Sunday, February 22, 2015

Team Building: Iron Chef


    Team Building is type of class we do in the Teaching Kitchen where Googlers compete in teams of two to create the best dish. Each team has an hour to complete 3 plates (one per team member and a third for the judges). Much like the show, Iron Chef, teams are judged on-- completion on time, creativity, taste, cleanliness of their stations and last but not least, use of seasonal ingredients. To prep for the class, we set out a variety of fresh, seasonal ingredients as well as spices, condiments and cookware the teams have at their full disposal.

Examples of Seasonal Ingredients: Tangerines, Kumquats, Avocados,
Bok Choy, Broccoli, Kale, Swiss Chard, Mushrooms and Blood Oranges...
Herbs&Spices: Basil, Rosemary, Tarragon, Chili Powder, Cloves, Cumin, Chervil, Cilantro, Cinnamon, Dill and Palm Sugar...
Condiments: Soy Sauce, Mirin, Maple Syrup, Tamari, Mustard, Fish Sauce, Gochujang, Pecans, Chili Oil, Olive Oil, Balsamic Vinegar, Red Wine Vinegar and many more kinds of vinegar & oil...
Cookware: Sauce/Sautee/Sheet Pans, Blenders, Woks, Pots, Peelers, Zesters and Oven Mitts...

    When the final products came out I was thoroughly impressed. These were techies turned culinary chefs in a matter of minutes. It was so enjoyable seeing the Googlers ask for ideas, trying new combinations and really being creative with this whole process. Team Builds allow for open conversation and in the end we all come out of it with a little more knowledge about food.
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5 comments:

  1. UnknownFebruary 23, 2015 at 1:59 PM

    Did you act as a judge for the Googlers?

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    1. Shannon ManningFebruary 27, 2015 at 8:09 PM

      Yeah! I did taste all the final dishes and gave my opinion but it was ultimately up to the chefs to decide the scores.

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  2. UnknownFebruary 26, 2015 at 4:30 PM

    Shannon, this is fascinating, and I'm sure you're having a ball! Out of curiosity, who exactly are these kids who get to come in and taste and cook things? How are they chosen to come in and be a part of these experiments (are they technically experiments?)?

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    1. Shannon ManningFebruary 27, 2015 at 8:53 PM

      So Googlers (Google employees) are able to sign up for one of two types of classes. It is open to anybody and they are usually set up into groups of around 10. Some groups request to be all together and others are random groupings. However, one type of class is set up as a 7 week course where Googlers are taught different cooking techniques and recipes. The other type of class is called Team Build (like this post) and is just one single class where Googlers have a variety of vegetables, meats, grains and other ingredients/tools to choose from. It's with these that they get to experiment and play around with creating new dishes.
      I hope that all made sense? Haha so they're not experiments but in Team Builds the Googlers do get to experiment in a very organic way. We do help them out but there are no structured guidelines or rules they have to follow as far as their final dish goes.
      Did I answer all of your questions?

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  3. UnknownMarch 7, 2015 at 12:26 PM

    Oh! Yes, that makes sense! Thank you :) Wow, that would be so much fun

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