Cutthroat Kitchen / Chopped Birthday Party - Suggestions?

[hilary1617]

Hannah, who recently turned 8, has requested a Cutthroat Kitchen / Chopped style birthday party for her 20-25 8 and 9 year old guests (she's the youngest in her class). Requests to local cooking schools to manage such an event have been unsuccessful, so it looks like I will need to figure out a do-it-yourself strategy.

Any suggestions for baskets / pantry items?

For the third round, I can easily put together baskets which will yield cupcakes (probably will provide pre-cooked cupcakes, frosting ingredients, and something unexpected like gummy worms or lemon curd). For the second round / main course, I was thinking of putting together ingredients which would prompt make-your-own pizzas (English muffins, sauce, cheese, random toppings, and maybe swiss chard for the unexpected ingredient). I am stumped, however, for the first course. What can I put in a basket that will be interesting and tasty to 8 year olds, but not involve lots of kitchen equipment (since we will likely have to share one blender, one oven, etc. and don't have an anti-griddle) and will have limited potential for say, burns or knife wounds?

Any and all suggestions will be appreciated!

 

[DianaCox]

First, are you kidding me, having 25 8 and 9 your olds in your HOUSE? My recollection is that a kid should have as many party guests as they are years old.

I'm not sure I understand the concept of "Cutthroat Kitchen / Chopped style birthday party," but I'm guessing the kids assemble their own meals?

How about making wontons with various fillings that get baked in the oven on a cookie sheet or in a muffin tray? Cream cheese, pre-cooked meat and chicken fillings, precooked veggies, slivered nuts, water chestnuts?

 

[brooklyngirl]

Yikes @hilary1617 ! That's an awesome idea, but a huge undertaking for that many kids! I like Diana's idea for wontons or dumplings. I always found that kids like anything with dip. What about some stuff to make a sausage queso dip, guacamole or spinach dip?

 

[hilary1617]

Great ideas Lauren and Diana!

Yep, it will be held in our home, unless I can find a rental space with sufficient kitchen supplies. I'd prefer to outsource both location and effort but I haven't found any restaurant or teaching school willing to take on the challenge.

Hannah's school actually sends a letter to parents annually requesting that birthday parties invitations be extended to all of the same-gender students in a child's class, so that is the standard. Usually we just invite all the children in her class regardless of gender, but this year most of her friends are in the other class, so we'll probably just invite all of the girls in her grade. Much as I hate the idea of making it gender-specific, I don't think I can handle many more than 25 guests in our dining area!

I absolutely *hate* to cook, so I'm not sure from whence Hannah's interest has arisen, but she loves cooking. I try to encourage and support her, though I have no idea how to cook properly. I just wing it, usually with embarrassing results. Honestly, salt and pepper are the only spices I know how to use.

Nonetheless, on "family movie night", which we hold with popcorn twice a week, so that each kid can pick his/her own show (usually from Netflix) to share with the whole family, Hannah almost always selects Cutthroat Kitchen or Chopped. Both are tv shows featuring cooking competitions for four chefs which span three rounds, corresponding to a starter, main course, and dessert.

In Cutthroat Kitchen, the cooks compete to best prepare dishes of their choice from an identical mystery basket of foods. Usually one or more of the ingredients presents an unusual challenge. For instance, a basket could contain fresh tuna, soy sauce, kale, and gummy worms. The cooks are supposed to showcase and elevate each ingredient - rather than trying to mask any oddball flavors. The cooks have free access to an well-stocked pantry where they can obtain eggs, produce, dairy, spices, etc. There are a panel of guest judges who eliminate one contestant at the end of each round.

Chopped is similar, but instead of a mystery basket, the host declares a dish type that all cooks must prepare. They are given 60 seconds to access a fully-stocked pantry to grab whatever ingredients they might need to prepare the prescribed dish. Each cook is also given 20 thousand dollars at the start of the show, which they can (and to win, must) spend to purchase sabotages presented by the host which are geared at derailing the attempts of the other contestants. Whatever money is not spent by the winner becomes his/her prize. A single guest judge tastes the dishes, unaware of the sabotages, and eliminates one contestant each round. Sabotages are amusing and typically involve taking away utensils or heat sources (use of a camp stove instead of oven), swapping out ingredients for cheap substitutes (Spam in place of fresh meat for a pork chop dish) or incapacitating the cook's dominant hand. This is the show Hannah prefers, of course, because of the delightful naughtiness...

I've gone back and for the in my mind with the thought of forming teams versus individuals. If we have sabotages, we would apply the same sabotage to all cooks so that there aren't any hurt feelings. So much to think about!

