What amazing fun we had recently when we participated in Devil’s Kitchen, the culinary challenge that’s definitely not for the faint-hearted.
Devil’s Kitchen is the corporate team building brain-child of the Smile Foundation, a registered charity founded in 2008. Based in Hull it has really taken off in the North of England but now the ‘Ring of Fire’ cooking challenge is making its debut in the Midlands.
Sink your soufflés and split your Beurre Blanc sauce!
Eight brave members of our team went into the Devil’s Kitchen armed with just their chef’s whites that were actually black and a modest apron. Whilst on the other side of the revolving kitchen doors another eight of the PCA Predict team went into the realms of ‘front-of-house’ serving food to a discerning audience of would-be-food critics. Enough to sink your soufflés and split your Beurre Blanc sauce!
The team at PCA Predict undertook the biggest culinary challenge of a lifetime where they were required to prepare a three-course meal for 80 guests. They undertook the amazing feat at the Worcester Whitehouse Hotel.
Give them their ‘Jus’
Give them their ‘jus’, both teams displayed fortitude, flare, culinary creativity and willingness to work hard to keep the customers happy and well-fed of course. As a result our Devil’s Kitchen charity fund raiser was a resounding success.
However, we could not have done it without the help of the new friends we’ve found at the Worcester Whitehouse Hotel and our CEO Guy Mucklow who braved the kitchen with PCA Predict’s CTO Jamie Turner said: “We loved the concept behind Devil’s Kitchen although I don’t think we realised exactly what we were signing up for. Despite the tears and tantrums we had a lot of fun and raised money for charity and the team building element is priceless as everyone that participates is well out of their comfort zones.
“None of it would have been possible without the fantastic generosity of the Worcester Whitehouse Hotel, their Head Chef Kevin Andrews and Food Service Manager Irfan Yilziz, who have been amazingly patient. As professionals they are actually putting their reputation on the line.
Taking our chef’s hats off to people working in hospitality
“We’d also like to thank general manager Rachael Mitchell who has put our ‘front-of-house’ team through their paces. It makes you realise how dedicated and hard- working people are who work in hospitality. I don’t think there’s a chance of any of us wanting to give up our day jobs.”
The event went as smoothly as crème patisserie
Of course the event would not have been so successful without the help of the dedicated Devil’s Kitchen team who ensured the event went as smoothly as crème patisserie. Manager Andrew Barber stood in for his colleague Helen Wise at the last minute and ran the event with the precision of a recently assembled millefeuille. Thank you Andrew and also Helen for all the hard work she put into getting the event off the ground.
We had so much fun and the fact that we raised nearly £3,000 for St. Richard’s Hospice made it a very special event for us
Huge thanks to the Devil’s Kitchen team, the Worcester Whitehouse and St. Richard’s Rachel Jones and Tricia Cavell who swiftly and efficiently sold raffle tickets allowing me to do other important things, namely eat a lovely three course meal washed down with a rather cheeky house-red.
Getting their just desserts
Special awards went to Laura White for her excellent skills in the kitchen and Michael Fox who went the extra mile in his ‘front-of-house’ role serenading the customers with his ukulele and his dulcet singing voice.
Throwing down the Gauntlet (well oven glove actually
The two team leaders threw down the gauntlet (well oven glove actually) but despite a very close contest the Red Team, led by Guy Mucklow were the culinary victors.
Part of the Redefine BDH Hotels group, the Worcester Whitehouse’s Rachael Mitchell said: “I think Devil’s Kitchen works as a team building event on two separate levels. Not only does it involve mentoring and training people that are new to the world of hospitality but my own team has also had to learn and adapt very quickly under the extraordinary pressure of instructing 10 transient recruits. I’m so proud of how we’ve all worked together collaboratively to achieve a shared goal and it’s been great fun too.”
To find out more about Devil’s Kitchen visit: www.devils-kitchen.co.uk or alternatively contact Helen Wise on hw@devils-kitchen.co.uk
