Team Building with Taste – DFW Bloggers Event

Last week Team Building with Taste in Dallas hosted local DFW Bloggers for a morning of cooking fun.

We arrived to mimosas.

Chef Joey introduced the Team Building with Taste staff and explained how the challenges would take place. We were broken up into four teams to prepare appetizers for judging. Although this team building exercise was all about playing chef for the day, we were given recipes and some guidance from professional chefs.

Team Building with Taste

team building with taste

This hands-on team building event was so much fun. I would never compared myself to being a chef. I enjoy baking with my kids, whipping up quick recipes at home and even getting a little creative with dinner thanks to Pinterest at times, but these recipes were the kind you would find in an upscale restaurant.

We named our team Chop Chix and got to work dividing the tasks to make Korean Beef Lettuce Wraps with Kimchee.

Each time received their own professional chef to help guide them through the process. They would step in and help us when needed but for the most part they showed us the way around the kitchen and gave us great cooking tips.

All the ingredients found in the commercial grade kitchen were fresh. We even had to wash the soil off our lettuce for the wraps.

Even though each team was making a different appetizer we were cooking enough for everyone. Beyond just making a platter of appetizers to serve, we had to put together a presentation plate for the judges to taste. 

Have you ever seen the television show Chopped? That is what it felt like except you had a helper and were clearly not overly skilled before walking into the kitchen. We were even given a surprise ingredients half way through the cooking process that we were required to incorporate into our dish.

Besides just learning how to cook our recipe within a 50 minute window, we also learned about platting. 

A couple of tips we learned were:

  • Never garnish your plate with something that is not an ingredient in your recipe
  • Add sauce to your plate for taste, not decoration only
  • Make it bright, incorporate some colorful ingredients 

Once we were finished we presented our dish to the group, judges and other bloggers. 

All four teams did such an amazing job. You could hear the teamwork and camaraderie throughout the morning. So many laughs and enjoyment.

After the judging took place we sat down to eat our lunch. We may have done the appetizer round but there was enough food being served between the four teams to be a full meal. No one could finish it all!

After we ate our lunch the chefs served us dessert that they baked. Heavenly. This caramel brownie was baked on a pretzel crust and topped with fresh diced berries. 

Learn more about Team Building with Taste and visit their Dallas or Atlanta location. This was the perfect activity for any team building event, not just corporate. I would love to host a fun girls night out here and I know it would be a blast for a birthday party or bachelorette event.

The minimum number of guests to host an event is ten. However, Team Building with Taste sometimes hosts open events that you can join. They have a Father’s Day cooking class event coming up that you can signup for.

Want to try the recipe my team made?

Korean Beef Lettuce Wraps Recipe

Team Building with Taste – DFW Bloggers Event

Team Building with Taste – DFW Bloggers Event

Ingredients

  • ¼ cup soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 2 teaspoons sesame oil
  • 1 bunch scallions, white part only, minced (save green for later)
  • 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
  • 1 tablespoon ginger, minced
  • 3 tablespoons sesame seeds toasted
  • 1 pound beef filet, sliced thin, across the grain
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 2 heads Bibb lettuce, leaves only

Instructions

  1. Whisk together the 1st seven ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
  2. Add sliced beef, cover and let marinate for 15 minutes.
  3. Heat oil in a large sauté pan and sauté beef until browned and just cooked through, about 5 minutes.
  4. Transfer to a bowl and toss with scallion greens and 1 tablespoon of sesame seeds.

Optional Toppings: Steamed rice, shredded carrots, and cucumber or cabbage kimchi.

    Did you make this recipe?

    Please leave a comment on the blog or share a photo on Pinterest

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