I don’t watch too many shows on TV, but I am a fan of Top Chef. Recently, I had the pleasure of meeting Season 3 contestant and Texas resident, Tre Wilcox. He was actually one of my favorites from that season. You can read his impressive bio here. Tre now owns an event venue in Plano, TX called Tre Wilcox, Cooking Concepts.
Cooking Concepts offers a few different services: corporate events and team building exercises for up to 40 people, special events such as rehersal dinners or private parties for up to 100 people, and cooking classes. I attended a blogger event at Cooking Concepts hosted by Sprouts Farmers Market.
I was honored to go because I just LOVE Sprouts. I probably go there at least once a day. They have the best deals on produce, plus they have private label products at an affordable price. Sprouts believes that every meal is a choice, and their private label items are made from the finest ingredients to ensure you are feeding your family healthy food.
Can I tell you how much I love these re-usable bags? Cutest message ever.
So for this blogger event, we were doing a cooking challenge. We split into groups of 5 and had to make 2 dishes and both had to incorporate the following Sprouts signature line ingredients:
- Black beans
- Crackers
- Balsamic Vinegar
- Tomato Sauce
- Mushrooms
These were the well stocked stations for all the teams. They also had many additional ingredients for us to choose from. Tre was very hands on and took time with each team offering his expertise and advice.
This was my team. We called ourselves 4 Girls and 1 Guy.
My team decided to make a chicken avocado wrap with a balsamic glaze, and also a vegetable ragout, since myself and another member of the team did not eat meat. The ragout almost reminded me of a ratatouille. Adding the black beans and balsamic to it was delicious.
Each team was judged by Tre and his team. We didn’t win, but the whole thing was a blast. It was great to see what each team came up with.
It was a lot of fun and definitely a lesson in team building and planning. Tre was really funny and down to earth. The whole experience was a blast! I can see myself going back with friends for another cooking challenge or just a fun class!
After the challenge, we all sat down to a catered meal and listened to a presentation from dietician, Robin Plotkin RD. Her presentation was about hydration, which is so important this time of year. Especially in Texas where the temps are in the 100s in the summer.
I definitely learned a thing or two. Robin showed us foods that were high in water content like watermelon and cauliflower (who knew?), and also showed us a few ways to make your own hydration drinks. It was very interesting. If you want to check out more about Robin, you can go to her website.
After the meal, everyone stopped outside for a group photo. Great to meet all these folks and I thank Tre and Sprouts for this experience. If you want to know more for yourself, definitely check out the Cooking Concepts website.
