us

Small Plates, Big Tastes is priced from $89 per person.
All prices are inclusive of food, staff, site rental , 2 drinks per person and non-alcoholic beverages.

FARE TO SHARE

A delicious and philanthropic way to build strong teams while giving back to your local community, this team-building workshop includes donating to the charitable organization of your choice. Your teams create additional portions from any of our team-building workshops, package them up for travel, and deliver them to your charitable organization. You also share a few words about the benefiting families who you’re feeding in order to experience a deep and meaningful connection with powerful insights of gratitude and responsibility. 

Fare to Share creates the opportunity to build your team from within, while feeding families in need from within the communities you serve.

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Timeframe:   3¼ - 3¾ hours

Agenda:  30 minutes   Meet & Greet with Chef’s Choice Hors d’oeuvres & Drinks

                   15 minutes    Welcome! Safety & Knife Skills Orientation

                   1½-2 Hours  Hands-On Cooking

                   1 Hour           Enjoy Dinner  & Socializing

Outcomes:

• Teambuilding
• A charitable donation of food
• Education on hunger and the homeless in America
• A delicious meal!
• Improving team morale
• Good feelings that come from giving to someone in need

CHILI COOK-OFF

Think you've got the best Chili recipe in the West?

Working in groups of 4-6 you'll want to put on your cowboy hats and boots and prove it! With a little friendly competition, and a lot of cumin, chili powder, beans (or not!), beef, elk, buffalo,chicken, a multitude of veggies, a whole bunch of secret ingredients we're going to battle it out for the Best Chili in the Foothills!  While your chili's simmering, we'll give you a kickin' cornbread recipe to make as an accompaniment.

This is an ideal workshop for a group looking for camaraderie building and mild competition.

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Timeframe:   3¼  hours

Agenda:  30 minutes   Meet & Greet with Chef’s Choice Hors d’oeuvres & Drinks

                   15 minutes    Welcome! Safety & Knife Skills Orientation

                   1½ Hours     Hands-On Cooking

                   1 Hour            Enjoy Dinner  & Socializing

========================================================

Timeframe:   3¼  hours

Agenda:  30 minutes   Meet & Greet with Chef’s Choice Hors d’oeuvres & Drinks

                   15 minutes    Welcome! Safety & Knife Skills Orientation

                   1½ Hours     Hands-On Cooking

                   1 Hour            Enjoy Dessert & Socializing

BASTA PASTA! CHALLENGE

Think you can make the best pasta sauce this side of Rome? Prove it!!

After a brief lesson in making fresh pasta you'll  make your own fabulous batch of pasta and a winning sauce to go with it!  Maybe gorgeous Egg Pasta with a Rich Meat Sauce, Spinach Pasta with a Butternut Squash sauce, or maybe stunning pink Beet Ravioli with Ricotta & Pine Nut Filling?   The possibilities are endless...

Working in groups of 4-6 you'll want to put on your best Italian accents and with a little friendly competition (or not),  some homemade Caesar Salad, the most garlicky Garlic Bread in Denver, some good red wine and a lot of fun you'll create what just might be the best pasta meal you've ever had!

We'll end our meal with some Chef-made biscotti and coffee.

This is an ideal workshop for a group looking for camaraderie building and mild competition.

=====================================================

Timeframe:   3¼  hours

Agenda:  30 minutes   Meet & Greet with Chef’s Choice Hors d’oeuvres &                           Drinks

                   15 minutes    Welcome! Safety & Knife Skills Orientation

                   1½ Hours     Hands-On Cooking

                   1 Hour            Enjoy Dinner  & Socializing