 

[DianaCox]

Party Pooper Alert.

That sounds exhausting. Whatever happened to a Chucky Cheese birthday party??

I'll be honest - the competitive feel of this, implicitly (?) trying to outdo their friends' birthday parties, makes me uncomfortable. Maybe I'm just lazy, but I don't think an 8 year old's birthday justifies this kind of effort, expense and sheer size of the endeavor.

 

[southernlady]

In Cutthroat Kitchen, the cooks compete to best prepare dishes of their choice from an identical mystery basket of foods. Usually one or more of the ingredients presents an unusual challenge. For instance, a basket could contain fresh tuna, soy sauce, kale, and gummy worms. The cooks are supposed to showcase and elevate each ingredient - rather than trying to mask any oddball flavors. The cooks have free access to an well-stocked pantry where they can obtain eggs, produce, dairy, spices, etc. There are a panel of guest judges who eliminate one contestant at the end of each round.

Chopped is similar, but instead of a mystery basket, the host declares a dish type that all cooks must prepare. They are given 60 seconds to access a fully-stocked pantry to grab whatever ingredients they might need to prepare the prescribed dish. Each cook is also given 20 thousand dollars at the start of the show, which they can (and to win, must) spend to purchase sabotages presented by the host which are geared at derailing the attempts of the other contestants. Whatever money is not spent by the winner becomes his/her prize. A single guest judge tastes the dishes, unaware of the sabotages, and eliminates one contestant each round. Sabotages are amusing and typically involve taking away utensils or heat sources (use of a camp stove instead of oven), swapping out ingredients for cheap substitutes (Spam in place of fresh meat for a pork chop dish) or incapacitating the cook's dominant hand. This is the show Hannah prefers, of course, because of the delightful naughtiness...

Sounds like Diana is a natural after reading some of the concoctions she creates using what is in her veggie baskets she gets from her CSA!

 

[DianaCox]

My concoctions are about 80% successful. You need to be certain 8 year olds would like these things! Can you imagine going to all that trouble and getting a negative Yelp review??

 

[southernlady]

My concoctions are about 80% successful. You need to be certain 8 year olds would like these things! Can you imagine going to all that trouble and getting a negative Yelp review??

An 80% success rate is far better than mine!

 

[newanatomy]

For the first course, maybe a selection of pre-cut fruits especially some strawberries and peaches with challenging ingredients of tomatoes, basil and balsamic vinegar. This with a touch of sugar and olive oil makes a delicious salad.

I can't think of too many eight year olds with pallets that will tolerate this though.

Instead, substitute spinach for basil. Skip the vinegar and oil and the sugar, give them some honey. That should please all of them. You could skip the tomatoes too but, they might be kind of fun.

 

[DianaCox]

I like the fruit idea too - have poppy seed dressing, which goes wonderfully with fruit.

 

[hilary1617]

I'm thinking pre-cut apples, and maybe something they could make into a sweet dip themselves with a hint of creativity, say yogurt, berries and honey? Great ideas. Thanks so much!

@DianaCox I'm sorry to read that this has been perceived in a negative, competitive light. That's certainly not the intent. We just prefer to plan DIY parties with our kids rather than heading to a canned kiddie venue because we have a blast doing it together and honestly, just entering a Chuckie Cheese with all those noises and lights gives me a headache. Every year, each kid picks their theme of choice and then we find a way together to make it happen. Our spending time together to plan a special celebration is in lieu of elaborate gifts. We just feel it is a great fun way to spend special time with our kids and their friends. The volume of kids is just due to reciprocating on the invites they receive as a result of the schools policies which are geared towards inclusiveness to prevent children from feeling left out. By switching classes this year, Hannah has gained a set of new classmates/friends, but still feels closest to those children with whom she spent her K-2 years.

This theme is the most difficult one yet for me not only because I'm not great in the kitchen and to give it the "feel" of the show I would have preferred to be in a space with multiple blenders and ovens. That said, this year I want to do something extra special as Hannah's party has been delayed significantly due to poor health on my part (not related to DS) and she has been incredibly patient. I've had to miss a lot of her activities this year and as things have it, I may be less "there" for her in the coming months.

Anyway, it is what it is... My beloved great-aunt Louisa-May (who filled in for my grandmother) used to put poppy seed dressing on fruit - thanks for mentioning this as it brings back a lovely sea of memories of her!!!

 

[DianaCox]

I just reread what I wrote above - I really meant it to express my point of view and feelings about this as parent whose kids' 8 year birthday parties were over 20 years ago, when things were (among MY peers) much simpler.

