Haven't quite ironed out all the details of this yet - I have a few running through my head..so I will just list what I have so far, it's a little rusty -so bear with me -
A large restaurant sectioned off into different rooms (maybe a room for larger groups, or single people, a Mexican food room, Asian, Vegetarian, BBQ, etc)
You enter the eatery with your own recipes in hand & you pay a set fee per person - this will cover the restaurants food costs & the cash reward to the winner (I will explain later)......you are then sent off to the room of your choice...
each room has maybe between 4 & 10 cooking stations - where you set up - you then cook your own recipes using the restaurants ingredients.
Then comes the catch - you aren't cooking for yourself - you are cooking for the other participants/customers in your room - when everyone is through cooking the meals are served to all of the others & then your cooking is rated on score cards that are passed around.
At the end of the feast the "chef" with the highest rated dish wins a small cash prize.
This is somewhat like the whole HB concept - with users submitting their ideas (food in this case) which is then voted on by others. Not only might you win a cash prize - but the "chefs" will get to read all of the scorecards for their meal. These scorecards would have a comment section to offer suggested improvements on the recipe.
Overall it would be a good way to spend a night - not only are you getting a meal - but you have the pleasure of getting to know new people & might possibly win some cash!-- funkychunky, Apr 01 2003 +1 can I just watch? - i am so lazy.-- po, Apr 01 2003 Well then forget I mentioned HB - I was just sort of relating it to this -- not exactly basing my idea on it.
I actually came up with the idea first & then thought "Hmm...that's kind of like how HB works"
So then it's probably ok to keep in this category right? Maybe I should change the title. Any suggestions?-- funkychunky, Apr 01 2003 drop the HB title and call it something else like - lets all squash Jamie Oliver by jumping on his .....(you interrupted me mid-sentence).. lychee
yes.-- po, Apr 01 2003 There - I changed the title. Better you think?-- funkychunky, Apr 01 2003 Yes. Good. I think the category is right. + funny.-- bristolz, Apr 01 2003 Good :)
I was also thinking - this would be a cheap solution for a restaurant owner because they would actually be PAID to have someone cook! No employees except maybe dishwashers & people to get the food ready for cooking (like cleaning vegetables & raw chicken) - which would save the "chefs" some time.-- funkychunky, Apr 01 2003 Another thought I had in response to po's first comment -
You could actually be lazy & just watch & eat. I forgot to explain this earlier - but part of my idea is that a group or a family could go in & be on one "team" - but they don't all have to cook - they can pick just one or a few people from their group to cook while the rest of the guests just sit & talk & chat with the other "competitors" - this would allow more feedback for the "chefs" because more scorecards would be filled out.-- funkychunky, Apr 01 2003 OK then, nominate UnaBubba to cook for everyone.
me, just taking a nap.-- po, Apr 01 2003 Sure, it's an expreience for the chef, but what about the eaters? I could see some people getting some really crappy food.-- Eugene, Apr 02 2003 Other downsides are salmonella, liability, revenge served cold...I like the premise, though.-- thumbwax, Apr 02 2003 I so much LOOOOOVE this idea (+). The only problem I see is that the restaurant might not have ALL the ingredients needed for every recipe. I would also get rid of the cash prize, as some guests might just vote for the meal their friend/ family member cooked only to get the money and, basically, eat for free. You just need to get one of the rooms filled by people you know, and there, viola!, your meal is served free of charge. Something else: it can be something funny to do once or twice, but the reason why most people go to restaurants is to be served and worry about nothing else.
Still, I would invest in a restaurant like this. I just love the concept.-- Pericles, Apr 02 2003 I was thinking the same thing as you [Pericles] - about the restaurant not having all the ingredients - so maybe they could have a pre published list of all available ingredients that they have to work with.
The only reason I really thought of the cash prize is because it would make it somewhat of an entertainment event rather than just going out to eat...and it would be incentive to cook the best meal! Maybe we wouldn't give away cash - just a free meal the next time you come in to the winner of the best meal. Somehow we would have to make sure people couldn't vote for their own "chef's" food.-- funkychunky, Apr 03 2003 My gut reaction is that this is a good idea and sounds like fun, but I have a lot of reservations about it.
I'm not really sure this is a place I would ever want to eat when there's no way at all to know what you're getting yourself into when it comes to the other chefs. Giving potentially untrained people fire, knives, and food with little to no supervision sounds like a recipe for disaster. And then there's the whole idea that you have no idea who has been using the ingredients that you're getting ready to cook with. And if I cook up a nice vegetable stir fry do I get charged the same as the guy frying up a $15/lb. steak?
So I still think it's a great idea but one that is proably best applied to a private pot luck party or an eating club established between friends.-- ler, Aug 08 2003 I like this a lot--with some modification. Maybe each "cook" would have a pre-planned handful of meals that they could make. The participants would get a menu in advance with corresponding prices. Choosing their own recipes would just be too much of a hassle. This actually seems like a reality show to me--but you actually get to eat the food they make. What fun!! +-- jivetalkinrobot, Aug 08 2003 Chez Aluminum Chef!-- beland, Oct 01 2003 Sounds like Ready, Steady, Cook! to me (uk filler programming, I'll look for a link, although you may regret it).
[-ler] //Giving potentially untrained people fire, knives, and food with little to no supervision sounds like a recipe for disaster//
Oh my God!! You're right. Nobody should be allowed to cook at home unless they're qualified. What about McDonalds? I have never received appropriate training in eating cheeseburgers nor have I ever been offered supervision whilst doing so. I shall be sure to demand it next time.
I wonder how people living in the iron age managed?!-- squeak, Oct 02 2003 Close to baked on RTÉ (Irish channel). Somebody has to cook for an entire restaurant of volunteers (OK, (s)he is given helper chefs) including 3 critics.-- modular, Nov 02 2003 I saw a version of that on ITV a while ago. It was pretty good watching the people trying to organise everything.-- chud, Nov 02 2003 random, halfbakery