Whole Foods in Maui Mall will be hosting weekly “Foodie Fights,” pitting employees against one another in a cutthroat battle of culinary prowess. Each Sunday at noon, much like similar competitions on Food Network, a secret ingredient is revealed and the competitors must create a recipe using at least two of the secret ingredients. The time limit for them to finish their creation is two hours, and Whole Foods invites its customers to sample each dish and choose the winner. So, anyone who believes they possess a palette worthy of judging such an event or just wants some free food might want to check this one out.
“The Foodie Fight is a result of much bravado and boasting between the different teams in our store and wanting to prove their culinary skills,” said Elyse Ditzel from Whole Foods’ Community Marketing.
This past Sunday was the first round of the Foodie Fights and set Whole Foods employees Belinda from Prepared Foods against Kalena from the Meat Team. The chosen secret ingredient for the day was Sugar & Spice. The competition was fierce. Kalena prepared a dish truly worthy of her place on the Meat Team: a bacon wrapped pork loin stuffed with Hawaiian Crunch Granola, Maui Gold Pineapple, Maui onion, sea salt, cinnamon, Tiki Spice, ginger and sugar. Her opponent, Belinda, prepared a Honey Ginger Chicken seasoned with tamari, Dijon mustard sea & smoked salt topped by a grilled spicy pineapple on a bed of lemongrass ginger slaw. In addition, Belinda created a cinnamon sugar baked pear on puff pastry with vanilla topped by a smoky sea salt & vanilla caramel sauce.
Of course, there could be only one winner, and the recipient of the coveted Pineapple Trophy was none other than… (dramatic pause) …Belinda! (Cue crowd cheering in the background, confetti, streamers, fireworks, etc.)
This Sunday at high noon, customers can expect the excitement to continue with round 2: Grocery vs. Bakery. Anyone else hear the theme from The Good, The Bad And The Ugly playing in the background?
-Oliver de Silva (@odesilva)
Photos Courtesy of Whole Foods Kahului
Comments
comments