The number of kids to the party - that was a "rule" I sort of remembered and roughly followed back then - I would NEVER have invited the entire class unless the party was being held at school, nor was it EVER expected - we wouldn't have space in our house and I sure as hell couldn't afford to do that at a pay-per-head venue. I looked it up at http://www.parents.com/fun/birthdays/ideas/kids-birthday-parties-frequently-asked-questions/ (keeping in mind these are TODAY'S rules):

My child is old enough to invite friends. How many should I invite?
For a preschooler, here's a good general rule: invite the number equal to the birthday child's age plus one. For school-age children, the party size can be more flexible. Be certain, though, that you do not leave out just one or two children in a classroom. If you feel the need to invite an entire day-care classroom, be sure to emphasize that parents should attend with their children.​

Not leaving out one or two kids is of course good manners - but we never invited more than about 12 kids, and they were rarely all from the current classroom (the kids' elementary school had 2.5 - 3 classrooms for each grade, so they knew about 75-90 kids in their grade, as they shuffled the groups into different classrooms each year).

But I think more than that is my own inherent (cheap? lazy?) feeling that kids today (and their parents) are being forced to outdo each other on these kinds of things, in order to "keep up with the Joneses." It would never have occurred to me to put this much effort into a kid's birthday party - ever. I am personally amused and appalled to see people who I am FB friends with, or their friends, spending weeks planning and posting their party decorations on Pinterest, themed foods, party bags, etc., etc., for a kids party. I just don't get it.

Perhaps to me (again - cheap and lazy?), it smacks of fostering a sense of entitlement, of expectations that "only the best will do for me" that certainly NEVER entered my mind as a kid, and did not occur to me to do for my kids, at least not with respect to a 2 hour party.

You are making a lovely, thoughtful and fun party for your kid, and you don't have to justify to me why you are doing it. It probably will be a lot simpler than it sounds when all is said and done and the plans are carried out - I admit I never put anywhere near that much effort into planning my kids' parties - kid-friendly fun food, a storebought cake, sometimes at Micky Dee's or an entertainment place (I can't remember the names - like Dave & Busters but for younger kids - oh yeah, Discovery Zone), and in addition, we would have a family dinner with their choice of food. I generally didn't spend more than 3-5 hours planning and prepping these parties (not counting cleaning the house and shopping for the party supplies).

So - I am aware that at SOME level, my (30-something) daughter thinks I did NOT make a big enough deal about certain things - for example, I would attend her performances and not bring her flowers like some parents did (she was not the star of any of these things, mind you - in the choir, are minor roles in plays). (I didn't know this bugged her until later, in my weak defense). She also has worked with kids at an afterschool education program, and does some event planning for her job, as well as for some charity stuff she does. So I asked her about your party plans - fully expecting her to tell me she wished I had paid as much attention to detail and put in as much effort as you are doing for your daughter.

I was actually quite surprised - she said that your plans sounded like a recipe for chaos and disappointment - that it would be nearly impossible to carry that three-course party out with 25 8 and 9 year old girls. How were you going to clean up in between? Dishes/silverware? Most of the kids (especially those who don't share your daughter's enthusiasm about that program) will lose focus and interest after 20-30 minutes. She suggested you pare it down (her words - and she said pun intended) to ONE course - preferably the dessert. Make that course more elaborate, but keep it to that one activity.

And then she suggested (and this would NEVER have occurred to me, so of course I think it is brilliant) that rather than trying to make up for your time away from her trying to organize and supervise a 2-3 hour party with 25 sugar-crazed girls, that you enroll the both of you in a cooking class together - perhaps one of these cake making/decorating courses: http://www.wilton.com/classes/; or a cooking school http://www.chicagokids.com/resources/subcategory/85/cooking-classes; http://www.thechoppingblock.net/; or one of those places where you go in for an afternoon and cook meals for the family for a week (if you have them in your area) - that way, you could spend time with HER alone, doing something that SHE likes, that is about HER interest, and you making an effort to share this interest with her. http://www.chicagotribune.com/lifes...ng-schools-roundup-20140813-story.html#page=4

By the way, did you call this place? (I have no idea of where you are, of course - this could be out of the question!) The Kids' Table. Classes, summer camps and birthday parties, plus classes for teens and parents. From $25. 2337 W. North Ave.; 773-235-2665; kids-table.com

I didn't mean to offend (note Party Pooper Alert at the top of my post) - I just felt like this was too involved and ambitious for that age group and number of kids. And my daughter thought so to, and I was actually expecting her to tell me my reservations were because I'm too lazy, cheap and lacking in imagination.

