Iron Chef challenge in Hong Kong

Rather than opt for straightforward cooking lessons, executive chef and founder of Go Gourmet, Lori Granito, devised an event similar in format to Japanese television’s Iron Chef, or the BBC’s
Ready Steady Cook.

Challenges
Go Gourmet’s core business is catering for outside corporate events. Granito had to come up
with a programme for 48 people with unknown and probably different levels of cooking skills.
For Granito, the aim was to ensure people had fun – “baked, broiled and bonded” – and
could then eat what they had cooked together.
For the event to work well the menu had to take into account each group member’s dietary
restrictions, as well as particular food likes or dislikes, and find a cuisine suitable for this size
multicultural group.

Execution
Asia Netcom’s participants assembled in the early evening at Go Gourmet’s catering and
cooking studio where the group was briefed and divided into six teams of eight.
At the briefing, teams were provided with a selection of ingredients, two recipes and a
mystery ingredient.
They were challenged to create three dishes and present the food in an attractive manner.
All this had to be achieve within one hour.
“We decided to do random group selections because it forced the delegates to work outside their comfort zones,” explains Granito.
After being taught some basic techniques, each team went to work, cooking against the clock.
Participants were judged on the taste and presentation of their food, and on the creative use of
the mystery ingredient.
The menu theme was ‘tapas style’ finger food – ideal for an informal gathering upstairs
in Go Gourmet’s private dining room, Magnolia, after the cook-off.
Three chef judges assessed the food and presentation, and presented prizes to the
members of the winning team.

Verdict
Asia Netcom was delighted with how the the event turned out and felt the Iron Chef Challenge really helped to break the ice.
“Go-Gourmet created a unique and fabulously fun teambuilding event for Asia Netcom managers,” says Lorain Wong, senior vice-president – marketing and communications,
Asia Netcom.
“While the cooking contest and table decorating brought out the competitiveness in all of us,
the continuous flow of good wine, canapés and Lori’s homegrown hospitality made it a truly
memorable evening.
“We had a great time and we will be back for another Iron Chef challenge.”