September 6, 2013
With the closing of America’s favorite pastime, baseball, and the opening of another American favorite, football, our country is in a state of all-around team celebration.
Having recently moved to the Boston-metro area, I am fluent in the language of Boston sports from simply observing jerseys and overhearing chatter. Being that I am a Yankees fan born and raised in New Jersey, I know better to keep my jersey hidden under my city of Boston sweatshirt.
These Bostonians sure do takes their sport teams seriously! That being said, I have a very serious question regarding a very serious sport…
Have you ever witnessed a chili cook-off?
The chopping, dicing, and simmering? The heat, sweat, and watering mouths? The variety of flavors – from savory to sweet, spicy to even creamy chocolate, refreshing to clearing the sinuses? Taste testing after taste testing, no two bowls of chili are the same.
What a better way to kick-off the well anticipated fall season with a little culinary team building and chili chatter, and competitive chili chatter at that. We still have a little over two weeks until our calendars tell us it’s OK to start carving pumpkins, but when someone brings up chili, we can’t help but to pull out the pots and pans and get cooking.
If you find yourself with the need to SPICE things up in the office, AWAKEN your coworkers with a little refreshing cilantro – I mean ENERGY – why not consider TEAMBUILDING?
Give your coworkers the chance to be not only competitive, but CREATIVE. Maybe you’d like something a little HOTTER or BOLDER than designing cakes in Let Them Eat Cake or stirring sangria in the Winery Team Challenge when considering our Culinary Programs. Chili would be perfect for your group – but don’t underestimate the fight of those designing cupcakes under pressure. Haven’t you seen Cupcake Wars?
In our Hot Cha-Cha-Chili Cook-Off program, each team is provided the basic necessities needed for brewing the potential blue ribbon bowl of chili. Not only will teams need to work together in creating a memorable masterpiece to present to the judges, but they will also have to speak for their creation.
Why did they choose the ingredients they chose? What do their flavors represent? You can learn a lot about a person from a palette. Watch out for the quiet ones, they’ll feed you the hottest chili you’ve ever tasted.