 

[hilary1617]

Excellent suggestions, all, Diana. No offense taken, it probably is too ambitious and involved. Moderation has never been my strong suit.

It's funny, Chopping Block is the first place I called when I realized I might need more ovens and appliances, but they wanted a small fortune (> $1,000!!!!! Their parties start with 10 kids for $450 - insane!!!). Both Chopping Block and Kids Table are about 20 miles south of where we live (near to the Ravinia Music Festival).

I think I'm going to narrow it to a cupcake / cookie decorating round. I'll provide some protein-laden snacks and, weather permitting, have them run around outside to help balance out the sugar rush.

I love the idea of a culinary class. I could benefit from it more than Hannah in terms of coursework and it would be a lovely thing to do together. Maybe with some instruction I could actually gain the confidence to host a grown-up dinner party - something I have never done.

 

[DianaCox]

Reminds me of when I married my first (Gentile) husband - I was his second wife, and his first wife was Jewish, so they had to take classes together. When I decided it was the ONLY hope that my Orthodox relatives would accept our marriage that a rabbi marry us, and the rabbi found out that he had taken classes and I NEVER had any formal Jewish education, he said that we had to take classes too - and that I needed them more than he did.

Which reminds me of another story - we were taking these classes, all interfaith couples, and there was always the implicit issue floating like a fart above all of these classes, based on what I'm sure ALL Jewish families tell their kids who are about to marry outside the faith - that one day, the Gentile would let loose with a repressed anti-Semitic remark, because (of course) everyone hates the Jews, deep down. So on this day, the class was twice as big, because they had to combine two classes into one to make up for missed class - they had partially opened the room divider, and about six of us couples were in the back part of the room, partially walled off from the front. The rabbi was talking about rituals in the bible, and the discussion shifted to males wearing the yarmulka. The rabbi - using the Socratic technique - asked the room: "Why do Jewish men wear a Yarmulka?" And in a whisper that could only be heard in the back group of couples, David hissed "Because they're too cheap to buy a whole hat!" There was a moment of stunned shock - a gasp - THERE IT WAS! An anti-Semite in our very midst! And then everyone started choking on their suppressed giggles, because they realized it really was a joke, aimed not just at that comment but the implication that it would happen in a hurtful way - and we were DYING back there trying to not cause the rabbi to notice our sniggering. It still cracks me up nearly 35 years later.

ANYWAY - back to you - yes, I think it would be FUN for you to learn to do this, as well as gratifying to your daughter than you take an interest in her interest - and truly, one of the most wonderful gifts you can give her is the feeling that she has her own area of competence that you know will someday eclipse yours (if she hasn't already). And then going forward, whenever there is an opportunity for cooking involved, you can call on her to shine.

When I told my daughter that her suggestion had been well-received, she said "what I love about the idea is that it's PERFECT for an 8 year old girl to learn about handling knives, which knife to use to lessen injury potential, etc. So Mom gets ideas on WHAT to cook and daughter gets to learn HOW to cook. Win-win. And with each of them gaining confidence in the kitchen, it will be something they can continue to do together at home."

But don't throw out your take-out menus right away ...

 

[hilary1617]

Ha! Got to have a sense of humor! Partly because we are dorky history buffs and more to avoid the need for classes or making one relative feel we were picking his/her religion over others, we got married here ---> https://www.osv.org/ in a civil ceremony in a non-denominational meetinghouse which nonetheless had a religious, reverent feel to it. (Our reception was in the original Bullard Tavern, which I see with sadness has now been converted into a cafeteria now that they've built a bigger tavern for special events.)

I'm a product of a mixed upbringing with a heavy dose of religion all around. When I was young, I attended Yeshiva on weekdays, temple on Shabbat, Catechism and mass on weekends, and Unitarian services in the summer (when staying with my beloved Aunt Louisa-May of the fruit and poppy seed dressing memories). At one point at around Hannah's age, I innocently advised a priest he should wear a kippah. He was a bit less open to the thought than I imagined...

I love your daughter's ideas! Though, I must admit I need to learn the HOW as much or more than Hannah. I know the WHAT to cook, in principle, just what I produce barely replicates the idea as it was in my head. And her knife comment makes me a bit nervous, not about injury, but about my ignorance. Do non-chef people really use all those specialized knives? I've always thought of them as a gimmick for Williams-Sonoma to build sales. I only use three knives for cooking - a long ridged one for loaves of bread, a short one for chopping vegetables and fruites - which I believe is formally a "paring knife", and then a big honking cut-through-a-roast type knife. I'm hoping I don't drink out of the proverbial fingerbowls in class!

In any case, we'll sign up and learn to cook - once we get the party settled! Thanks!