The ShareASale team recently spent an enjoyable evening at The Chopping Block. The Chopping Block is a local culinary store, but they also hold cooking classes and corporate events. You can learn to cook specific dishes, or compete in an “Iron Chef” Style cooking competition as the ShareASale Team did.

Two teams faced off and were tasked to create two dishes: one chicken and one fish along with accompanying sides. After discussing with our head chef from The Chopping Block, both teams formulated two dishes that would not only impress the judges but would also be easy for the entire group and gain the participation of those at every skill level.

Meet The Teams:

Team Mea-T Phone Home

Team SeaBugs

First, we present the dishes from “Team Mea-T Phone Home.”

Chicken Course:

Chicken Cordon Bleu: Chicken breast stuffed with bacon and swiss cheese, breaded with flour and panko bread crumbs and pan-fried.

Grilled asparagus with extra virgin olive oil and lightly salted.

Scalloped potatoes: Thinly sliced russet potatoes, heavy cream and cheddar cheese. 

Fish Course:

Corvina: Pan seared in Grapeseed Oil, then baked and drizzled with balsamic glaze.

Antipasto salad:  Acini di Pepe, garlic, salt, pepper, tomato, onion, green pepper, basil and feta.

Summer Squash/Zucchini slices to top the fish: Baked in garlic olive oil, thyme and chili flake.

Sauce:  Lemon, butter, grapeseed oil and capers. 

Now, the dishes from “Team SeaBugs.”

Chicken Course:

Chicken Parmesan: Chicken breast with fresh parmesan. A sauce of stewed and fresh tomato, red and green pepper, onion, garlic, butter, basil and grapeseed oil.

Mushrooms: Fresh mushrooms coated in socca, or chickpea flour and baked with a balsamic glaze on the side.

Fish Course:

Grilled whitefish over broccolini and pan-fried cubed potatoes, topped with a lemon caper sauce.

Once the two teams were finished, and the dishes were ready to present, there was some friendly trash talk between members of the teams as they were convinced their dishes were the superior. It was agreed by all that everyone’s food was quite excellent, and the event was an impressive display as both a teamwork exercise as well as a cohesive and tasty dinner.

Finally, the judge emerged. The “Best Bite of the Night” went to Team SeaBugs for their whitefish. The judge was very impressed with how fresh and light their sauce was, and how it packed good flavor without overpowering the fish.

The overall winner was Team Mea-T Phone Home. The judge commended them on the strength of their chicken dish as well as the high technical skill involved in maintaining moisture in the chicken after both frying and baking. Most agreed that adding bacon to the dish was a plus as well.

It was a great team building experience, and the whole ShareASale crew had great fun learning some new skills they can use in their kitchens, we hope you enjoy some more pictures from the night.

More from the team: